The Slag Cement Association (SCA) is pleased to announce its slag cement webinar series featuring four webinars presented by industry experts. These free webinars are a great opportunity to learn about the different inherent benefits of slag cement when used in concrete construction. The webinars will start at the end of June.
The slag cement series will include:
- Demonstrating Resilient Concrete Results with Slag Cement, presented by Shawn Kalyn, St. Marys Cement, June 18, 1-2PM EST;
- The Role of Slag Cement in Creating Sulfate Resistant Concrete, presented by Ryan Betz, Argos USA, July 9, 1-2PM EST;
- Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slags: Rapid Reactivity Testing and Effects of Varying Replacement Levels on Cement Paste Properties, presented by Sivakumar Ramanathan, University of Miami, July 23, 1-2PM EST; and
- Mitigating Alkali Silica Reaction in Concrete with Slag Cement, presented by Keith Maddrey and Clayton McCabe, Argos USA, Aug. 18, 1-2PM EST.
The SCA encourages participants to preregister for each webinar. For those who can’t attend the live webinar the recordings will be archived on the SCA website. This will allow you to view them on demand.
“Our regional committees often present to concrete industry groups on the benefits of using slag cement. The SCA and our members are very excited to now be offering these resources to the industry in a digital format,” said Drew Burns, SCA Executive Director.
The upcoming series details include:
Demonstrating Resilient Concrete Results with Slag Cement
Presenter: Shawn Kalyn, B.Eng, LEED AP bd+c , Technical Services Engineer, St. Marys Cement Inc. (U.S.)
Kalyn has been with the company for more than 15 years. He received his degree in civil engineering from Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His responsibilities include providing concrete solutions to the cement customers and also the promotion of concrete and cementitious products. Kalyn is involved with the PCA Sustainability committee, ICPI Technical and Education Committees, SCA Great Lakes and Marketing Technical Committees and is involved in the MIT sustainability hub.
SCA Committee: Great Lakes Promotional Task Group
This webinar will discuss how slag cement and other supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) can help reduce the carbon impact of concrete products. It will also show attendees how to use industry-wide documents and tools. Topics covered include:
- Key terms and definitions commonly used when discussing the carbon impact of concrete;
- How initiatives like Architecture 2030 and the Carbon Leadership Forum are influencing the use of concrete materials;
- How to reduce the carbon impact of concrete using SCMs like slag cement; and
- How to use product specific information on slag cement including EPDs and LCA Calculator tools to show customers sustainable and durable options for concrete.
The Role of Slag Cement in Creating Sulfate Resistant Concrete
Presenter: Ryan Betz, Assistant Cement Technical Director, Argos USA
Betz provides technical support for the activities relating to the manufacture, distribution, sales and marketing functions of Argos’ U.S. cement operations. He graduated with cum laude honors from Alpena Community College with an Associate degree in the Applied Sciences of Concrete Technology in 2002. Betz has more than 17 years of industry experience. This experience includes field quality assurance, laboratory management, concrete mixture design and also materials quality management. He participates in the Georgia Ready Mix Concrete Association and Georgia Chapter – ACI, Alabama Concrete Industries Association, Alabama Chapter – ACI, Mississippi Concrete Association, Portland Cement Association’s Product Standards and Technology Committee and various PCA state codes groups as well as the SCA Southeast Promotion Group and Technical Marketing Committee. He is active in ASTM C01 and C09 committees as well as ACI 225 and 233 committees.
SCA Committee: South East Promotional Task Group
This webinar will explore sulfate attack in concrete, how slag cement can be used to combat these affects and also the testing methods used to prove its effectiveness.
Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slags: Rapid Reactivity Testing and Effects of Varying Replacement Levels on Cement Paste Properties
Presenter: Sivakumar Ramanathan, Ph.D. Student, University of Miami
Sivakumar Ramanathan is a Ph.D. student working under the supervision of Dr. Prannoy Suraneni at the University of Miami. His primary research interests include reactivity of supplementary cementitious materials. It also includes alternative supplementary cementitious materials and effects of supplementary cementitious material replacement levels and fineness on concrete properties.
SCA Committee: Technical and Marketing Committee
This webinar will feature a 2019 Slag Cement Research Project of the Year Award winner. The reactivity of 11 different ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) materials is quantified and then compared with other SCMs to “classify” the GGBFS. Furthermore, one GGBFS is used as replacement for ordinary portland cement at levels of 20, 40, and 60 percent. This is done to study the effects of the GGBFS on cementitious paste properties such as heat release, compressive strength and bulk resistivity.
Mitigating Alkali Silica Reaction in Concrete with Slag Cement
Presenters: Keith Maddrey, Technical Services Engineer, Argos USA LLC, and Clayton McCabe, Technical Services Engineer, Argos USA LLC
Maddrey received his Bachelor of Science in civil engineering during his time at Old Dominion University. He worked in the ready mixed concrete industry as a Technical Services Manager for 26 years prior to coming to Argos in January of 2020. Maddrey is also an NRMCA Level 4 Concrete Technologist.
McCabe received his Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He worked for the Cement and Concrete Reference Laboratory (CCRL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a laboratory inspector for six years. McCabe has been working for Argos, formerly Essroc, as a Technical Services Engineer since 2007.
SCA Committee: Mid Atlantic Promotional Task Group
Adding slag cement to a concrete mixture design can help prevent alkali silica reaction (ASR). Thus, leading to severe concrete cracking and deterioration. Illustrated through case study examples, this webinar will also cover how slag cement works to mitigate ASR.
The SCA is looking forward to hosting the slag cement webinar series. These webinars directly align with SCA’s mission: “To serve as the leading source of knowledge for slag cement and slag blended cements through promotion, education, and technology development. To communicate both the performance and environmental benefits of these cementitious materials through the support and participation of member companies.”
In addition, the SCA has more digital resources to showcase slag cement used in durable concrete construction throughout the United States at www.slagcement.org/videos.
About The Slag Cement Association
The Slag Cement Association represents companies that produce and also ship slag cement (ground granulated blast furnace slag) throughout the United States. The Slag Cement Association serves as the leading source of knowledge for slag cement and slag blended cements. They do this through promotion, education and technology development.
