ACI is accepting submissions through February 28 for an award established this year to recognize individuals or teams highlighting concrete’s role related to sustainability.
Read MoreYear: 2010
ConExpo-Con/Agg paves way for “Green Roads Summit”
A presentation, “Climate Change, Sustainable Transportation and Economic Competitiveness,” will kick off a one-day program during 2011 ConExpo-Con/Agg (March 22-26, Las Vegas), aimed at spotlighting “green” highway construction practice and the latest environmental information affecting jobsites and road programs. Morning general sessions will span emerging trends in sustainability, including FHWA’s highway criteria tool and pilot projects.
Read MoreMIT: Operation accounts for lion’s share of structures’ CO2 emissions
Preliminary findings from Concrete Sustainability Hub research aimed at a new life-cycle assessment (LCA) model suggest that service phase encompasses 85 percent and 90 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, respectively, from highway pavements and residential buildings. Ongoing studies at the MIT-hosted Hub will quantify paving and building materials’ cradle-to-grave environmental costs, yielding what staff contends is the most comprehensive LCA model to date.
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Cemex carbon footprint tool paces sustainability curve
Source: Cemex, S.A.B. de C.V., Monterrey, Mexico
A tool under phased, global deployment enables Cemex to measure greenhouse gas emissions tied to production and delivery of cement, ready mixed and aggregate products. A first of its kind in building materials, it assists customers calculating a project’s carbon footprint. Cemex will begin publishing product-specific carbon content in selected operations during 2011, with rollout schedule reflecting market requirements, and include related performance indicators in its annual Sustainable Development Report.
Read MoreHanson extends LEED calculator to broader pipe, precast universe
Technology applied to upwards of 400 Hanson Pipe & Precast orders since its 2009 introduction has been modified for additional use by customers of sister Pressure Pipe and Structural Precast divisions. The LEED v2 calculator quantifies product criteria the U.S. Green Building Council recognizes in Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design certification.
Read MoreStimulus funds spur fiber cement recycling for new Hardie line
A $750,000 Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) grant, supported by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will help update fiber cement recycling at James Hardie’s Peru, Ill., operation.
Read MoreGate Precast proves Tennessee’s SHARPest safety & health-wise operator
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development scheduled an early December presentation of an award recognizing Gate Precast/Ashland as the state’s largest SHARP (Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program) Certified manufacturing facility. SHARP cites employers with exemplary safety and health management systems.
Read MoreTXI process turns concrete curing inside out
Under a “Practical solution to concrete shrinkage” banner, TXI ES&C has branded an internal curing process, intraCure, for portland cement-based products designed with the company’s rotary kiln lightweight aggregate.
Read MoreACI 318-11 draft: Adhesive anchors, sulfate resistance, mix design record extension
ACI is accepting comments through January 17 on revisions to Committee 318’s benchmark, Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Commentary.
Read MoreASTM guide covers scanning electron microscopy for hardened concrete
Absence of standardized procedures for a method used since the 1960s to examine concrete specimens’ mix constituents, water/cement ratio and related quality control attributes has led to ASTM C1723–10 Standard Guide for Examination of Hardened Concrete Using Scanning Electron Microscopy. The new guide assists petrographers in performing scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and maximize the techniques’ utility in examining concrete, mortar and stucco specimens.
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