OasisLMS

The versatility of concrete can help mitigate the carbon footprint of structures. In this session, concrete stakeholders (including but not limited to materials producers, concrete manufacturers, structural engineers, governments, and contractors) will be educated and informed about the solutions to minimize the environmental impacts of concrete. Basic content and progress toward elevating characteristics, such as, mechanical performance, durability, stiffness, thermal properties, reflectance, and the optimization of these metrics to minimize the carbon footprint in different end-use applications, will be expanded in this session. Speakers will provide their insight and experience about the challenges and opportunities for using available codes and guidelines to achieve a better performance with regards to sustainability issues. Participants will also be informed about the role played by different concrete stakeholders in minimizing the environmental impacts while maintaining the functionality of structures.

The contents of this course include 6 recorded presentations from the ACI 2024 Spring Convention:
1. Designing Sustainable Concrete Pavements; James Mack, CEMEX
2. Stud Or Dud - How Specifications Make or Break Low-Carbon Ready-Mixed Concrete Production; Julie Buffenbarger, Beton Consulting Engineers
3. Less is More: Improving the Sustainability of Concrete Buildings; Alec Zimmer, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.
4. Field Usage of Low Carbon Concrete Produced with the Tarantula Curve; Tyler Ley, Oklahoma State University
5. Pavement Albedo, Climate, & Urban Heat Islands; Samira Garshasbi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
6. A Twofold Strategy Towards Low Carbon Concrete Formulations; Franco Zunino, ETH Zurich

1. Analyze how improving the maintenance and repair schedule as well as the stiffness can reduce the life cycle GHG emissions of pavements.
2. Evaluate strategies to avoid overdesign in concrete specifications to decarbonize operational emissions in concrete structures while maintaining strength and durability through efficient material use.
3. Apply knowledge of surface albedo and thermal mass to design concrete structures that reduce urban heat island effects and decrease energy consumption, contributing to lower life cycle GHG emissions in urban setting.
4. Synthesize lessons from past practices to develop concrete mix designs that optimize binder intensity, lower embodied emissions, and maintain structural performance by effectively using supplementary cementitious materials and optimizing clinker content.

Study the materials included in this module. Then, complete and pass the corresponding 10-question quiz with a score of 80% or higher to receive a certificate for 0.2 CEU (2.0 PDH).
Continuing Education Credit: 0.2 CEU (2.0 PDH)
Approved AIA and ICC
Access Period: 30 days