RESEARCH

Please join the Minnesota Concrete Council and Build with Strength Minnesota on Wednesday, July 8 for a FREE live webinar titled "Introduction to Insulating Concrete Forms."  The webinar will be presented by John Lee, PE, LEED® A.P. (Director of Business Development at Cemstone) and Curt Gohmann (Outside Sales at Brock White Company).  The presentation has been approved for one AIA LU/HSW.  All participants will receive a certificate of attendance for one professional development hour (PDH).

The use of Insulating Concrete Forms or ICF’s as a structural building envelope has increased in recent years as building owners look to create buildings that require less maintenance while being energy efficient, quiet and, most importantly, resilient. This one-hour presentation will discuss the concept of ICF’s from design to construction while highlighting the many benefits for the designer, contractor, owner and occupant. Attendees of this course will see a variety of project types and learn why ICF’s were chosen over other building materials.

Supplementary cementitious materials can be used for improved concrete performance in its fresh and hardened state. They are primarily used for improved workability, durability, and strength. These materials allow the concrete producer to design and modify the concrete mixture to suit the desired application. This presentation will cover the basics of common supplementary materials used in concrete. Common applications, comparisons of their properties in plastic and hardened concrete, as well as the outlook of their future use will all be covered in the presentation.

The presenter will be Dr. Larry Sutter, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Michigan Technological University.

The program has been approved for 1 AIA CES LU.  All attendees will receive a certificate of attendance for one professional development hour (PDH).

WJE carried out independent studies related to the 2018 collapse of the FIU Pedestrian Bridge in Miami. Most significantly, WJE developed and tested full-sized specimens to evaluate the significance of the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB’s) finding that the construction joint between the northernmost diagonal and deck was left in an as-placed condition, rather than intentionally roughened as required by the project specifications. The webinar also describes WJE’s independent review of shear friction strength in accordance with the AASHTO Code.

NTSB is scheduled to present their investigation of the collapse at the General Session of the Committee on Bridges and Structures meeting on June 1. However, the investigation by NTSB and FHWA did not include testing to evaluate the relationship between surface preparation and shear-friction strength.

The presentation describes the details of the experimental program that demonstrated that, had the construction joint been roughened as required by the project specifications, the collapse would not have occurred. Contrary to NTSB’s findings, the contractor’s failure to roughen the surface was the primary cause of the collapse.

The presenter will be: Gary J Klein, Executive Vice President and Senior Principal, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. (WJE)