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CHICO — Concrete … it’s just about everywhere in modern American society. It makes up the surface of sidewalks, serves as a foundation for many houses and holds up our bridges.
In short, it’s a critical ingredient in everyday life, providing strength in ways other materials (on their own) cannot.
So it’s logical that in order to come up with innovative ways to manufacture and use this important substance, there needs to be a fresh supply of people trained to do it. Chico State’s “Concrete Day” — held at Langdon Hall on the university’s campus — sought to do exactly that Friday.
Approximately 80 young people, most of them high school students from Chico and nearby cities, saw an impressive collection of gizmos, high-tech devices and low-tech, time-honored systems to make and manipulate concrete and the stuff that holds it all together.
Perhaps best of all for graduates of the university’s Concrete Industry Management program, it’s a lucrative line of work. Beginning pay is typically $85,000 per year, with $100,000 or more not uncommon, according to Feraidon Ataie, a professor whose program is one of only five in the nation.
“It’s not a minimum-wage industry,” he said. “Concrete Industry Management is a four-year major with an almost 100% job placement rate. You also get a minor in business administration.”
Ataie said the labs and their equipment at Langdon Hall have been recently updated and have plenty of features that prospective students enjoying seeing in action.
Two of those possible Chico State students are Angel Ayona, a junior from Orland High School, and Brandon Porter, a senior at Red Bluff-based Tehama e-Learning Academy. Both watched and listened intently as concrete industry expert Nimal Vimal showed them around the facility and explained many of the devices and machinery students use to fabricate and then test concrete products.
Vimal also showed them a canoe made from concrete. No kidding — it actually floats, Vimal said, using a combination of sand, cement and various fibers in its construction.
“Four people can ride in it,” Vimal said. “There’s no metal in it at all.”
In scientific terms, an object — regardless of size — is buoyant if it floats due to low density. Also, a boat-shaped or hollow object will displace a volume of water greater than the actual volume of solid material in the object.
“I didn’t really expect this much” at the event, said Porter — who already has some job experience working with concrete — during a break in the tour. He said he’ll certainly consider this program after he graduates from high school.
Ayona was just about sold on enrolling in the program as well. “I think there’s probably a 60% to 70% chance I’ll come here,” he said.
One of Vimal’s exhibits was a type of concrete that uses no water in the mixing process — unusual for a substance for which water has been historically a crucial part.
“This is a bag of sand, and a bottle of activator,” Vimal said, holding up a bottle of yellowish liquid. “There is no water in this concrete mixture. We’re performing some testing on it for Caltrans.”
Using the smallest amount of water is important, Vimal said, because the more water present, the weaker the concrete will become. He said the manufacturer would not reveal the proprietary mix of ingredients of the activator.
In a lab next door, several attendees wore safety glasses as they experimented with cement powder and a little bit of water to create cement paste. Then, they introduced an admixture — a mixture of chemicals designed to improve the resulting substance’s performance.
Marlin McCain, a sales representative for the admixture and a former Chico State concrete program student, said there are various types of additives to use, based on the result the user is seeking. One of them is a water reducer, which the student experimenters were using.
“A water reducer results in about 5% to 10% less water” in the mixture, “which makes the concrete stronger,” McCain said, “and makes it easier to work.”
He also described accelerators, which make the mixture set faster. Retarders slow the setting process, important (for example) if a mixing truck gets stuck in traffic; the retarder lowers the chance of the entire mix becoming worthless by setting too soon inside the drum.
Another additive improves viscosity, making it easier for the crew to pump the mix.
At another exhibit, Chico State students Diego Roberto, Glenn Morales and A.J. McDermott showed off several items they constructed from concrete, including the body of a guitar. They had made a silicone mold for the body and the muddy mixture had gone into it.
The three are members of the American Concrete Institute and will attend a national competition next weekend in Boston, displaying some of their creations for judging.
Chico State concrete program manager Nick Steinberg offered an example of the concrete industry’s evolution. He and the three students showed off two cylindrical concrete items — one, a piece of “standard” concrete, and the other, a piece made with perlite, a naturally occurring volcanic substance sometimes mixed in with commercial garden soil.
Roberto had already explained that regular concrete weighs about 150 pounds per cubic foot. Perlite, by contrast, weighs about 50 pounds per cubic foot. The students passed around the samples for attendees to feel, and most reacted with surprise at the difference in mass.
However, Steinberg said not to expect to see the perlite product in widespread use anytime soon.
“Mixing it into production is a challenge,” he said, but the mere existence of this mix shows the innovation and the willingness to try novel concepts in the industry.
Plasticizer And Superplasticizer “For me, the exciting thing about the industry is that the technology evolves,” Steinberg said. “It’s the only construction product you can shape into anything.”Related Articles Education | Pumpkins explode in spectacular fashion; ‘dead’ scientists explain the process Education | Pleasant Valley football wins on the road in Red Bluff | Local roundup Education | Chico State professor receiving award for work with prescribed fire Education | Chico State Pumpkin Drop will combine science with messy fun Education | Chico State set to host 20th edition of forensic anthropology conference