News Detail

ACI 318-19 Revised in Full Color

8/7/2019

In last month's President’s Memo, I gave a brief history of the ACI 318 Structural Concrete Building Code. In this memo, I would like to briefly summarize the ACI 318-19 Building Code, which was published in June. This is the first edition of the Code since the reorganized format of the Code was published in 2014. By most measures, the ACI 318-19 Code has some of the most significant technical changes since the 1971 Code. I commend ACI Committee 318, under the leadership of Jack Moehle, for the wealth of technical changes transferred from research and practice into the Code.

Although the format of the 2019 Code is the same as the 2014 Code, there are considerable changes in the technical content and appearance of the Code. One area of technical change is that the Code addresses higher-strength reinforcing steel for many applications in structural concrete member design. Also, for the first time, an appendix to the Code provides requirements for nonlinear analysis when used for seismic design. In addition to numerous technical changes, the Code for the first time includes full-color illustrations.

It is anticipated that ACI 318-19 will be referenced in the 2021 International Building Code (IBC). You can learn more about the content additions and the revisions to the Code in an article from ACI 318-19 Chair Moehle, which appears in this issue of Concrete International.

ACI 318-19 is available as a PDF download, or subscribers to the ACI Collection of Concrete Codes, Specifications, and Practices (formerly the Manual of Concrete Practice) can view it online. Of course, the traditional print edition is available as a softcover book. In addition, a hardcover book will be available.

To support the acceptance and awareness of ACI 318-19, the Institute is planning several supplemental resources, including ACI 318 seminars, an update to the ACI Reinforced Concrete Design Handbook, and an online subscription called ACI 318 Plus.

The seminars, named "ACI 318-19: Changes to the Concrete Design Standard," will begin in September of this year and be held at over 20 locations around the United States, plus additional locations around the world. These seminars are being crafted to help users navigate what is new in the updated Code, and the first will be held at the ACI World Headquarters in Farmington Hills, MI, on September 12, 2019. An on-demand course will be available later this year on the ACI website.

The very popular ACI Reinforced Concrete Design Handbook that provides professionals involved in the design of structural concrete buildings and other types of structures with detailed examples and explanation is being updated for alignment with ACI 318-19. It is scheduled to be released late this year in both digital and print formats. Revisions were made in the text of multiple chapters to coordinate with the changes in ACI 318-19. The design examples have also been updated to demonstrate the technical changes in ACI 318-19.

In response to how professionals around the world access information and interact with technical content, a new subscription product is also being developed. Called ACI 318 Plus, this product will provide users with digital/interactive access to ACI 318-19 along with links (in-document access) to related resources. ACI 318 Plus will provide enhanced digital search features through all Code provisions and commentary. Users will be able to make digital notes alongside ACI 318-19 provisions and commentary, and these will also be searchable. There will be additional manual navigation functionality by section, by chapter, and/or by provision. Although ACI 318 Plus will be optimized for desktop or laptop computers, it will nonetheless be accessible on tablets and mobile devices.

Additional information on ACI 318 Plus will become available closer to its anticipated launch in mid-2020. For updates, visit the ACI 318 Building Code Portal at www.concrete.org/aci318.

Randall W. Poston