Gleaning the best solutions from World of Concrete 2016
Seventeen team members from Votorantim Cimentos’ North American ready-mix businesses attended World of Concrete this February to learn more about the latest solutions for issues that come up time and time again in the field. We were also on the hunt for advances in equipment and operations processes that will translate into faster, better service for you.
It was the largest show in seven years, drawing 60,000+ industry professionals and more than 1,500 exhibitors to 745,000 square feet of show space at the Westgate Last Vegas Resort and Casino.
Hands-on demonstrations and competitions filled 90% of the parking lots around the resort.
With construction booming worldwide in the wake of the 2008 slowdown, show officials report that attendance was up significantly over last year’s gathering.
Shrinkage and curling issues
A perennial problem for slabs on grade is the control of shrinkage and curling, especially in automated warehouse settings. Replacing expensive forklift tires and repairing the joints themselves can cost owners millions.
Prairie Material Regional Sales Manager Chris Rapp and Sr. Account Manager Joe Ungari attended the three-hour seminar on shrinkage presented by floor expert Scott Tarr. “There were more than 400 people in the room – owners, engineers, ready-mix producers, contractors, all looking for solutions,” says Ungari.
The Takeaway: New approaches that reduce or virtually eliminate joints may cost more, but they will save money in the long run.
“Many business owners favor these solutions because they’re less disruptive on the operations side,” says Rapp. Tarr presented several options, including the use of Type K cement with steel rebar or adding steel fibers and armored control joints. “At Prairie, we are seeing a number of unreinforced floors at an eight-inch depth using Strux fibers and dowels at the construction joints,” Rapp notes.
Mix design, with special focus on the types of aggregates used, was a hot topic. Some coarse aggregates are associated with increased shrinkage due to differences in elastic moduli. Others do not work effectively with shrinkage-reducing admixtures (SRAs). The correct gradation of aggregates also affects quality.
“Scott explained that concrete designed with low water-to-cement ratios and coarse aggregate with the right size, gradation and content helps with shrinkage and curling,” reports Ken Kalafut, Quality Control Technician at Prairie Material. “Use of SRAs is essential in our market, where we have access to quality aggregate.”
Moisture in slabs on grade
Moisture migration through slabs can cause costly floor coating failures and slow down construction schedules. Nat Morlando, Technical Solutions Manager with Canada Building Materials (CBM) and Ian Henry, CBM Technical Services Field Manager attended a technical session with industry expert Peter Craig, who outlined newer technologies that reduce the drying time before concrete can be covered with tile or carpeting.
“Speed of construction is critical to recouping the owner’s investment,” Morlando says, “so the pressure to finish jobs quickly is enormous.” The risks are huge, too: every year, floor covering failures cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Takeaway: Most current strategies come with a high price tag, but as with floor joints, prevention is wiser than remediation. The emerging best practice is to place concrete on a vapor retarder and use a rapid-drying mix.
“In Canada we’re exploring the offering from Barrier One, an admixture that holds great promise for reducing the time to achieve appropriate RH levels from 90 days to 20 days at a more reasonable first cost,” Henry notes. CBM is looking for the right project, the right customer and the right contractor to do a controlled test of this approach, he adds.
Tools and approaches for greater efficiency
Although WOC is mainly for concrete contractors, it’s a good place to find out what’s new from additive vendors and equipment manufacturers, says Bill Byrer, Procurement Manager for Prestige Concrete Products in Florida. The ideas shared often turn into productivity gains that enable us to serve contractors better in all markets. “We met with Euclid Chemical and Sika, our main supplier,” Byrer says. “We also checked out conveyor trucks and pumps from Putzmeister, compressor trucks from Ingersoll Rand and plants from Hagan.” All of Votorantim Cimentos North American businesses are refreshing their truck fleets, standardizing on Mack chassis (watch video) and Contech mixer drums for ready-mix operations, says Matt Clarage, Maintenance Director at Prairie Material.
“We were glad to see the setups live at the show. The chassis are giving the cabins a more car-like experience. Additionally, the newer automatic transmissions are adding a lower gear ratio that will make slow-moving operations smoother and safer,” Clarage adds.
While at WOC Clarage also checked out innovations for monitoring moisture in aggregates and new reclaimer systems that will allow a greater percentage of returned concrete to be safely recycled rather than hauled away.
To help dispatch run more smoothly across the Sunshine State, Prestige is adding Trackit software from Command Alkon to all trucks, a technology that drew strong interest at WOC, Byrer says.
The tablet-based system provides GPS, real-time truck tracking and electronic ticketing.
It also interfaces with the trucks’ ECMs, allowing diagnostic analysis such as engine temperature, speed, braking, oil and lubricants to feed directly into the dispatch system for preventive monitoring.
Customers will also like the convenience of Trackit, Byer says: “The electronic ticket can be generated at the job site, the customer can sign it and get a confirming email immediately, which keeps customers up-to-date on costs and usage.” Interest in colored concrete drew Nat Morlando to exhibits on granularized color pigment systems, especially the InCrete system from Euclid Chemicals. InCrete provides a dry product that provides more consistent color with less effect on slump and other concrete characteristics, along with less spoilage and less dust than bag or liquid color systems, Morlando reports.
More game-changers on the horizon
With its recent success in capturing interest among builders of mid-rise structures, the timber industry poses a significant challenge to concrete providers. Local building codes are being adopted that allow timber structures up to nine stories in Canada and 12 stories in Portland, Oregon.
During the conference, Concrete Construction magazine did a video interview with Christi Collins from the American Concrete Pumping Association, discussing the threat and steps being taken by industry associations to combat this competition.
Concrete Construction Correspondent Joe Nasvik reported on the rise of basalt-reinforced fiber polymer rebar (BFRP), which will not corrode in service. Seven times lighter than steel while just as strong, BFRP is marketed under the brand name GatorBar.
Neuvokas, the Northern Michigan startup that created GatorBar, boasts a novel manufacturing process that makes the new product competitive with uncoated steel. GatorBar will undergo extensive testing this year before rolling out to specifiers. Check out the GatorBar video.
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