Engineers, architects, contractors, educators, manufacturers, and material representatives from all over the world will assemble at the American Concrete Institute’s (ACI) Spring 2010 Convention, March 21-25, 2010, in Chicago. They will provide input on concrete industry codes, specifications, and guides throughout the more than 300 committee meetings and 35 technical sessions. In addition, attendees will participate in technical tours, forums discussing pertinent industry topics, student competitions, networking events, and events celebrating career and industry achievements.

A forum on the reclassification of fly ash as a hazardous material will prepare attendees to assess whether that action is a step forward or backward. The forum, coordinated by ACI Committee 123, will outline what implications the reclassification of fly ash will have on advances the concrete industry has made toward sustainable concrete construction.

ACI also announced several new sustainability focused events taking place during the Spring 2010 Convention. ACI will unveil The Sustainable Concrete Guide - Strategies and Examples, the first in a series of guides on sustainable concrete published by the U.S. Green Concrete Council and available for purchase through ACI. This comprehensive resource on concrete and sustainability will provide design professionals with insight on specific strategies for the best use of concrete in high-performance, long-lasting green buildings. The guide will feature case studies, technical data/references, and numerous practices prepared for immediate implementation.

Also new at the spring convention, the ACI-CMPBS Pervious Concrete Student Competition, cosponsored by ACI and the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems (CMPBS), will challenge students to design and cast a pervious concrete specimen that maximizes permeability while also maintaining good splitting tensile strength.

To promote sustainability with concrete, two prize categories are offered: Specimen Testing and Sustainability Report. Teams entering the Sustainability Report prize category must submit a report on the sustainability benefits of pervious concrete detailing environmental impact. The Specimen Testing category will place emphasis on the method, mixture design, and procedure used to create the team’s specimen. Each team may enter one or both categories. Results for the Student Competitions will be announced during the Student Lunch on Monday, March 22.

Additionally, a technical session titled Sustainable Design in Structural Concrete will be held Wednesday, March 24. This technical session will discuss and explain methods for reducing the environmental impact associated with concrete materials and construction of structural elements. Examples highlighting cutting-edge methods and applications for sustainable concrete production, material optimization, and function-specific design will be included in the session.

Other technical sessions of possible interest to structural engineers during the convention include the following:

• Durability and long-term performance of self-consolidating concrete;
• Innovations in fire design on concrete structures;
• Ultra high-performance concrete for bridges;
• Research in progress;
• Design using the strut and tie method;
• Structural health monitoring for bridge design and evaluation;
• Building information modeling in the concrete industry; and
• International session: Tall buildings.

Several technical tours are scheduled to coincide with the convention’s “Xtreme Concrete” theme and emphasize Chicago’s extreme architecture and concrete projects. A tour of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) will walk attendees through the ongoing $228 million upgrade of the MWRD facilities, $90 million of which is cast-in-place concrete structures.

Additionally, the convention will host special events celebrating the career achievements of ACI Past President Anthony E. Fiorato and the retirement of ACI Executive Vice President William R. Tolley. Other networking events, including the Women in ACI Reception sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers, Student and Young Professional Networking Reception, and a blues-themed Concrete Mixer, will be held throughout the convention.

Convention attendees who register by Feb. 22, 2010, will receive reduced registration rates. In addition, the Sheraton Chicago is offering convention attendees a special rate for rooms, based on availability.

For more information on the ACI Spring 2010 Convention, call 248-848-3795 or visit www.aciconvention.org