In this edition of RMCREF Spotlight, we feature pavement work supported by the RMC Research & Education Foundation. The study and improvement of pavement applications is a cornerstone of the Foundation’s work and our large-body of materials has had a significant impact on the concrete industry and the communities we serve.
The recent development and release of PavementDesigner.org demonstrates industry success on a variety of levels, particularly the partnership between the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA), the Portland Cement Association (PCA), the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) and the Foundation to develop this state-of-the-art resource for pavement designers, specifiers and others. The program brings together the best of each organization’s pavement design tools and provides an easy-to-use program to help users design pavement using their own inputs, and provides information to better understand cement-based pavement solutions and best practices for designing pavements. Since its launch at the Transportation Research Board meeting earlier this year, the site already has more than 14,000 page views and over 1,600 completed design runs.
The Foundation has also funded the development of a several guides and studies to assist with pavement design and selection, including the Guide to Concrete Overlays of Asphalt Parking Lots, erosion design resources to help identify possible erosion issues before a job is started, and a variety of pervious concrete and Prescriptive-to-Performance reports and studies. All of these materials are available for download for free from the Foundation’s Concrete Applications page. Last month, the Foundation’s Board of Trustees approved funding for the development of a Guide to Concrete Trails and Paths in partnership with the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center (CP Tech Center). We anticipate the new Guide to be available by year’s end.
The Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed full life-cycle assessment (LCA) and life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) tools, as well as research to understand pavement-vehicle interaction and the impact of competition, which are proving to be game changers in the way design decisions are made. They have also had scientific breakthroughs on pavement durability issues, working in conjunction with Oregon State University and University of New Brunswick. Besides several years’ worth of research reports and briefs available on the CSHub website, be sure to check out the CSHub’s page listing upcoming webinars that also includes links to past webinar recordings. Additionally, the CSHub work has provided a variety of resources for NRMCA’s Pave Ahead initiative, which provides substantial information and guidance on topics from streets and local roads to parking lots and more.
For more information on the work of the RMC Research & Education Foundation, please visit www.rmc-foundation.org or contact Julie Garbini or Jennifer LeFevre.