Jim Klinger concrete construction specialist The Voice Newsletter July 2022

Full disclosure: Quite a lot of ASCC Hotline calls include requests for technical/educational backup members need to submit to general contractors, inspectors, structural engineers, or even Owners. In order to be effective, such backup should be limited to a few pages, similar to our ASCC
Position Statements. In many cases, this documentation can be quickly extracted from the vast archives here at the ASCC Technical Division. But there is also a wealth of downloadable information--most of it free --that members can access online to supplement their own in-house, technical resource database. Links to some of the more prolific sources of concise, easy-to-digest technical documents that members and their customers should find valuable are provided below.

Insider's note: The descriptions below are brief and may be misleading to the degree that such a short description might warrant an equally short perusal once one arrives at each web page. A more accurate estimate would be several hours attention per location--minimum--just to understand what is being presented at each and their corresponding implications. Please feel free to call the Hotline with questions.
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National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA)

The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association maintains four series of comprehensive technical resource support documents referred to in shorthand as CIP, SIP, TIP and PIP. The CIP series (Concrete in Practice, 45) are typically short, two-page information sheets that cover topics ranging from dusting, scaling and cracking to strength testing and aggregate popouts. The SIP series (Specification in Practice, 5) contains guidance aimed at designers and ready mix personnel. The TIP series (Technology in Practice, 22) are 2-to-8 page detailed discussions of topics such as core testing, maturity testing and strength test evaluation. The PIP series (Pervious in Practice, 4) discusses pervious concrete specifications, mix proportioning, contractor certification and acceptance testing.

https://www.nrmca.org/association-resources/research-and-engineering/
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Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI)

The Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute collection contains more than the name implies. Obviously there is educational material regarding reinforcing steel, ranging from allowable rust on rebar, to bending rebar in the field, to epoxy-coated rebar, to tolerance compatibility in cast-inplace concrete construction. But there are also articles regarding the high-strength steels currently available, along with numerous case studies showcasing reinforced concrete projects that have been successfully constructed using various reinforcing steel materials and techniques. These are the free publications. There are also design guides, online courses, and other resources that come with a fee.

crsi.org
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Post-Tensioning Institute (PTI)

The Post-Tensioning Institute resource center contains links to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), Technical Notes, and to selected articles from the Post-Tensioning Institute Journal. Articles usually found interesting to ASCC Hotline callers include issues with PT cable elongations, barrier cables, repair of unbonded PT tendon sheaths, and repair of PT cables broken during construction.

https://www.post-tensioning.org/education/publications/faqstechnotes.aspx
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Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry (AWCI)

Now here's a case where sometimes the only way to cure claustrophobia is by thinking outside the box. Every month, the AWCI publishes a free,  downloadable magazine titled "Construction Dimensions." Right off the bat it contains a monthly column, "Estimator's Edge" by Vince Bailey,
which any estimator should enjoy, regardless of trade. Other columns and articles, even though obviously geared to drywall and follow-on work, have information of value to contractors regarding project cost, schedules, safety, management, and technology.

https://www.awci.org/technical