Elevated temperatures affect the mixing, placement, and finishing of fresh concrete. In our blogs about mass concrete and hot-weather concreting, we’ve alluded to what happens when concrete cures at elevated […]
As the weather warms up, it’s good to review best practices for hot-weather concreting. You can incorporate these ideas as needed into your project specifications. The American Concrete Institute defines […]
Q: I’m a designer who’s concerned about carbon emissions. Are alternative cements more environmentally-friendly than portland cement? A: It depends. The best way to find out if an alternative cement […]
This is the time of year for graduations. Unfortunately, there won’t be the usual ceremonies and other gatherings to mark the occasion this year. Instead, we offer some classic poems–and […]
For the 2019-2020 school year, the ABET criteria for student outcomes include “an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, […]
Concrete exposure classes are part of a decades-long trend toward performance specifications. Traditionally, specifications were prescriptive. That is, they specified what the concrete must be. So there might be limits […]
While looking for something else, I happened on the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Rules of Practice regarding engineering communications. Here’s what they say about the ethics of technical […]
When we think of cement, it’s usually portland cement, which is made from limestone and clay. In Minnesota, we have to import portland cement because most of the carbonate rock […]
Electric utilities are under pressure to reduce carbon emissions and other pollutants from their power stations. More and more, they are shutting down their coal-fired plants in favor of natural […]
Acceptance testing reflects the compressive strength of the concrete as delivered to the jobsite. We make the cylinders and keep them at the site for 24 hours under—we hope!—controlled conditions, […]