DRP & Concrete Petrography in Concrete Contractor Magazine
We are fortunate to be a part of Concrete Contractor Magazine (http://www.forconstructionpros.com/magazine). This is a really great publication in both print and on-line media that provides short, to the point articles on an incredibly wide array of issues relevant to the concrete contractor. Obviously, our contributions are on various topics where concrete petrography is front and center.
In this post we draw your attention to a recent contribution (January 2014 issue) called “Concrete Petrography–What It Can and Cannot Do for Contractors”, or just “Concrete Petrography–What It Can Do”. In this paper we outline some of the basic principals and capabilities that petrographic analysis brings to troubleshooting concrete issues. To see for yourself, click here.
Due to space limitations, the acknowledgement that I wanted to provide for this article had to be omitted from the on-line version. Well, this is my blog and we have no space limitations. Consequently, I want let anyone who read my little contribution that the article is dedicated to Lt. Col. James A. Ray, who was a key mentor in my development as a concrete petrographer. Jim was one of the giants of the industry and a pioneer in the development of concrete petrography for the construction industry. He was an accomplished geologist, holding a Masters in Geology from North Carolina State University. He had a long and distinguished career at Master Builders, where he worked with Dr. Richard Mielenz, one of the founding fathers of concrete petrography, and ultimately rose to the rank of Vice President of Research. While at Master Builders Jim made many major contributions that advanced concrete materials in general and concrete petrography in particular. Jim left Master Builders and started his own firm, the James A. Ray Corporation, in Mantua, Ohio. Jim had a brilliant career as a private consultant, forging an unparalleled reputation for honesty, integrity and scientific rigor.
During this time, Jim published many papers on concrete petrography in the proceedings of the annual meeting of the International Cement Microscopy Association. My contribution to Concrete Contractor is a condensation of two of these papers. The first was published in 1983 and is titled “Things Petrographic Examination Can and Cannot Do With Concrete”. The second was published in 2000 and is titled “Things Petrographic Examination Can and Cannot Do With Concrete, Part II: Some Basics and Guidelines. I have good, old-fashioned reprints of both papers that Jim gave me more than 10 years ago. I keep them handy to this day in one of the tool drawers near the microscopes. While the paper reprints are probably long gone, you might be able to obtain copies in pdf form through ICMA. Follow this link to get started.
In future posts I’ll bring up some of the other contributions regarding concrete petrography that I’ve made to Concrete Contractor. Some have been with Kim Basham, Ph.D., P.E., FACI of KB Engineering, LLC in Cheyenne, Wyoming (http://www.kbengllc.com) on aspects of finishing interior and exterior slabs. I’ll also discuss a more recent contribution on how concrete petrography can be useful in looking at hot weather issues and I look forward to discussing scaling issues for the January 2015 issue of Concrete Contractor. This will also be the World of Concrete issue.
Although I’m grateful and honored to have the opportunity to contribute to organizations such as Concrete Contractor, thinking of Jim and his incredible work certainly re-invigorates my respect for the old schoolers who laid the foundation for concrete petrography. Look for discussions of some of these timeless classics in future posts.
