ACI Online Learning & Presentations

This webinar will discuss laboratory testing of portland limestone cement (PLC) based on internal research and projects being conducted by WJE. A brief introduction will be provided on PLC. Microscopic techniques and chemical analysis performed in an attempt to identify, classify, and quantify PLC will be discussed. This talk is intended to provide an industry update on current work-in-progress laboratory research.

This is a recorded webinar from August 1, 2023. The production of Portland cement emits carbon dioxide (CO2), which has been identified as a green-house-gas. Therefore, cement companies have been taking steps to reduce the CO2 output at their plants globally since the 1970’s, and more recently in the United States. One way to reduce CO2 emissions is by eliminating the production of ASTM C150 Type I, and replacing it with an ASTM C595 Type IL Portland Limestone Cement (PLC). This presentation will address the fundamental reasons for the change, and from a quality perspective, how a cement plant might go about managing the change. Additionally, the presentation will review concrete test data, compiled from varying cement plants and companies, with the intent of revealing why some may feel they have experienced issues with concrete compressive strengths, set times, and water demand, while others may report no significant changes to their concrete. Ultimately, all will better understand the technical merits regarding this transition, and how to work successfully into the future with PLC.

NEU: An ACI Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete would like to make the Spring 2023 specialty day focused on carbon neutral concrete. This event will have multiple speakers that will be geared toward contractors, engineers, architects, owners/operators, and relevant industry NGO's. Attendees will gain understanding about the innovative materials and technologies that ACI is advancing through its committee and center work that can be used to create more carbon neutral concrete. It is the goal of the NEU Carbon Neutral Concrete Specialty Day to reach both domestic and international audiences to discuss the themes of more sustainable and low carbon concrete practices, materials, and technologies.

Concrete is unique among building materials. Its formulation is highly influenced by its application. Design professionals and contractors have a greater influence on concrete formulation than they do with other building products. Concrete can be made stronger, lighter, more flowable, stiffer, less permeable, and even weaker depending on performance needs. No other building material is that versatile. This presentation will discuss how design and construction teams can implement ten simple strategies to reduce concrete’s carbon footprint today. The recommendations are listed broadly in order of priority, but not in order of impact reduction. All are important and should be implemented. In addition, the strategies are meant to achieve a lower carbon footprint without impacting other desired performance capabilities for the concrete.

This presentation will highlight the convergence of sustainability and durability in concrete to achieve structures that will last longer and have a reduced carbon footprint. Recent changes in the availability and characteristics of cementitious material have sparked the need for new ways to use of industrial by-products, new technologies to mitigate the carbon footprint, construction material recycling, and challenging service life expectations in aggressive environments. Attendees will have guidance toward identifying the most important parameters in selecting materials for achieving sustainable and durable concrete mixtures for construction.

“Low Carbon Concrete” is the new mantra for our industry, yet many people are unaware that much of the concrete we produce now has a greatly reduced carbon footprint than that of 50 years ago. The factor being that no-one was counting this before. The webinar will look at that point, along with the use of silica fume, especially in conjunction with other SCMs. By improving the overall performance of the concrete – strength and durability parameters – the longevity of the concrete is increased, resulting in less ‘new’ concrete being produced for repairs or rebuilds. Silica Fume is a key component of multiple blend systems, where the higher reactivity compensates for the slower pozzolanic action of Fly Ash or Slag cement. The synergistic pozzolanic effects in the short and long term mean high performance concrete can be produced with much lower Portland cement contents with a cumulative reduction of the CO2 from each SCM. Reference projects will be shown where the CO2 levels have been calculated for comparison and where the cost effectiveness is outlined.

Portland Cement Association’s Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality by 2050 lays out the cement and concrete industry’s commitment to a lower carbon future and how that will be attained. This effort includes both current and emerging technologies to reduce CO2 while continuing to serve the needs of designers, builders, and owners. Today, after decades of research and use in other parts of the world, portland-limestone cements (PLCs) are being embraced by the US and Canada as a ready-to-implement change to lower concrete’s initial CO2 footprint.

Buildings are a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Much has been done to lower operational carbon. However, GHG emissions from construction activities and embodied in the materials used to build buildings can, in certain circumstances, constitute a majority of the 10-15-year GHG footprint of a building. Decarbonization of construction materials is a viable and scalable opportunity for project teams and can contribute to achievement of LEED certification. This webinar will cover basics of GHG accounting and foot printing of construction materials, and introduce the EC3 tool as a viable means for owners, designers and contractors to reduce GHG emissions in their building projects.

Concrete is the world's most widely used construction material due to its versatility, resilience and low cost. The scale of concrete production means that even modest improvements to the sustainability of concrete have the potential to provide significant environmental impacts. A more sustainable concrete mix can be made by considering all of the components (binders, aggregates, water and admixtures) and understanding the ways in which each can contribute to a more sustainable concrete. The attention to concrete sustainability means that known advancements are being widely employed and new approaches are continually being developed.

This is a recorded webinar from May 21, 2019. The presentation provides a general overview of performance-based specifications. A review of the state of prescription in a sampling of project specifications will be first discussed. An approach to implement performance-based specifications consistent with ACI Codes and specifications will be outlined.

This course examines the use of multiple blends of cementitious materials for designing durable concrete structures. The use of ternary and quaternary blends to improve sustainability by designing for a long service life will be discussed.

The objective of this course is to introduce and explain by case studies a new document, “211.7R-15: Guide to Proportioning Concrete Mixes with Ground Limestone and Mineral Fillers”. This main objective is to propose that a blended portland limestone cement (PLC) with supplementary cementitious material (SCM) cement blend can provide an effective synergy to produce a comparable concrete to a portland cement. This course will provide studies that show different ways that PLC and SCM concretes can attain adequate compressive strength and durability to be used in many concrete applications.