The Survey of Insurance Costs for Multifamily Buildings Constructed with Wood-frame and Concrete study compares insurance premium quotes for builder's risk insurance (during construction) and commercial property insurance (during occupancy) for a Reference Building built using combustible (wood-frame) and noncombustible (concrete) construction in five Reference Cities. Please also check out this Concrete inFocus article on the project.

The Performance-Engineered Mixtures project was spearheaded by the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center (CP Tech Center). Sponsors included the Federal Highway Administration, 19 state departments of transportation and four national trade associations (the Foundation funded the participation of NRMCA in this project). The final report is available here while a website with comprehensive details is linked to here.   

The report Compilation of Acoustic Information for Concrete Construction and Other Materials includes details of acoustic performance for concrete floor-ceiling assemblies as well as for concrete walls such as pan joist, flat slab, ICF and concrete metal deck. The report also includes information on acoustic performance of other building materials and additional resources.

The U.S. Resiliency Council's report Earthquake Performance Comparison of Multifamily, Multistory Apartment Building Constructed of Various Materials evaluated the comparative seismic performance of four commonly used construction types, including traditional wood framing, cross laminated timber (CLT), steel framing and concrete built using insulated concrete forms (ICF) for a typical multifamily building in three cities: Los Angeles, Seattle, and Memphis.

Guide to Concrete Overlays of Asphalt Parking Lots - 2nd Edition - This guide provides information and guidance in areas including, but not limited to, assessing the integrity of the exiting pavement, selecting project candidates, pavement design principles and design life, managing parking lot drainage, and dealing with entry evaluations of adjacent buildings. The 2nd edition, released in June 2022, also includes additional information. Additional Features: AutoCAD files that complement this Guide are available. Please contact contact Jennifer LeFevre for more information. A short video introducing the use of concrete overlays of asphalt parking lots may be accessed here.

The Concrete Strength Model was developed to provide concrete producers with a simple model to help them optimize their concrete mixtures for strength without overdesigning them. Materials available include a Report, Model Spreadsheet, Spreadsheet Instructions and a Trial Batch Mixtures Spreadsheet.

Simulation-Based Investigation of the Performance of Low-Rise Concrete Walls with Low Reinforcement Ratios - This report presents the findings of a simulation-based investigation of low-rise, lightly reinforced concrete walls to identify opportunities for achieving performance objectives while using less and more widely spaced steel reinforcement than is currently allowed by the ACI Code.

The Role of Air Content and Supplementary Cementitious Materials Replacement in Deicing Salt Joint Damage in Concrete - The formation of calcium oxychloride in cold conditions due to reactions between calcium chloride deicing salt and calcium hydroxide in the concrete is known to cause significant damage to pavement concretes. This final report represents the results of a project carried out to evaluate the role of air content and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in mitigating calcium oxychloride damage in concrete.

Predictive Model for Void Content and Strength of Pervious Concrete Pavements Installed in the Field - Field testing of pervious concrete pavements (PCP) and laboratory testing of collected specimens were used to identify a non-destructive, simple and reliable in-situ test to control the quality of PCP jobs by lightweight deflectometer testing. The results of the field testing were extended beyond quality-control purposes to obtain in-situ infiltration rates to estimate the required compaction efforts for future projects and also to estimate structural properties for layer thickness design.

A Scientific Investigation into Concrete Durability - Through a collaboration between the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub), Oregon State University (OSU), and the University of New Brunswick, this study will help to improve the durability of concrete pavements by improving the scientific understanding of pavement distresses, especially regarding alkali-silica reaction (ASR) and freeze-thaw (FT). Please note that this document is over 19MB in size.

Guide to Concrete Trails - More and more communities are embracing recreational trails. The Guide to Concrete Trails provides background, details and information about the entire process of installing a concrete trail. There are three versions of the Guide available, including a high-resolution PDF (please note that this version is 45 MB and may take a long time to download), a low-resolution PDF (8 MB), and a PDF optimized for viewing on a tablet (5 MB). To receive the high-resolution version of the Guide on a USB key and/or a hardcopy, please contact Jennifer LeFevre.

PavementDesigner.org - This online pavement design tool offers features and benefits never before available to the pavement design community. This resource is free of charge and was created for city, county, and consultant engineers, academia, or anyone involved in design of roadway industrial, and parking area pavements. It was created through a collaboration between the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, the Portland Cement Association and the American Concrete Pavement Association, with co-funding provided by the RMC Research & Education Foundation. Additional resources available include a webinar recording of how to use it and a PDF of that presentation.

Improving Specifications to Resist Frost Damage in Modern Concrete Mixtures - This report was part of a 12-state pooled fund study examining frost damage on air-entrained concrete treated with salts, including how any impact may be mitigated. The link to the study and other supporting materials is included in the project name above.

Impact of Extended Mixing Time to Discharge on Concrete Durability and Performance - Performed by the New Jersey Institute of Technology, this project examines whether the current 90-minute time limit for the use of ready mixed concrete could be extended without compromising durability and performance.

Evaluation of Chloride Limits for Reinforced Concrete - This report represents Phase A of a two-phase report and includes technical data that will support a code change that will change the limits to the basis of cementitious materials used in the ACI 318 Building Code for Structural Concrete.

ICFMA Thermal Study Summary and Test Data - This is a summary of the Insulating Concrete Form Manufacturers Association's thermal comparison study between ICF and wood/steel frame assemblies. The link includes the study summary and detailed test data.

Erosion Design Reports - The goal of these reports is to help designers assess whether the natural, compacted subgrade at a project site is adequate for long-term pavement performance or if subgrade stabilization or a subbase is required to meet design criteria.

Design Methodology for Subgrades and Bases Under Concrete Roads and Parking Lots

Test Methods & Results of Erosion Potential of Commonly Used Subgrade and Base Materials

PDF of Both of the Above Reports Combined

Examination and Evaluation of ACI 347.3R-13 "Guide to Formed Concrete Surfaces" - This report was funded by the American Society of Concrete Contractors Education, Research & Development Foundation, the ACI Foundation and the RMC Research & Education Foundation.

Hurricane Katrina Forensic Study - The full study very large for download so a CD and/or hardcopy is also available. Alternatively, an Executive Summary is available for download.

Building Information Modeling Strategic Plan Completed - The Strategic Development Council (SDC) of the American Concrete Institute's ACI Foundation has released the Building Information Modeling (BIM) Strategic Plan. The development of the Strategic Plan was funded by the RMC Research & Education Foundation and the Charles Pankow Foundation. The Strategic Plan may be accessed here.

National Institute of Standards and Technology's Virtual Cement and Concrete Testing Laboratory Consortium- Information on the VCCTL project at NIST may be viewed here. Educational VCCTL software may be accessed here. Another resource - Modeling and Measuring the Structure and Properties of Cement-Based Materials - may be found here.

A webinar on the VCCTL and its successful application took place on June 3, 2013. You can click here to access the recorded webinar on YouTube. Dr. Vichit-Vadakan's webinar presentation may be accessed here. You may also view the panelists' presentations below:

Dr. Jeffrey Bullard
Mr. Jon Belkowitz
Dr. Wilasa Vichit-Vadakan

SCC Formwork Pressure Study Reports Available - The final report is very large so we have also made an Executive Summary available. Copies of the report on CD or as a hardcopy may be requested by contacting Jennifer LeFevre.