Webinar Archives

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Concrete provides structures with strength, rigidity, and resilience from deformation. These characteristics, however, result in concrete structures lacking the flexibility to move in response to environmental or volume changes. Cracking is usually the first sign of distress in concrete. Cracking of concrete flatwork is natural, expected, and accepted. However, cracks may affect appearance, performance, and maintenance costs. This presentation will discuss the various types of concrete cracks and how to best minimize their occurrence.

Learning Objectives:
1.    Understand the different types of cracking in concrete.
2.    Understand what causes concrete to crack.
3.    Understand how to evaluate the difference between structural cracks and cosmetic cracks
4.    At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will know how to minimize concrete cracks.

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Contractors want concrete to be as workable as possible to facilitate placement and consolidation without compromising performance in the hardened state. Concrete producers strive to consistently deliver expected performance attributes. Yet, hydration of Portland cement leads to a change in fresh concrete properties immediately after batching, most notably with respect to mix slump or workability. In air-entrained concrete mixtures, furthermore, modified slump can lead to changes in air content, typically a reduction, and potential rejection of the load. Invariably, rejected loads result in loss of revenue and reduced profits for concrete producers. This presentation will discuss workability retention and the various methods traditionally used to manage it. Additionally, an innovative, new admixture is introduced that provides workability retention without the adverse effects of current practices.

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Gary Klein addresses how the strut-and-tie method is implemented for various types of discontinuity regions such as deep beams, corbels, and post-tensioning anchorage zones. Jeremiah Fasl shares an example of how the method was used for design of the crane support beam at Barbours Cut Terminal at the Port of Houston.

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Hot weather conditions are not solely related to the air temperature when placing concrete.  Those conditions are defined in ACI and ASTM documents.  This presentation will focus on being able to define hot weather conditions and its effects on concrete in the plastic and hardened state.  This presentation will also provide details on how to overcome the conditions of hot weather when placing concrete.

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Lighter, faster and more cost effective than other forms of construction, Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) are quickly becoming the construction method of choice for all forms of construction including single and multi-family, hotels, schools, offices. Concrete contractors, masons and framers have an opportunity to learn how their trade can work with ICFs to enhance their competitiveness in today’s construction environment. The presentation will focus on how to communicate basic ICF detailing, design efficiencies, and other necessary information to designers who may not be familiar with ICF construction. Also included in the presentation will be information on how ICF’s can affect other sections of the specification, best construction practices, and tips on how to determine labor costs for an ICF project.

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Making a decision that requires ethical consideration is usually not easy. Rarely are we faced with an ethical question that has a corresponding answer that is clearly black and white. Doing the ethical thing can require effort and determining the correct path may include many variables that cause us to pause and consider what the right decision is. In this presentation, the speaker will discuss some scenarios that illustrate the grey area that can be "ethics." The presenter will work through the scenarios an offer insight on determining the correct and ethical way to proceed through a decision-making process.

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Mass concrete (or thermally controlled concrete) typically requires implementing thermal control measures to reduce maximum temperature and mitigate temperature difference. Specified temperature limits and thermal control requirements can affect mix design proportions, materials selection, reinforcement details, construction operations and compliance to specifications for the work. Many specifications still limit concrete temperatures to overly conservative default values without recognizing concrete properties and performance that allow alternative temperature limits more suitable for the specified work while maintaining quality and improving constructability. This issue frequently results in challenging scenarios that create design difficulties and unnecessary constructability problems for mass concrete. This presentation focuses on the implementation of today’s knowledge of mass concrete and best practices to overcome mass concrete challenges and facilitate solutions in projects. A special emphasis will be given to the technical updates provided for mass concrete requirements and guidance progressing in North America industry standards.

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Resilient design of buildings in the twenty-first century is imperative given increased intensity and frequency of extreme adverse climatic events.  Buildings must withstand environmental impacts to their exteriors while simultaneously protecting the occupants within and maintain operational functionality.

In this presentation we will discuss how to incorporate concrete construction systems as a sustainable building assembly option to meet the challenges of designing and building energy efficient and resilient structures that can withstand most, if not all natural disasters.

Architects, Engineers, General Contractors and Building Owners will gain a thorough understanding of concrete structural system benefits, including thermal envelope performance, design integration, construction processes, and renewable energy resources for consideration and implementation into overall building envelope design and construction.

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The performance life of asphalt surfaced parking lots can be extended by placing a bonded concrete layer on top of the existing asphalt. This technique has been used for many years for highway, street, and parking lot pavements but still engineers and owners are unfamiliar with the process. This session will cover the publication entitled the Guide to Concrete Overlays of Asphalt Parking Lots and demonstrate the steps necessary to properly design and construct a concrete overlay.

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The tilt-up industry remains characterized as a budding or growing delivery method for new construction.  This dominant method of design and construction has a rich history of more than a century of influence and nearly fifty years of dramatic growth and unmatched solutions.  This presentation will move through the concepts of the traditional tilt-up building and address the principle design requirements and challenges faced. The presenter will be James R. Baty II, F.ACI, F.TCA (Tilt Up Concrete Association).

No credits will be awarded for viewing recordings of the webinar. 

The webinar is being sponsored by the Iowa Ready Mixed Concrete Association, the Minnesota Concrete Council, the North Dakota Concrete Council, the South Dakota Ready Mix Association, and the Wisconsin Ready Mixed Concrete Association.