College Concrete Competitions

The NJIT ball after loading with FERRO®, showing considerable post-crack behavior at a 2% volume addition rate

FORTA® Corporation has been a long time supporter of college concrete competitions such as Concrete Canoe Competitions and Concrete Bowling Ball Competitions.  Our family of fibers have been donated for decades to support college construction and engineering programs that challenge teams to demonstrate the effect of fibers in reinforcing concrete.

The competitions provide students with the ability to apply practical principles they have learned in the classroom.  The students are able to display design, construction, technical, presentation and leadership skills which are imperative skills to enter the job market.  In addition, students learn team and project management skills that are also needed for their future careers.

FORTA® fibers have been used in concrete canoe and bowling ball competitions for many years.  In 1995 Louisiana Tech University  placed in the top 5 with their concrete concrete canoe, utilizing fibers from FORTA®.  Recently at the ACI 2014 Spring Convention in Reno, NV the New Jersey Institute of Technology used FORTA® products in their specimen  and placed 3^rd in the presentation portion of the competition.  

The FRC Bowling Ball Competition continues to grow and mature, to the degree that ACI has requested more frequent competitions.  The competition includes a variety of performance and strength requirements, including an actual bowling score as an exciting highlight of the competition.  The competition appears to be a program that is well-received by the students and universities, and creates much discussion and experience with a wide variety of fiber types being used.

1995 Louisiana Tech University Concrete Canoe Regional Competition

For more information, please visit: www.forta-ferro.com

FORTA® Career Opportunities

2014 represents the 36^th year in the fiber reinforcement business for FORTA® Corporation of Grove City, Pennsylvania.  As the first of its kind, FORTA® has developed, produced, and promoted a complete family of synthetic fiber reinforcements for a wide variety of concrete applications.  These fibers have involved FORTA® in projects ranging from precast vaults, tanks, and wall panels, to site-cast floors, parking lots, and bridge decks.  These products and projects have helped change the face of concrete reinforcement worldwide.

FORTA® is currently recruiting Independent Sales Representatives for the following territories:

• New England
• New York City
• Northern California
• Tennessee
• Mississippi/Louisiana
• Northern Texas/Oklahoma
• South Texas
• Oregon
• Idaho/Montana/Wyoming

This is a 100% commissioned sales representative position.  You will be responsible for your own expenses.  However, you will benefit from an industry-leading commission program, as well as product, technical, sales and engineering support.  We offer an excellent training program to introduce you to the wide variety of products and services.

For more information, please visit: http://www.forta-ferro.com/contact-information/career-opportunities/

Slab on Ground Concrete

The 5” thick slab on ground for the Yuma Federal Courthouse expansion posed a considerable number of construction issues for the engineers, designers, concrete supplier, and contractors.  For a variety of reasons, measures to reduce shrinkage and the resulting cracking were paramount in many construction areas.  With day-time temperatures reaching 100 degrees F in windy conditions, pours were adjusted to a night-time schedule requiring three all-night placements.  

The slab also contained myriad areas of cut-outs, slab protrusions for water and electrical conduits, and many slab interruptions for walls, small rooms, and offices.  The 3,500 psi concrete design was also optimized to reduce the tendency for shrinkage by increasing coarse aggregate size and using a relatively low cement content, thereby maintaining a low W/C ratio.  One of the key shrinkage-reducing measures was the use of a high dosage of macrosynthetic fiber reinforcement in lieu of conventional temperature-steel reinforcement, which offered a uniform three-dimensional non-corrosive way to reduce cracking.  

FORTA-FERRO® macro fiber was used at a dosage of 7.0 lbs/cu yd in approximately 30,000 square feet of floorslab, requiring over 450 cubic yards of concrete.  In addition, FORTA-FERRO® was used successfully in 1,300 square feet of slab on metal deck construction, and dramatically reduced cracking found in other similar deck placements that had been placed previously.  Even at the high dosages, the macro fiber mixed, distributed, pumped and finished extremely well throughout, offering a cost-effective and labor-free alternate to conventional temperature reinforcement.  

Project Details:

Owner:  United States Federal Courthouse, Yuma, AZ

Design & Construction Manager:  General Services Administration, Design and Construction Division, Region 9, San Francisco, CA

Project Manager:  Abacus Project Management, Inc., Phoenix, AZ

Structural Engineer:  Caruso Turley Scott Inc., Tempe, AZ

Design/Build Contractor:  Sundt Construction, Tempe, AZ

Concrete Consultant:  Structural Services LLC, Atlanta, GA

Mix Design Consultant:  Geotechnical Testing Services Inc., Yuma, AZ

Ready-Mix Supplier:  BLT Ready Mix, Yuma, AZ

Pumping Contractor:  BLT Ready Mix, Yuma, AZ

Fiber:  FORTA-FERRO® macro-synthetic 2 ¼” @ 7.0 lbs/cu yd

For more information, please visit: www.forta-ferro.com

The Benefits of Synthetic Fiber vs. Wire Mesh

In the March 20, 2014  edition of ForConstructionPros.com. published an article "Not Meshing Around." The article discuss the safety benefits of using synthetic fiber in concrete projects versus wire mesh on job sites.

In the past construction of slabs on metal deck involved the use of a concrete slab with a supporting platform made up of structural steel beams and a metal deck.  Historically, a typical steel deck consisted of a corrugated steel sheet with a concrete topping reinforced with welded wire mesh.  The purpose of the wire mesh is to act as a secondary (non-structural) reinforcement to prevent concrete cracks.

The present day now offers the use of synthetic fibers, primarily macro-synthetic fibers, as a more effective way to reduce and control cracking.  Synthetic fibers meet and exceed established standards and business codes established by the Steel Deck Institute (SDI), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the American Concrete Institute (ACI).  Beyond the cost savings and reduction or prevention of cracking is the time and labor savings by simply adding synthetic fibers to the concrete mix.

In addition to the benefits of synthetic fiber in the concrete mix as a cost-effective solution is they also eliminate any head aches when is comes to removing potential hazards from the work site.  Synthetic fibers offer a safer alternative to placing and working with wire mesh for construction workers.  Using synthetic fiber eliminates worry of injury to workers for construction businesses and project foremen.

Biddle, Daniel T. "Not Meshing Around." ForConstructionPros.com. March 20,2014

To read the full article, please visit: http://www.forconstructionpros.com/article/11355163/synthetic-fibers-are-safer-than-wire-mesh-in-slab-on-metal-deck-projects