NRMCA Begins Study on Permeability Test Procedures

The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association Research Laboratory (NRMCA-RL) has partnered in a pooled fund study (PFS) sponsored by the Indiana Department of Transportation (IDOT) called Evaluation of Test Methods for Permeability (Transport) and Development of Performance Guidelines for Durability.

The PFS was recently approved after sufficient DOTs had joined. Purdue University is the project contractor and NRMCA-RL is a subcontractor to Purdue. This PFS broadens the scope of an another NRMCA-RL project, An Evaluation of Performance-Based Alternatives to the Durability Provisions of the ACI 318 Building Code, which is being funded by the Portland Cement Association and the RMC Research & Education Foundation.

This study seeks to:

• Evaluate existing permeability (transport) test procedures;

• Develop new or improve existing test procedures to evaluate permeability (transport) properties of concrete;

• Correlate permeability (transport) properties and measured material response to existing durability tests; and

• Develop guidelines to relate permeability, exposure conditions and field performance for use in specification and quality control processes.

The findings of this PFS are expected to significantly help promote performance-based specifications in concrete. The overall value of this four-year study is more than $1.2 million. The NRMCA research team will collaborate with Dr. Tommy Nantung of IDOT, professors Jason Weiss and Jan Olek with Purdue University and Professor Doug Hooton with University of Toronto, who will serve as a consultant to NRMCA. A study advisory committee has also been set, consisting of the participating DOTs and the Federal Highway Administration. In addition, there is an industry review group to advise the NRMCA study.

For more information, visit www.pooledfund.org/projectdetails.asp?id=406&status=4.

Source: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association