Slab, wall material acoustic performance survey proves concrete soundness

Sources: RMC Research & Education Foundation, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Alexandria, Va.; CP staff A new report, “Compilation of Acoustics Information for Concrete Construction and Other Materials,” assesses sound transmission class (STC), impact insulation class (IIC) and other ASTM standard-measured metrics driving wall and floor-ceiling assembly acoustic performance. The RMC Research & Education Foundation and National Ready Mixed Concrete…

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Seismic performance report proves ICF value vs. steel, wood, timber

Sources: RMC Research & Education Foundation, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Alexandria, Va.; CP staff A U.S. Resiliency Council (USCR) report prepared for NRMCA and the RMC Research & Education Foundation evaluates comparative seismic performance of four commonly used construction types—insulating concrete form, traditional wood, cross laminated timber, steel —for a typical multifamily development in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Memphis.…

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RMC Foundation studies rebar optimization in low-rise C-I-P walls

A new RMC Research & Education Foundation report states the case for engineers, practitioners and code officials to consider design loads versus prescriptive reinforcement requirements for concrete walls framing low-rise buildings in moderate or lower seismic zones.  “Simulation-based Investigation of the Performance of Low-rise Concrete Walls with Low Reinforcement Ratios” covers RMC Foundation-funded research at the University of Washington. Department…

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ORGANIZATIONS – March 2022

Timothy Cullen has joined the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute as director of Technical Activities, tasked with developing and disseminating the PCI Body of Knowledge necessary for designing, fabricating, and constructing precast concrete structures. Before joining PCI, he was vice president of Blue Ridge Design, a structural engineering consulting firm in Winchester, Va., and was previously a design engineer with High Concrete…

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ORGANIZATIONS – OCT 2021

The RMC Research & Education Foundation is collaborating with the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association and its Research, Engineering & Standards Committee (RES) on identification of industry research needs and referral of proposals for potential funding. Members of an RES task group, chaired by Bruce Blair, president of Consumers Concrete in Kalamazoo, Mich., have developed a list of concrete materials…

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Value Tested

RMC Research & Education Foundation books 30 years of cutting-edge programs to advance the concrete industry BY JULIE GARBINI In 1991, the RMC Research & Education Foundation was founded with a modest ambition: To fund the purchase of a million-pound testing machine at the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association’s (NRMCA) A.H. Smith Research Laboratory in College Park, Md. Industry leaders…

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Backing accident prevention kicks off online driver training series

Source: RMC Research and Education Foundation, Silver Spring, Md.

In advance of an online driver training series to be formally released at the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association’s ConcreteWorks Conference & Expo in September, the RMC Research and Education Foundation has posted on YouTube a preview of a two-lesson module addressing truck backing safety.

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