Charles W. Dolan

Development of flexural capacity of a FRP prestressed beam with vertically distributed tendons

FRP prestressed concrete beams with tendons vertically distributed throughout the section are susceptible to failure due to the progressive fracture of the most highly stressed tendons. This paper presents a theoretical approach to account for vertically distributed tendons, and discusses a design methodology to maximize the use of all tendons in the section. A discussion of full-scale tests associated with the theoretical development is included.

FRP Development in the United States

Abstract This report examines the development of nonmetallic fiber based reinforcement in the United States. Much of the research is original and some is influenced or supported by international activities. The current lack of use of these materials in the United States belies the fact that considerable knowledge exists regarding FRP characterization and performance. To put the combined experience into perspective, FRP applications are grouped into functional categories. These categories include; characterization of FRP reinforcement, reinforced concrete structures, prestressed concrete beams, and the mechanics and design of FRP reinforced members. Research needs are identified based on the current development of FRP reinforcement both in the United States and worldwide research.

Field Site Testing of Low Impact Oil Field Access Roads: Reducing the Environmental Footprint in Desert Ecosystems

Lease roads and well pads are a highly visible and often less than welcome aspect of O&G drilling and producing operations. In South Texas this is occurring as the Cretaceous Eagle Ford shale is being developed from near the Mexican border outward to the east/northeast across several counties stretching more than 150 miles. This “Brush Country”, as it is often referred to, is a semi-arid landscape where measures to lessen the impact of developing the shale are fostering a host of new technologies. To address environmental concerns about the development of the resource, Texas A&M University is adapting “Disappearing Roads” technology to the particular needs of the Eagle Ford. A collaborative project within the Environmentally Friendly Drilling Program has been testing new types of “disappearing roads” in a desert-like environment to measure their effectiveness and ability to lower the surface footprint of surface operations. One road was constructed with materials made with recycled drilling waste. This paper will describe the technology behind the recycled drilling waste road and document its performance in semi-arid rangeland landscapes. Introduction While the energy industry is developing better practices to manage its environmental impact, the industry‟s drilling activity faces restrictions, and in some cases, complete prohibitions of operations in sensitive areas. Environmental constraints, including laws, regulations, and implementation procedures, can limit natural gas development and production on both federal and private lands. More than 30 environmental policy and regulatory impediments to domestic natural gas production have been identified and documented.Surface footprint is one of the more vexing problems that energy developers must face. Public concerns about the footprint of human activity (ORV tracks and oil and gas operation lease roads) in ecologically sensitive desert locations have resulted in regulatory impediments to E&P activities. At the same time, significant amounts of oil and gas resources remain to be discovered and developed in arid regions of the U.S. This is particularly true of natural gas resources in the Rocky Mountains and the semi-arid Southwest U.S. where there is rapid development of gas shale resources. Lease roads are a significant component of the Elcock, Deborah: „Environmental Policy and Regulatory Constraints to Natural Gas Production,‟ ANL/EAD/04-1, Argonne National Laboratory, December 2004. impact of drilling and producing operations. If technologies can be developed to reduce the ecological impact of these roads, it may become possible to lessen regulatory impediments to development as well as impacts to sensitive arid landscapes. Constructing roads with materials that can be recycled from drilling waste as native road construction material could serve both environmental and economic objectives. Actions that eliminate or reduce the impacts can help the nation meet its natural gas demands. Potential Impacts There are two potential impacts that could result from this research. First, if the research shows that low impact roads can provide the same degree of safety, usage performance, and environmental performance as conventional roads, use of these roads could lead to overall reduced environmental impact, which in turn could lead to increased resource development. Studies have demonstrated that removing environmental concerns (and thus restrictions) to E&P operations can boost recoverable gas resources (perhaps by trillions of cubic feet). A second impact could result if the low impact roads are also less expensive to construct and maintain. Reduced operating costs could also lead to increased production. Any technology or practice that reduces the cost of operations will increase reserves and increase production. A

BUILDING CONSENSUS: Reorganization of the ACI 318 Building Code for Structural Concrete

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Development of a Precast Concrete Flat-Slab Emulation for the Westin Riverfront Resort

170/MMcf) decrease in operating cost for a producing field can add 1% to its reserves. For a true cost comparison, the life-cycle cost of building new lease roads conventionally and disposing of the drilling waste must be taken into account versus the life-cycle cost of building lease roads with recycled drilling waste. Technology of Recycling Drilling Wastes – Converting Drilling Wastes into Road Bed Material In 2005, the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) issued the Guidelines for Processing Minor Permits Associated with Statewide Rule 8, or Guidelines Developed by Environmental Surface Waste Management in Coordination with Field Operations. That document outlines the environmental specifications for drilling waste materials intended for use in road construction, including limits on total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), total organic halides (TOX), and electrical conductivity (EC), as well as analytical standards for the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) test for organics, metals and pH. These requirements would govern the development and testing of the proposed 2 Burnett, 2009 AADE-11-NTCE-42 Field Site Testing of Low Impact Oil Field Access Roads: Reducing the Environmental Footprint in Desert Ecosystems Blake Scott, Scott Environmental Services; David Burnett, Texas A&M University 2 J. Doe, J. Smith and B. Jones AADE-11-NTCE-xx low impact roads. However, the RRC document did not address the physical requirements for constructing a road from oil and gas waste such as unconfined compressive strength and permeability. Since then new waste treatment and disposal practices have been developed to convert drilling muds and associated cuttings to beneficial and environmentally friendly road base material to help minimize E&P operator liability. This includes guidance for chemical leaching and physical properties of the recycled material. Also, through Texas A&M University, a test facility has been used to evaluate these materials under field conditions and in an environmentally safe manner. Description of Project – Installation in the West Texas Desert The Texas A&M University Desert Test Center http://www.pecosrtc.org/ near Pecos, Texas on the edge of the Chihuahua desert, was chosen to evaluate a road built from recycled drilling waste. The drilling waste was fresh water mud and cuttings (FWMC) from south Texas. The Texas Transportation Institute Pavement and Materials (TTI) (Subgroup, Division?) manages this site, and their personnel assisted with the project. (http://tti.tamu.edu/research_areas/topic.htm?p_tid=5 ). FIGURE 1 AND 1A shows an aerial view of the site and the site where road placement occurred. Construction of Spine Road using Recycled Material The recycled roadway was built by Scott Environmental Services, Inc. (SESI), using its proprietary process for the reuse of drilling waste. The project started with material taken from a FWMC reserve pit and mixed with a plasticity reducing agent (PRA), using a large excavator bucket. The amount of PRA used had been previously determined by laboratory test to be (i) sufficient to make the mixture, unlike the starting material, easily transportable by truck without loss from sloshing; and (ii) not sufficient to cause the mixture to harden into a monolithic structure. The material was trucked to the site and used as road base for construction of the model lease road. A cross section of the road design is shown in FIGURE 2. The design was planned for a multi-season “spine road” that would serve as access to the field and serve as a high-use local or rural road. A test section of in situ soil approximately 170 feet long x 14 feet wide (FIGURE 3 AND 3A) was readied as the test site. Work began by watering, scarifying, and compacting the in situ soil using a water truck, grader, compactor, and roller to form the road subgrade. Then a single lift of plasticity-reduced material (PRM) and some water was placed on top of the prepared subgrade in sufficient quantity to have 10 inches of thickness after compaction, and the lift of material was smoothed, shaped, and compacted using the water truck, loader, grader, compactor and roller. Next, a pre-determined amount of Portland cement was spread over the prepared PRM by the cement truck, and then the cement and the PRM were mixed with the reclaimer and grader to a depth of 12 inches, and then compacted. Water was then sprayed from the water truck over the mixture in an amount to achieve optimum moisture content, as determined by previous laboratory testing, and the wet mixture was again mixed using the reclaimer. After that, all of the emplaced materials were compacted, then bladed and shaped to get a uniform mixture again, with additional water added as needed. Construction, as described above, was successfully accomplished in one day, although strength gain in the material continued for several days. FIGURE 4 shows the strength gain of the material in place. A photograph of the completed road is shown in FIGURE 5. The PRM was sampled at several instances during the placement, and a composite sample was formed from these samples and sent for evaluation to a geotechnical testing laboratory, where it was mixed with the percentage of cement used and with an amount of water determined to yield a maximum density mold, then aged for seven days while being maintained moist. After completion of aging, the compressive strength and dielectric properties were obtained by standard tests. Description of Project – Monitoring Performance Durability of Road The hybrid lease road was used for traffic going to and coming from the field office at the Pecos facility. During the latter part of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, traffic levels ranged from 5 to 25 vehicle passages per day. During the summer of 2010, the site operator removed an overpass being used for inbound traffic and for a short time diverted trucks and automobiles across the road. In the fall of 2010, most traffic ceased across the road as a new entrance road was constructed. Use of the recycled road bed during part of 2009 and 2010 did not appear to affect it. Strength of Road Road strength wa

Precast concrete building system components for the Westin Resort Hotel, part 1: Experimental validation

This paper reviews the steps taken to develop consensus for the structure of the revised ACI 318 Building Code and the progress to date developing the reorganized Code. The principals used to revise the Code are discussed. The block diagram of the revised code structure is introduced and a discussion of upcoming work is presented.

Concrete breakout capacity of cast-in-place concrete anchors in early-age concrete

The Westin Riverfront Resort is a totally precast concrete building, which emulates flat-slab post-tensioned construction and demonstrates that a precast alternative could be constructed in winter conditions on a confined site. Approximately 3700 precast pieces using four basic precast components: elevator/stair cores, precast columns with capitals, beam-slabs and rib-slabs, allowed the precast erection of schedule. This paper describes the structural concept, component testing, fabrication and construction of the building.