ACI issues new specifications for concrete construction

The American Concrete Institute has released its new ACI 301-20 Specifications for Concrete Construction.
Concrete Plants, Equipment & Applications / December 28, 2020
By Liam McLoughlin
The new specifications have been expanded to include recycled concrete aggregates
The new specifications have been expanded to include recycled concrete aggregates

The scope of the new ACI 301-20 has been expanded to include shotcrete, internal curing, mineral fillers and recycled concrete aggregates.

ACI 301 is a reference specification that engineers, architects, and specifiers can apply to projects involving concrete construction.    Evaluation requirements for concrete made with self-consolidating concrete and structures with defined requirements for modulus of elasticity of the concrete are also included.  Compliance details throughout ACI 301-20 have been updated to align with ACI 318-19, Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete – providing clarity on the information engineers must provide in the construction documents.  

Two checklists for incorporating ACI 301 into concrete specifications are included. The first of these checklists indicates specific qualities, procedures, and performance criteria that the specifier must include in a project specification that are not defined in ACI 301-20, while the second checklist identifies choices and alternatives that the specifier can include as requirements in a specification.

Along with the release of ACI 301, the Institute has also published a new ACI Field Reference Manual. The ACI Field Reference Manual includes the complete ACI 301-20 specifications and more than 20 selected reference documents on measuring, mixing, transporting, and placing concrete; concrete pumping methods; hot- and cold-weather concreting; consolidation; and concrete formwork – providing a convenient resource for use in field offices, jobsite trailers.

The new specifications and the ACI Field Reference Manual are both available in printed and digital formats.

To assist users in navigating the changes to ACI 301-20, ACI University will be releasing an on-demand course, which will be presented by members of the ACI 301 committee and provide insight on the revisions and updates in the new specification.

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