Precast Brings Speed and Agility to NFL

With a quick turnaround time of two years, precast elements were a natural fit for the San Francisco 49ers' new Santa Clara stadium, especially since the goal is to offer one of the most environmentally friendly experiences in the National Football League.

Originally planned for a January 2013 construction start and 2015 opening, the project was fast-tracked when NFL funding was made available.  The new schedule requires the stadium to be ready for the 2014 football season with steep fines for every game missed.  The new $1.2 billion, 68,500-seat stadium is being delivered as a design-build project by a joint venture of Turner Construction and Devcon Construction and design work by architect HNTB. 

“This is an important, highly visible project, and it has a very demanding schedule,” said Don Clark, president of business development for Clark Pacific.  “Precast concrete is a critical aspect of Turner/Devcon’s strategy to quickly build a high-quality project.”

West-Sacramento-based Clark Pacific will manufacture and install more than 2,000 precast components including treads, risers, and steps for the stadium seating as well as various stadium walls.  The pieces will range in size from 20- to 40 feet long and weigh as much as 35,000 pounds.  Casting was scheduled to begin in May with placement completed by September 2013.

The stadium is striving for LEED Gold certification. The fact that the majority of pieces will be locally produced, only 95 miles away from the stadium, and contain 15 percent fly ash will contribute to this status. A low-carbon concrete will also be used for the auger cast piles and the overall stadium structure.

Clinker Phase Determination Vital to Grindability

New research from the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub could save energy at cement plants by improving the efficiency of clinker grinding.

The quantitative determination of the phases in cement clinker has important implications for the reactivity and grindability of clinker. Therefore, an accurate estimation of the phase content is of high relevance in cement production. One of the most commonly used methods to estimate the phase contents in clinker is the Bogue method.

However recent research from the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub shows that more accurate techniques based on x-ray methods, like the Rietveld refinement, bear the potential to provide a better assessment of the quantitative composition of clinker.   The Rietveld method showed evidence that the presence of non-quantified material is significant in the studied samples of industrial clinker. This method also allows one to quantify systematically the clinker content, which has the potential to permit more complete characterization and therefore better estimates of performance and grindability.

The experimental results obtained with the Rietveld refinement show a significant fraction of unidentified phases, which can reach up to 15 percent by weight. This may have substantial impact on the hydraulic properties and grindability of clinkers and allow for more energy efficient operations at cement plants.
View the complete research brief.

PCA Advocates for a Surface Transportation Bill at TCC Fly-In

Several PCA member companies joined nearly 400 transportation advocates at the 11th Annual Transportation Construction Coalition Fly-In, May 30-31, in Washington, DC.  The two-day event featured a legislative briefing that included a presentation from House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL). Ranking Member Nick Rahall (D-WV) also provided an update on the progress of the surface transportation bill conference. 

In addition, noted political analyst Charlie Cook supplied a primer on what to expect for the November elections.

With conference negotiations underway, fly-in participants met with members of Congress to stress the need for a surface transportation bill, calling on Congress to “Make Transportation Job #1.”  With the construction industry’s unemployment rate over 17 percent, the highest of any industry and nearly double the all-industry rate, inaction is not an option.

The event was capped off by a reception on Capitol Hill and various fundraising events.
Contact Lauren Schapker

First Quarter User Group Survey Available

According to the recently completed first quarter 2012 PCA Survey of Portland Cement by User Group, North American cement consumption increased 19.9 percent in the first quarter of 2012 when compared to the same quarter in 2011 with both the U.S. (+20.9 percent) and Canada (+11.1 percent) contributing to the quarter’s strength. First quarter performance is reflective of PCA’s latest assessment of the approaching recovery in the construction industry, particularly in residential building. Although sizeable gains against year-ago levels have exceeded expectations, they likely have been supported by favorable weather conditions.

Leading markets in the first quarter 2012 include streets & highways contractors, which is up 33 percent from first quarter 2011; packaged product producers (32 percent); oil & gas well drilling (29 percent); and building materials dealers (24 percent).  Ready-mixed recorded a gain of more than 2.3 million tons compared to first quarter 2011.

User groups highly concentrated in residential and certain sub-markets within the nonresidential sector are expected to experience more earnest expansion this year, in some instances double-digit increases coming off very depressed levels. 

PCA’s Survey of Portland Cement by User Group provides end-user cement tonnage for eighteen individual segments. Historical data tables and graphs detail segment performance. In addition, current year segment forecasts and summary analysis, linked to PCA’s latest national forecasts, are provided.
Contact Brian Schmidt

NJ Holds First Concrete Day

The first ever New Jersey Concrete Industry Awareness Day was held at the State Capitol in Trenton on May 10, 2012. PCA/NECSA members, staff and promotion partners educated legislators and their staff on sustainable, durable, and cost effective concrete solutions for New Jersey’s infrastructure.  

Lawmakers received a New Jersey economic impact sheet as well as industry information cards for each legislative district. The cards included information on each cement and concrete product facility in the districts and contact information for each. 

Exhibits featured pervious concrete, full-depth reclamation (FDR) with cement, and the energy efficiency, resilience, fire resistance, and speed of construction of precast concrete. The NJ Concrete Pipe Association exhibit featured the long service life, superior strength, and the recyclability of concrete pipe. Several legislators expressed particular interest in pervious concrete and FDR with cement.

In addition to a follow-up mailer to all legislators, future plans may include adding a second day for visits to legislator’s offices.
Contact Pat Reardon

Monthly PCA Paving Advocacy Teleconference Scheduled

The Paving Committee has initiated a monthly paving advocacy call to share best practices and avenues to successful advocacy and promotional efforts. The calls will also be a forum to discuss existing and new integrated paving solution (IPS) tools and materials developed to support key messages and will be scheduled for the third Friday of each month.  The next call is June 15, 2012, at 11am EDT.

The calls are ideal for members of PCA committees, regional promotion committees, ACPA chapters, and ready-mixed concrete state affiliates.

The inaugural call last month was attended by more than 40 representatives from throughout the cement and concrete industry. A recording of the call is available.
Contact Wayne Adaska

PCA Leads FDR Market Development

PCA-North Central Region hosted forty-eight state, county, municipal, and consulting decision-makers at a Minneapolis/St. Paul area full-depth reclamation (FDR) seminar last week.  Wayne Adaska, PCA; Dave Rettner, American Engineering Testing; and Tom Johnson, Midstate Reclamation; provided design, specification, and construction expertise.  PCA’s One Block, One Mile, One World video was also presented and used for discussion.

The seminar was the ninth in PCA-North Central’s Concrete Forum series which began in 2011.  Topics have included municipal concrete streets, concrete pavement bases and subgrade, concrete overlays, and full depth reclamation with cement. A November 2011 FDR Forum generated one municipal and two county projects for this construction season and other projects are being programmed.

Rising asphalt prices and the shortage and cost of quality aggregates is driving interest in FDR and concrete pavements.  By providing vital resources to designers and decision-makers, PCA is leveraging that interest from educational opportunities through to project delivery.
Contact Doug Burns

E-Learning Version of Popular Design and Control Course in the Works

PCA held the Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures course at the PCA campus in Skokie, June 4-7, 2012.

The 3-1/2 day course, based on the industry standard, reflected the latest advances in concrete technology and was developed especially for concrete personnel who need fundamental yet practical concrete knowledge.

Michelle Wilson, PCA's director of concrete knowledge, and George Seegebrecht, Concrete Consulting Engineers, served as instructors. Brian Szczerowski, CTLGroup, led the laboratory sessions.

The course was sold out with 22 students attending.

The students included PCA members, ready-mix producers, and owner representatives. The sessions were captured on video for a future e-learning course that is under development and will be launched in the early fall.
Contact Michelle Wilson

A Few Slots Left at Professors' Workshop

There's still time to register for PCA's 2012 professors' workshop.

Teaching Buildings, Bridges, Materials, and Pavements, a workshop designed to help professors in engineering, architecture, and construction management programs with the latest developments on concrete design and construction, will take place July 23-27 at PCA Skokie.

Sessions will cover concrete materials properties, engineering and economics of concrete buildings, design, construction, and performance of concrete pavements, and design and construction of concrete bridges by the AASHTO LRFD.  The week-long session includes networking opportunities to exchange ideas with professors from many universities, demonstrations by software vendors, and more than $1,500 of free resource materials.

The registration fee for the workshop is $395 and includes all hand-out materials, PowerPoint presentations, resource literature, lunches, and receptions. Space is limited to 48 professors, on a first come, first served basis.
Register at www.cement.org
Contact Larry Novak