 Experts
characterize sustainable development as having a triple bottom
line: environmental, economic, and social responsibility.
How should the construction industry address the social side
of sustainable development?
Take the PCA Poll
Note: Because of the Memorial Day
holiday, the next issue of the Executive Report is
scheduled for Monday, June 4.
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| Bookmen Stacks
Opens New
Chapter with P.O.S.T. System
An innovative new precast concrete structural
system allowed a Minneapolis condominium developer to optimize
usable space by providing clear, column-free spans while maintaining
shallow floor-to-floor heights.
 For
Bookmen Stacks, a nine-story, 45-unit development in downtown
Minneapolis, structural engineer Ericksen Roed Associates
faced a daunting design challenge. Owner/developer JAS Apartments
needed to maximize the number of parking stalls in the structure.
Any columns in the parking level would reduce the number of
spaces, which would also reduce the number of condominium
units.
To meet the need for open, column-free space, the engineer
created an exposed precast concrete truss system that allows
alternating floors to remain completely free of interior columns.
Called the Ericksen Roed Prestressed Open Space Truss (ER-POST),
the system offers economical floor-to-floor heights while
improving clearances and maximizing usable space.
The system uses precast concrete trusses that support two
floors simultaneously. The trusses are on every other floor,
allowing odd-numbered floors of Bookmen Stacks to be completely
column free to accommodate parking on the first level and
complete flexibility of interior layouts on the other floors.
The system is the subject of an article by PCA's Amy Trygestad
in the May-June issue of the PCI Journal, published
by the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute.
View
or download the article as a PDF file.
Contact Amy Trygestad
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 April
PPI: Steel Prices
Continue Climb
Steel prices
rose for the third straight month in April, climbing 4.4% according
to the April 2007 Producer Price Index. Asphalt prices also
rose for the third straight month, gaining 1.2% in April. Concrete
prices remained flat for the month, and lumber prices declined
0.3%.
During the past year,
steel prices have increased 17.1%. Asphalt prices, led by increasing
oil prices, rose 16% over the same period. Concrete has seen
a relatively modest increase during the last year of 4.6%.
Lumber prices from 2006 to 2007 have declined
by 11 percent.
Source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics. The information is provided by PCA to aid in the
promotion of concrete and cement-based products.
More
information
Contact Craig
Schulz
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Chicago Turns Gray
Alleys Green
When the City of
Chicago committed $900,000 to its “Green Alley”
pilot program, it turned to pervious concrete.
Going green, however, was not the main reason for the alley-renovation
program. The number one complaint of residents along the city’s
1,900 miles of alleys is flooding. By reconstructing the alleys
with permeable surfaces, flooding was reduced and the city saved
money that otherwise would have been used to treat stormwater.
Four anti-flooding models were chosen, each incorporating high-albedo
concrete and either recycled concrete or permeable concrete,
pavers, or asphalt. The permeable pavement was placed in the
center of the alley with high-albedo concrete on the outer edges.
The City of Chicago constructed four pilot alleys in 2006 and
plans to reconstruct more alleys in the future.
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Green House Exhibit Extended
Due to its overwhelming popularity, the National
Building Museum has decided to extend the run of The Green House:
New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design through
June 23, 2007.
The show explores the trends in green technology, materials,
and design that produce homes that are both aesthetically compelling
and environmentally friendly.
Lead
supporters for the “Green House” exhibit include
PCA, American Society of Interior Designers, and Bosch.
The exhibit originally opened in May 2006 and has been viewed
by more than 100,000 visitors. Following its closure, a national
tour of the exhibit will be scheduled.
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Plan for Smog-Eating
Barrier Earns Design Award
A design
that incorporates pollution-eating TX Active cement from Essroc
Cement Corp., earned runner-up honors in the 2007 Metropolis
Next Generation Design Competition.
Designed by Clemson University architecture professors Doug
Hecker and Martha Skinner, the project, called superABSORBER,
is a proposal for a new kind of highway wall barrier system.
The proposed large barrier walls would be porous with large
holes of varying sizes. The holes would give the walls more
surface area, allowing the TX Active photocatalytic cement to
work more effectively in destroying pollutants. Additionally,
the porous walls also would reduce light and noise pollution
as light and sound bounce around inside the structure.
In addition to destroying airborne pollutants, concrete produced
with TX Active will also demonstrate self-cleaning properties.
TX Active effectively reduces the maintenance requirements for
concrete structures or buildings by destroying most organic
and inorganic pollutants that cause concrete discoloration.
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Nickelson Joins
Southeast Cement Association
Robert A. Nickelson has joined the Southeast
Cement Association as pavement applications director for the
State of Georgia.
Nickelson is responsible for soil cement, full-depth reclamation
with cement, and roller-compacted concrete market development
as well as the Association’s outreach and education
efforts to the state and local governments, consulting engineers,
and contractors.
Nickelson is a native Georgian who brings
with him many contractor and local government contacts. Prior
to his 6 years in asphalt industry, Bob has more than 15 years
experience in ready mixed concrete and concrete block sales
and production.
Contact Robert
Nickelson
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| Al Litvin, 1917-2007
Albert (Al) Litvin, retired materials engineer of CTL and
PCA, passed away May 15, 2007, after a long and courageous
battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 90 years old.
From 1961 to 1986, while CTL was operating as a division of
PCA, Litvin served successively as engineer, senior engineer,
principal engineer, and manager of the construction methods
section. Litvin officially retired from CTL in 1987 but continued
to work as a consultant until a few years ago.
Litvin earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University
of Illinois, Urbana in 1938 and did graduate studies at George
Washington University, Washington, D.C. From 1941-1951 he
worked for the National Bureau of Standards in Washington,
D.C., where he was a materials engineer in the concreting
materials section. From 1951 to 1961 he served as supervisor
of the masonry materials section at IIT Research Institute,
Chicago.
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Recommended
Guidelines for Solid Fuel Use in the Cement Industry: Pulverized
solid fuel use at cement plants in North America is universal
and includes bituminous and sub-bituminous coal, petroleum coke,
and any combination of these materials. This new publication
provides guidelines for the safe use of pulverized solid fuel
systems in cement plants, including a discussion of the National
Fire Protection Association and FM Global fire and explosion
prevention standards. Addressed are fire and explosion hazards
related to solid fuel use in the cement industry, fuel handling
and fuel system descriptions, engineering design theory, kiln
system operations, electrical equipment, instrumentation and
safety interlock issues, maintenance and training, and a brief
review of code issues. New technology on fire and explosion
prevention including deflagration venting is also presented
(EB123; $60.00, less discount).
More
information
Masonry
Designers’ Guide, Fifth Edition: Published
by The Masonry Society, this book is one of the most popular
design and teaching resources related to masonry because it
provides comprehensive coverage, extensive code references,
and numerous practical examples. The major design chapters have
been reformatted and rewritten to more closely follow design
methods used for masonry, and to add new information on how
to use the Masonry Standards Joint Committee (MSJC) with model
building codes. The fifth edition complies with the 2005 code
and specification documents written by the MSJC, and provides
a comparison of the differences with the International Building
Code (IBC 2006). Examples are solved using the allowable stress
design procedures and the newer strength design procedures of
the code (LT305; $105.00, no discount).
More
information
Properties
of Self-Consolidating Concrete Containing Type F Fly Ash: The
objective of this research is to improve the understanding of
the properties of SCC containing Class F fly ash and to provide
information that could be used towards the commercialization
of such a concrete. The results indicate that it is possible
to develop an SCC containing Class F fly ash that is high performing
in its fresh state. Furthermore, the addition of fly ash was
shown to reduce superplasticizer dosage, increase workability,
and increase overall chloride permeability resistance. In addition,
it was determined that the different densities between the aggregate
and matrix influence the results of a previously developed paste
rheology model (SN2619; no charge; PDF only).
More
information
Seismic
Detailing of Concrete Buildings, Second Edition: This
publication contains a comprehensive summary of the seismic
detailing requirements contained in Chapter 21 of Building Code
Requirements for Structural Concrete (318-05) and Commentary
(318R-05), which is adopted by reference in the 2006 International
Building Code. A supplemental CD contains electronic files prepared
by PCA for designers’ use. The files on the CD provide
reinforcement details for beams, columns, two-way slabs, walls,
and foundations that meet the ACI 318 seismic provisions. Each
structural element detailing is presented in three formats;
Drawing Exchange Format (DXF), Auto Cad (DWG), and Portable
Document Format (PDF) for your convenience. The CD content is
intended to assist a designer in understanding and implementing
seismic detailing of concrete building structural elements in
his or her design (SP382; $65.00, less discount).
More
information
Promotion
Update, Issue #41, April 2007: In this issue:
NRMCA Promotion Committee Updated on Parking Area Promotion
Plan; Concrete Contractors Play Key Role in Parking Lot Promotion;
The Pacific Southwest Concrete Alliance and the Parking Lot
Promotion Initiative; Help Send a Local Professor to the Professor
Seminars in 2007; ACPA Names Mitchell Director of Airports;
and Pervious Concrete Seminars Offer a Solution to Stormwater
Runoff (uncoded; no charge; PDF only).
View
or download
2007 IEEE Cement Industry Technical Conference Record:
The 2007 Cement Industry Technical Conference,
co-sponsored by IEEE and PCA, offered 27 technical presentations
on topics relating to power generation, distribution, general
practices, drives, automation, and environmental and safety
issues. The annual proceedings provide an important means of
staying current with new technologies and practices. The CD
contains subject and author indexes and is also completely searchable
(CD072; $60.00, no discount).
More
information
Design/Build
Approach Big Success for Pine Brook RCC Dam: This
four-page case study describes how for the first time the design/build
approach was formally used to expedite construction of an RCC
dam in Colorado. The dam was built to provide water supply to
Pine Brook Water District’s clients near Boulder, Colorado.
The owner elected to construct the dam using the design/build
approach to meet an extremely aggressive schedule and budget.
The new RCC dam required approximately 36,000 yd3 (27,500 m3)
of RCC and 1,600 yd3 (1,220 m3) of air-entrained concrete for
upstream facing. The design and construction cost was approximately
$4.5 million. The price efficiency and schedule benefit were
realized, in-part through contractual approach, simplified design,
and productive team coordination (PL466; $15.00 for a pack of
25, no discount; PDF is free).
More
information
FDR
with Cement Pays Off for Downtown Streets of Reno: This
case history describes the use of full-depth reclamation (FDR)
with cement to rehabilitate downtown streets in Reno, Nev. Even
with the challenges of project-specific limitations, such as
the maintaining of curb lip elevations, the presence of cobbles
in the subgrade, insufficient or contaminated base, shallow
utilities, an urban setting, and high traffic volumes, FDR was
selected as the best engineering and economic alternative (PL622;
$7.50 for a pack of 25, no discount; PDF is free).
More
information
Project
Profiles: Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavements: Published
by the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute, this brochure
showcases eight projects across North America. The profiles
demonstrate that permeable pavers work in practically every
climate and soil, addressing local, state, and national mandates
to reduce runoff and water pollution (SR284; $2.00, no discount).
More
information
|
| |
For more information
or to register, contact Julie
Lisiecki.
|
ACBM
Undergraduate Faculty Enhancement Workshop
June 26-28, 2006
|
Pulverized
Fuel Guidelines for the Cement Industry
September 18, 2007
Bethlehem, Pa.
|
Aggregates
and Chemical Admixtures for Use in Concrete
October 1-2
|
Kiln
Process
October 1-4
|
Mill
Grinding
October 22-24 |
Concrete:
Principles & Practices
October 22-25 |
Troubleshooting:
Solutions to Concrete Field Problems
November 5-7
|
Cement
Manufacturing for Process Engineers
November 5-8
|
|
| |
NRMCA
2007 Concrete Technology Forum: Focus on High Performance
Concrete
May 22-24
Dallas
More
information |
RCC Pavement
Design and Construction Seminar
May 24, 2007
Nashville, Tenn.
November 6, 2007
Atlanta
More
information
|
12th
International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement
July 8-13, 2007
Montreal, Quebec
More
information |
Pervious
Concrete—
A Stormwater Solution
Detroit—July 10
Lexington, Ky.—July 12
Washington, DC—July 24
Pittsburgh—July 26
Minneapolis—Aug. 7
Milwaukee—Aug. 9
More
information
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| The
Executive Report is distributed free of charge to members
of PCA and to individuals interested in PCA activities or
the cement, concrete, and construction industries.
|
View or download
back issues |
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Skokie, Illinois 60077
847.966.6200 info@cement.org
500 New Jersey Ave. N.W.
7th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20001
202.408.9494 fax 202.408.0877 |
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©2007 Portland Cement Association
All rights reserved
The Portland Cement Association conducts market development,
research, education, and government affairs work on behalf
of
its members—cement companies in the United States and
Canada.
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