The Spring 2019 National Concrete Consortium (NC2) meeting held in Denver, Colorado, in early April was a great success! A record 210 people gathered to hear technical presentations and to share their concrete stories in an excellent event focused on improving concrete performance and structural concrete applications. There were 23 speakers from 14 states who covered topics in fiber research, drilled shafts, mass concrete, materials, rapid repairs, and early loadings—FHWA, 35 state DOT agencies (71 individuals), the Illinois Tollway, academia, and industry. Attendees gained valuable insights on topics of interest to industry, academia, and the state highway agencies, and the toll authority that make up the membership of NC2.
The 2½-day spring meeting was hosted by the Colorado DOT and Maria Masten, Chairperson-NC2 and Concrete Materials Engineer-Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT). Eric Ferrebee, Technical Services Engineer-ACPA, said, “NC2 has a lot of very interesting presentations. These semi-annual meetings are great opportunities for State highway and tollway authorities, industry, and academia to share concerns, perspectives, and interesting breakthroughs within the concrete pavement universe.” Ferrebee reported that some of the most relevant presentations included:
• Update on performance engineered mixtures or PEM by Gordon Smith, Associate Director-CP Tech Center
• Fiber-reinforced concrete
• A tool to determine recommended fiber dosages by Dr. Jeff Roesler, President-ISCP and Associate Head for Graduate Affairs-University of Illinois
• Formation factor testing by Dr. Jason Weiss, School Head-Civil & Construction Engineering-Oregon State University
• Super Air Meter Testing and how to obtain consistent results by Dr. Tyler Ley, Professor–Structural Engineering-Oklahoma State University
• The use of slag cement in concrete by Dr. Larry Sutter, Professor-Materials Science and Engineering-Michigan Tech University.
All technical presentations are available through the meeting agenda (below).
A highlight of the meeting was a tour on the third day of the meeting of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Concrete, Geotechnical, and Structural Laboratory in Denver, Colorado. The lab provides concrete and geotech materials training, including a concrete & concrete repair school and concrete special inspector training.
Discussion Items from the Pooled Fund State DOT representatives meeting:
• CP Tech Center Updates:
1 – Listservsurvey
2 – TTCCTPF-5(313)Pooled Fund update
3 – Assessment of national research needs
• Open Discussion:
1 – IndianaDOT
2 – Caltrans’ specification
3 – AASHTO 253 and 254 (dowel bar)
4 – FHWA: which states are using a 56-day strength for acceptance criteria & whether a 28-day partial payment is being considered
5 – Training opportunities: videos,webinars,etc.
6 – Who is involved in AASHTO, ASTM, and ACI?
7 – Discussion occurred regarding which states stabilize their sub grades as normal statewide operation
8 – Discussion of state reps meeting at the beginning of the NCC conference or the end
To view speaker presentations, 2 VIDEOS, spreadsheet, and for a more detailed summary of the spring 2019 meeting, please go to: https://cptechcenter.org/events/spring-2019-national-concrete-consortium/
Future NC2 Meetings:
Fall 2019: Kalispell, Montana | September 10-12.
Spring 2020: Alabama
Fall 2020: Minneapolis, Minnesota | Coinciding with the 12th ICCP 2020
Home Photo: Technology Transfer Concrete Consortium TPF-5(313)
(TTCC TPF-5(313)) 34 states currently participate in the TTCC:
Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois (and Illinois Tollway), Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin: https://iowasudas.org/research/in-progress/technology-transfer-concrete-consortium-tpf-5313/