Next NRMCA Concrete Durability Course Set for September in Florida

The NRMCA Concrete Durability Course was offered last week (June 3-5) in Silver Spring, MD, with 20 attendees. The course was well received by the attendees who gave it great ratings. The next NRMCA Concrete Durability Course is scheduled for September 8-10 at the office of the Florida Concrete Products Association (FCPA) in Orlando. The course is taught by Michael Thomas, University of New Brunswick and Kevin Folliard, University of Texas at Austin and NRMCA Engineering Department staff. The course provides a fundamental understanding of the nature of cement and concrete as it relates to durability of concrete. Topics will cover cracking, alkali aggregate reactions, sulfate attack, corrosion of reinforcing steel, freeze-thaw durability and other aspects. A group exercise will be facilitated to walk attendees through NRMCA's ConcreteWorks software that can be used to develop concrete mixtures for durability and to evaluate the potential for temperature-related cracking.

The course also discusses the durability provisions in the Building Code - ACI 318-11 and how specifications can be structured to address durability. Comprehensive reference material is provided as course notes that is an excellent resource to concrete producers and associated technical personnel. The course concludes with a comprehensive exam on the subject matter covered. Those with NRMCA Level 3 Certification obtain the NRMCA Concrete Technologist Level 4 Certification when passing this exam. However, it is not essential to have attended the NRMCA Technical Short Course to attend the Durability Course. The course provides required learning units toward the technical track of the NRMCA STEPS certification program. Please register early if you wish to attend.

Click here to access registration links (hotel contract is being finalized and will be communicated to registrants).