- Author
-
Bentz, D. P.
|
Garboczi, E. J.
|
Frohnsdorff, G. J. C.
- Title
- E-Concrete? Believe It!
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Journal
-
Constructor, The Construction Management Magazine,
Vol. 84,
No. 2,
20-20,
February 2002
- Distribution
- For more information contact: Dale Bentz, Telephone: 301-975-5865, Email: dale.bentz@nist.gov, Online: http://www.bfrl.nist.gov To visit the websites of any of the tools described please go to: Website: http://ciks.cbt.nist.gov
- Keywords
-
concretes
|
cement
|
virtual
|
performance prediction
|
economics
- Identifiers
- Virutal Cement and Concrete Testing Laboratory (VCCTL); electronic monograph for modeling and measuring; Computer-Integrated Knowledge Systems (CIKS); concrete optimization software tool; visible cement data server
- Abstract
- In recent years, the complexity of concrete mixture proportioning has increased dramatically. New chemical admixtures, such as high-performance superplasticizers and shrinkage-reducing admixtures, have been introduced into the marketplace. Due to both environmental and economic considerations, the use of supplementary cementitious materials such as fly ashes, slags, and calcined clays has become commonplace. At the same time, the composition and fineness of portland cements have been adjusted to produce the high early-age strengths demanded by "fast track" construction practices. Assuring the quality of these concretes, and optimizing their performance in both the short term and long term, is a daunting task facing the construction industry. Researchers in the Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in collaboration with industrial partners, are developing a comprehensive set of web-based "e-concrete" tools to assist the industry with this undertaking. Those that are already available are described below. Comments and questions about these exciting developments are invited.