ACI Foundation Funds 10 New Research Projects

The ACI Foundation’s Concrete Research Council (CRC) selected 10 research projects to receive grants this year. The ACI Foundation seeks concrete research projects that further the knowledge and sustainability of concrete materials, construction, and structures.

The following research projects will receive funding from the ACI Foundation and were awarded based on impact to industry, ACI Committee engagement and collaboration with other funders and organizations.

Alternative Supplementary Cementitious Materials from Local Agricultural Products

PI: Lisa Burris, Ohio State University

Damage Classification of Reinforced Concrete Structures for Fire: Rebar Temperature

PI: Negar Elhami-Khorasani, University at Buffalo

Co-PI: Ravi Ranade, University at Buffalo

Co-PI: Anthony Tessari, University at Buffalo

Development of a Phase Change Material-Based Heat-Absorbing Surface Covering for Concrete Pavements/Bridge Decks

PI: Jung Heum Yeon, Texas State University

Co-PI: Togay Ozbakkaloglu, Texas State University

Evaluation of Early-Strength Development in Tension-Driven High Strength Concrete Formulations

PI: Matthew Gombeda, Illinois Institute of Technology

Co-PI: Nishant Garg, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Fatigue Behavior of FRP Bars Embedded in Concrete

PI: Christian Carloni, Case Western Reserve University

How Much Consolidation Energy is Really Required to Create Concrete Specimens?

PI: Dimitri Feys, Curators of the University of Missouri on behalf of Missouri University of Science and Technology

Co-PI: Kyle Riding, University of Florida

Maximum Reinforcing Ratio for Reinforced UHPC Beams: Towards Slender Elements

PI: Yi Shao, University of California, Berkeley

Co-PI: Claudia Ostertag, University of California, Berkeley

Multiscale Reinforcement of Hybrid Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete

PI: Xijun Shi, Texas State University

Co-PI: Zachary Grasley, Texas A&M University

Reliable Measurement and Speciation of Sulfur in Concrete Aggregates

PI: April Synder, RJ Lee Group

Co-PI: Michael Deible, RJ Lee Group

Shear Behavior of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) Considering Axial Load Effects

PI: Dimitrios Kalliontzis, University of Houston


The ACI Foundation is committed to progress in the industry by contributing financially to necessary and worthy research. Additional information about each of this year’s awarded projects – including additional funding partners, research team, ACI committee involvement, project details, and more – is available at ACIFoundation.org/research.

About The ACI Foundation

The ACI Foundation was established in 1989 to promote progress, innovation, and collaboration and is a wholly owned and operated non-profit subsidiary of the American Concrete Institute. Three councils make up the ACI Foundation; the Concrete Innovation Council, which identifies technologies and innovations and helps to implement when appropriate; the Concrete Research Council, which funds and assists in the research of new concrete technologies; and the Scholarship Council which facilitates student fellowships and scholarships.

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