International Concrete Abstracts Portal

Reinforced concrete sections have typically been the most used material for hardened protective construction due to their mass and the ductility provided by the reinforcement. The additional mass of these sections reduces deflections and increases dampening, which reduces vibrations. Even for the occasional occurrence of hardened steel structures, the foundation is comprised of reinforced concrete. Reinforced concrete structures are hardened for a multitude of reasons. Some of the most common include antiterrorism, force protection, equivalent protection for quantity distance arc violations, personnel protection, prevention of prompt propagation, asset protection, and elastic response during repeated detonations. Many of the structures used in the Department of Defense (DoD), for these purposes, were built in the United States (US) during the World War II era (1941-1945) for a rapid increase in production and storage of explosives. This puts the average age of many of these facilities at close to 80 years-old, which is past their originally intended service life. This paper presents a structural health and visual inspection technique developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering and Support Center Huntsville (CEHNC) Facilities Explosives Safety Mandatory Center of Expertise (FES MCX) and the Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC) Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL) for the inspection of reinforced concrete earth covered magazines (ECMs) [9]. This inspection process has been utilized to inspect over 1500 earth covered magazines across multiple countries over the last decade and aid DoD installations in planning and budgeting for concrete repairs and ECM replacements. The CEHNC FES MCX partners with ERDC for concrete coring and testing of samples to determine the estimated remaining service life of concrete structures based on the carbonation front of cored samples determined by the carbonation tests in relationship to the steel reinforcement. Examples of historical application will be given, and details provided on how these methods can lead to improved life-cycle cost and decision making.

Reinforced concrete sections have typically been the most used material for hardened protective construction due to their mass and the ductility provided by the reinforcement. The additional mass of these sections reduces deflections and increases dampening, which reduces vibrations. Even for the occasional occurrence of hardened steel structures, the foundation is comprised of reinforced concrete. Reinforced concrete structures are hardened for a multitude of reasons. The most common include antiterrorism, force protection, equivalent protection for quantity distance arc violations, personnel protection, prevention of prompt propagation, asset protection, and elastic response during repeated intentional detonations. Many of the structures in the United States (US) used by the Department of Defense (DoD), to accommodate a rapid increase in production and storage of explosives were built during World War II (1941-1945). Facilities used for explosives production, maintenance, research and development (R&D), demolition, testing, and training are commonly referred to as Explosives Operating Locations (EOLs). This puts the average age of many of these facilities close to 80 years-old, which is past their originally intended service life. This paper presents a structural health and visual inspection (SHVI) technique developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Facilities Explosives Safety Mandatory Center of Expertise (FES MCX), the University of Oklahoma, and the Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC) Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL) for the inspection of reinforced concrete Explosives Operations Location (EOL) facilities and live-fire training facilities [9]. This inspection process has been utilized to inspect over 1500 structures across multiple countries over the last decade and aid DoD installations in planning and budgeting for necessary repairs and future recapitalization priorities. This work does not include application to anti-terrorism or force protection in hardened structures for conventional weapon effects. This process has also been modified for use in live-fire training operations in concrete facilities and coupled with analyses to determine facility adequacy for explosives operations with desired charge weights, based on the given facility’s current structural health rating and its analyzed ability to remain elastic during repeated intentional detonations. The FES MCX partners with ERDC for concrete coring, materials analysis, and testing of samples to determine the estimated remaining service life of concrete structures based on the carbonation front of cored samples determined by the carbonation tests in relationship to the steel reinforcement. Examples of historical application will be given, and details provided on how these methods can lead to improved life-cycle cost for concrete structures and paired with design development criteria for optimal results.

To support ACI’s expanding focus on advancing the concrete industry, ACI Foundation hosts Technology Forums, innovation-focused educational and networking events featuring presentations by researchers. This article is the first of three articles that summarize the presentations made at the 2024 Technology Forum.

ACI Foundation Fellowships offer opportunities for educational experiences, mentorship, collaboration, and career and personal growth. Two students shared their journeys and takeaways as Fellowship recipients.

Currently, about 50% of all ready mixed concrete in the United States is produced using Type IL cement. However, in comparison to mixtures with Type I/II cement, there is a lack of information concerning constructability with such mixtures. To create a knowledge base, with a grant from the ACI Foundation, the American Society of Concrete Contractors and Giatec Scientific Inc. are collecting design characteristics of well-performing mixtures with Type IL cement for interior, non-air-entrained concrete floor slabs.