- A fully-charged cell phone and adapter
- Flashlight and extra batteries
- Battery jumper cables
- Snack food and water
- Blanket or sleeping bag and extra socks, shoes, hats and gloves
- Shovel
- Road salt, sand or cat litter to use under your tires to gain traction
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Winter Survival
With winter in full swing and the return of the polar arctic
blast, now is a good time to review a few winter survival tips. Here are a few
things you should keep in your car:
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
GBA Needs You
As
GBA welcomes in the New Year, we are excited about the new projects we’ll be
working on in 2014. With the projects comes a need for more staff. As students
begin the final semester at school or look for summer internships, we encourage
you to look for us at the upcoming career fairs and visit our website for
available positions. We look forward to the meeting you and hope you’ll become
a part of the GBA family.
Please look for us at one of the upcoming career fairs at the following universities:
Kansas State University - Manhattan, KS
Iowa State University - Ames, IA
University of Kansas - Lawrence, KS
Please look for us at one of the upcoming career fairs at the following universities:
February
11, 2014
University
of Missouri - Columbia, MOKansas State University - Manhattan, KS
Iowa State University - Ames, IA
February
13, 2014
University
of Nebraska, Lincoln - Lincoln, NEUniversity of Kansas - Lawrence, KS
February
18, 2014
Missouri
University of Science and Technology - Rolla, MO
February
19, 2014
University
of Missouri Kansas City - Kansas City, MO
College
students are not the only staff we are looking for, so please visit our careers page to see all of our available opportunities.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Protecting Concrete from Deicing Chemicals
Last
month we discussed the detrimental effects deicing chemicals can have on
concrete. This month, we will discuss ways to protect concrete from these harmful
effects
Air Entrainment, Air
Entrainment, Air Entrainment
Incorporating
the proper amount of entrained air into concrete is very effective in
mitigating the harmful effects of moisture freezing in concrete. Air
entrainment is the intentional incorporation of numerous tiny air voids in the
concrete paste. These tiny air voids provide areas for the freezing and
migrating moisture to enter before they produce expansive pressure on the
concrete. Air entrainment is even more critical to freezing concrete when
deicing chemicals are applied.
Low Permeability
The drying rate of concrete cured with a membrane-forming compound is much slower than the drying rate of concrete without a membrane-forming compound. When concrete is scheduled for placement in the fall, especially late fall, consider whether postponing the placement until spring is an option. If postponement is not an option, which is often the case, using a moist-cure method instead of a membrane cure will give the concrete a better chance of drying before being exposed to freezing and deicing chemicals.
Durable Aggregates
Protect Reinforcing Steel
Concrete
that is less permeable is less likely to become saturated, is more resistant to
sulfate and other chemical attack, and is more resistant to chloride-ion
penetration. Permeability can be lowered by using a low water-cement ratio
(preferably below 0.45) and an adequate moist-curing period (preferably 7
days).
Adequate Drying after
Curing
After
concrete is properly moist-cured, it should air dry for at least 30 days before
it is exposed to freezing or deicing chemicals. At the end of the moist-curing
process, the
concrete is still saturated. This moisture can still freeze and
expand, deteriorating the concrete. This is why adequate drying is the most
overlooked detail in protecting concrete from deicing chemicals.
The drying rate of concrete cured with a membrane-forming compound is much slower than the drying rate of concrete without a membrane-forming compound. When concrete is scheduled for placement in the fall, especially late fall, consider whether postponing the placement until spring is an option. If postponement is not an option, which is often the case, using a moist-cure method instead of a membrane cure will give the concrete a better chance of drying before being exposed to freezing and deicing chemicals.
Durable Aggregates
Aggregates
that perform well under freeze/thaw cycles should be used. Low porosity, absorption
and permeability are aggregate qualities that help prevent harmful effects from
the freeze/thaw cycle. Durable aggregates can also help mitigate alkali-silica
reaction (ASR) between cement and aggregate. ASR causes excessive expansion
that deteriorates concrete.
Protect Reinforcing Steel
The
chloride-ions in most deicing chemicals will aggressively corrode reinforcing
steel. Because rust expands to four times its original volume, the protection
of reinforcing steel from deicing chemicals is critical. This can be done in
the following ways:
- The use of low permeability concrete will slow the rate of penetration of chloride-ions thru the concrete, thereby buying time before the steel starts to corrode. In addition to the suggestions above, silica-fume and latex can be added to concrete to make it less permeable.
- Epoxy-coat the reinforcing steel. The epoxy coating acts as a barrier between the reinforcing steel and the chloride-ions in the concrete.
- Increase the thickness of concrete cover over the reinforcing steel. This forces the chloride-ions to travel further thru the concrete to reach the reinforcing steel.
- Overlays. The concrete surface can be overlaid with a waterproof material to keep chlorides from penetrating the concrete and reaching the reinforcing steel. Overlays should be evaluated for water tightness, durability (especially when exposed to snow removal equipment) and longevity (especially UV rays).
- Provide cathodic protection. The first method of providing cathotic protection is with an impressed current cathodic system. This system induces a small electrical current into the reinforcing steel in the opposite direction of the electrical current found in reinforcing steel during the corrosion process. Cathodic protection is the only system that can actually reverse the corrosion process and stop corrosion. However, it is expensive and difficult to install and maintain.
The second form of cathodic protection is through the use of sacrificial galvanic anodes. After the galvanic anodes are connected to the reinforcing steel, they will sacrifice themselves and greatly reduce the rate of corrosion in the reinforcing steel. However, once the sacrificial anode is totally sacrificed, the corrosion of the reinforcing steel will once again accelerate.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
GBA Wins Engineering Excellence Award
GBA was awarded an American Council of Engineering Companies of Kansas
(ACEC KS) Engineering Excellence Award for the Resourceful Kansas project. The
award will be given
at the organization’s annual membership luncheon in June.
By winning the state award, it is also eligible for the National ACEC
Engineering Excellence Award. The results of the National Award will be given
in April.
Funded by a $3 million Department of Energy grant, Resourceful Kansas was designed to engage communities statewide in making a fundamental shift toward a less energy-intensive, more efficient economy.
GBA helped provide 24 educational seminars to various organizations across the state providing over 400 participants an opportunity to learn about sustainable technologies and practices to improve energy efficiency. Following the seminars, GBA conducted energy assessments for 83 selected organizations that addressed energy and water usage, renewable energy generation and transportation energy impacts. GBA also served as project manager for the full $3 million project, including meeting federal government reporting requirements. All together, GBA covered over 4,850,000 square feet of floor space and identified over 4,675,000 kWh in energy savings that would be achieved with a payback less than five years.
Funded by a $3 million Department of Energy grant, Resourceful Kansas was designed to engage communities statewide in making a fundamental shift toward a less energy-intensive, more efficient economy.
GBA helped provide 24 educational seminars to various organizations across the state providing over 400 participants an opportunity to learn about sustainable technologies and practices to improve energy efficiency. Following the seminars, GBA conducted energy assessments for 83 selected organizations that addressed energy and water usage, renewable energy generation and transportation energy impacts. GBA also served as project manager for the full $3 million project, including meeting federal government reporting requirements. All together, GBA covered over 4,850,000 square feet of floor space and identified over 4,675,000 kWh in energy savings that would be achieved with a payback less than five years.
Congrats to everyone that helped with Resourceful
Kansas!
Labels:
Awards,
Energy,
In the News,
Resourceful Kansas
Thursday, January 2, 2014
GBA Expands Office in Colorado
Over the past couple months, work has been underway
to double the office space and add staff in the Broomfield office. Based on
consistent success in securing projects along the Front Range, we now have six
full-time staff and two open positions to add design capabilities. Click here to explore Careers on our website!
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