Pervious Concrete VI

Last weeks blog covered a recent pervious concrete seminar and demonstration hosted by contractor-client, The Bazella Group of Allentown, PA.  This weeks blog will discuss some of the different surface finish methods used for the pervious concrete samples.

Compressor Finisher

Compressor finish is a relatively  new surface-finish method for pervious using a non-weighted pan machine, developed by Dave Mitchell of Bunyan Industries.  Immediately after the roller-screed pass for leveling, the non-weighted pan is floated several times across the surface, and provides a relatively dense yet still pervious surface.  Though John Bazella is currently doing trials with a conventional motor-mounted pan mixer, the Bunyan version used an off-machine compressor for power, and the long handled-pan allows the operator to finish without walking on the new surface.  The compressor also powers the roller-screed used for initial strike-off.

Pan-Finish

Pan-finish uses a non-weighted pan method leaves a fairly closed and level surface, almost resembling a base-course asphalt mix, and eliminates hand-troweling except for slab edging.  Low spots are easily filled in with additional fresh mix panned in, and high spots are quickly leveled by the low-rpm pan.

Bean Oil

Bean Oil is immediately used after panning, a light coat is applied by sprayer as a moisture stabilizer for the surface.  This is an eco-friendly soybean-based light oil that has universal uses.

Plastic Cover

Plastic sheeting is immediately placed over the concrete and generally left in place for 7 days.  The entire process from truck chute to roller-screed to finish, spray, and cover, is typically only about 15 minutes – a far cry from waiting for conventional slabs to gel, bleed, finish, etc.

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

Pervious Concrete V

FERRO-GREEN® Pervious Mix

FORTA® was recently invited to speak at, and participate in, a pervious concrete seminar and demonstration by contractor-client The Bazella Group of Allentown, PA.  The 2-day event was attended by approximately 30 owners, specifiers, and water-management government officials to learn more about the basics of pervious concrete.  The Bazella current focus is to re-educate project candidates from the old, cumbersome, and poorly-performing pervious mixes of yester-year, and provide more advanced design and practice ideas that result in a much more durable and tougher in-place pervious pavement. 

The seminar began with a Pennsylvania Aggregates and Concrete Association (PACA)-sanctioned pervious certification class and test for several contractor personnel, led by Bruce Cody who has become a statewide association resource and expert in pervious concrete.  Presentations also included topics such as available government grant funding for sustainable projects, basic pervious design and concepts, evolution of pervious mixes and placement practices, colored and resin overlays for decorative pervious, and enhancements to toughness and freeze/thaw durability courtesy of macro synthetic fibers. After the presentations, attendees were able to witness 2-days of pervious concrete placements and demonstrations, all of which contained 5 lbs/cu yd of FERRO-GREEN® 2 ¼” fiber. 

The Bazella Group consists of 2 brothers – Justin who runs the Allentown division of approximately 150 employees, and John who operates a smaller group from Greensburg, PA.  Both groups focus on decorative concrete applications, and have become experts in the practice and placement of pervious concrete as well.  They are convinced that the use of a medium dosage of FERRO-GREEN® will solve all durability problems of the past with pervious concrete, and allow its use to grow exponentially as a result.

Over the course of 2 days, the ‘experts’ (program speakers) placed 14 cubic yards of FRP in formed pads, some of which were to be retained and stored for future client use.  Attendees could take away samples of the FRP for their reference.

Berks Products supplied the mix as prescribed by Bazella, and their sales and Quality Control staff observed to compare to their standard pervious mixes.  They were impressed with the ease-of-discharge for this mix, as well as the uniform mixing and distribution of the high-dosage fibers.  

For these trial FORTA® mixes, the fiber was added on the aggregate belt into the central batch for the first load, and added at the tail-end of the truck for the second load.  In both cases, the fiber mixed well and distributed throughout with no evidence of balling. The fiber used was FERRO-GREEN® mix. Even with the sharp long aggregate, the 2 ¼” fiber mixed quickly and uniformly throughout, and sufficient paste was available to coat all of the fibers.

Please stay tuned in during the month of May for weekly updates on the project trials that resulted from this educational seminar.

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

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

Ground and Polished Concrete

Macrosynthetic fibers played an important reinforcing role in the $9 million expansion project at the Erie Art Museum in Erie, PA. The museum owner's desire for an eye-catching and joint-free floor surface for their 10,000 sq. ft. addition prompted concrete contractor Tom Maya to submit high-volume macrosynthetic fibers as an alternate to the specified matt-steel reinforcement. Based on previous macro-fiber experiences, Maya felt fibers offered the best opportunity to minimize joints and cracking on the high-profile gallery floor.

Critical to success however, would be the fibers' ability to mix and distribute uniformly and finish well, even at the high dosages required (7.5 lbs.cu.yd.), while not affecting the aesthetics of the grind-and-polish surface treatment. While the results speak for themselves, the FORTA-FERRO® macrosynthetic fiber succeeded in controlling shrinkage, cracking, and curling in the large and irregularly shaped joint-free floor sections. The final floor finish was impressive enough to cause concern by museum curators that the floor might actually divert attention from the gallery exhibitions. 

The floor system included a 1 1/2" thick fiber-reinforced mud matt required due to poor sub-grade conditions, and topped with a 5" thick concrete floor separated by a double slip-sheet to allow for possible movement. The floor was comprised of a 3,000 psi high-performance exposed-aggregate concrete, that involved a 5-step grind-and-polish process. Grinding contractor Diamond Designer Concrete of Erie plans to use the project as a showcase reference for their fiber-reinforced, polished-floor system. 

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