Evaluating Water-Cementitious Material Ratio (W/CM) as Acceptance Parameter for Freshly Placed Concrete | Institute for Transportation

CP Tech Center|Research|In-Progress

Evaluating Water-Cementitious Material Ratio (W/CM) as Acceptance Parameter for Freshly Placed Concrete

Project Details

STATUS

START DATE

10/01/25

END DATE

09/30/27

FOCUS AREAS

RESEARCH CENTERS InTrans, CP Tech Center

SPONSORS

Wisconsin Department of Transportation

PARTNERS

University of Wisconsin-Platteville

Researchers

Principal Investigator

Dan King

deking@iastate.edu email >

Associate Director, CP Tech Center

Co-Principal Investigator

Danny Xiao

Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Platteville

Co-Principal Investigator

Peter Taylor

ptaylor@iastate.edu email >

Director, CP Tech Center

About the research

The overall objectives of this research project are to:

Evaluate the accuracy and efficacy of existing tests (e.g. microwave oven, Phoenix test, Cementometer) to measure w/cm as an acceptance parameter for Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) projects.
Analyze, correlate, and validate the w/cm ratio against performance-based tests for freshly mixed concrete at the batch plant (including strength, SAM, and surface resistivity) and freshly placed concrete in the field (focusing on strength and surface resistivity) for WisDOT projects.
Assess the effects of variations in the w/cm ratio on concrete performance-based tests to provide specific guidance and recommendations regarding acceptable fluctuations in the w/cm ratio for WisDOT projects.
Develop proposed specification parameters to accept the w/cm ratio to align with current WisDOT strength requirements and/or recommend alternative acceptance criteria.

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