News Detail

ACI Begins Development of New Durability and Service Life Standards

3/5/2018

The American Concrete Institute recently approved the development of new standards from ACI Committee 201, Durability, and ACI Committee 365, Service Life Prediction.

Written in mandatory language ACI standards include both design codes and construction specifications. ACI Committee 201 is working to develop a new standard for obtaining durability in concrete design and construction.

“ACI 201.2R-16 Guide to Concrete Durability’ contains a lot of useful guidance and is non-mandatory,” said R. Doug Hooton, Professor and NSERC/CAC Industrial Research Chair in Concrete Durability and Sustainability, Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto, and Secretary of Committee 201. “Because ACI 318-14 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete is mainly focused on life safety in the design of structures and is aimed at the licensed design professional, and specifications, such as ACI 301-16, are aimed at the contractor, there is very little information on durability provided. To improve on the current situation, the American Concrete Institute has given approval to the ACI durability committee to develop mandatory standard practices focused on achieving concrete durability in both design and construction.”

Similarly, ACI Committee 365 is developing standard practices for engineers performing service life assessments. The committee’s mission is to develop guides and standards using service life prediction tools for the effective management of structures in service.

“I am excited that our ACI committee on service life prediction is going to take on the challenge of developing standard practices for service life prediction,” said Kyle Stanish, Chair, Committee 365. “The objective is to outline the minimum process for performing a service life prediction, independent of the specific model or approach that is to be used.  This will provide uniformity and clarity for the practitioner, and assist the end user in interpreting and comparing the results of different service life predictions, and, ultimately, different approaches for achieving desired life of a concrete structure.  Developing a standard procedure for service life prediction – with minimum expectations for validation, documentation, interpretation, and implementation – creates a tool for concrete professionals to meet these goals on a level playing field that will benefit industry and society as a whole.”

Both ACI Committee 201, Durability, and ACI Committee 365, Service Life Prediction, are accepting applications for committee members interested in helping prepare these two standards.  Learn more and submit an application at www.concrete.org.