Slag Cement Use in the Expansion and Renovation of the

Davis Wade Stadium at Mississippi State University

ACI Spring Convention

Milwaukee, WI
April 18, 2016

V. Tim Cost, PE, FACI

Sr. Technical Service Engineer
LafargeHolcim

2012 Legal entity

Davis Wade Stadium expansion and renovation

Announced spring, 2012

$75 million investment
Increase seating capacity by 6255 to
61,337 (largest stadium in the state)
Also new:
Premium (membership club) seating
and 22 additional suites
Elevators
Restrooms
West-side concession concourse
Concrete construction & planning:
Sustainability & innovation focus
Most concrete mixtures featuring 50%
replacement of cement with SCMs
Challenge: much of the concrete to be
flatwork, sensitive to concrete setting
and early strength performance

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Davis Wade Stadium expansion and renovation

Some of the project concrete

became part of a study by the
MSU Construction Materials
Research Center (CMRC)
Portland-limestone cement and its
synergistic interaction with fly ash
and slag cement
Mechanism for improving the basic
performance of highly sustainable
concrete

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DWS project credits

Owner: Mississippi State University Athletic Dept.

Architect: LPK Architects
Engineer (Civil): Pritchard Engineering, Inc.
Engineer (Structural): Walter P Moore
Contractor: Harrell Contracting
Concrete: MMC Materials, Inc.

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Project recognition, awards

Several magazine articles

2014 Slag Cement Association
Awards: Project of the Year,
Sustainability Category,
presented at the Spring 2015
ACI Convention
Runner-up, 2015 Triad
Awards, presented at the
World of Concrete Show
Paper published in the ASCE Journal of Materials in
Civil Engineering, November 2015
DWS concrete stats & mix designs
Over 23,000 cy of ready-mixed concrete (not counting
precast elements):
11 different mix designs for specific applications (drilled piers,
footings, walls, beams, columns, structural slabs, slab-on-
grade, etc.), 4000 to 6000 psi fc, optimized aggregate gradings
Most with 50% total cement replacement, using combinations
of slag cement and Class C fly ash
Slag cement @15% to 50% (9 of 11 mix designs), typically 30%
Class C fly ash @ 15% to 25%, typically 20%
Driller piers used 70% total cement replacement (30/50/20)

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CMRC study of PLC project concrete comparisons
Portland-limestone cement introduced mid-project
Providing direct comparisons (OPC vs. PLC) in field concrete
Additional sustainability contributions later quantified
Used in a flatwork mix with 50/30/20 proportions
Resulted in several enhanced performance attributes, including
Strength at all ages but especially very early ages
Shortened initial time of set by about 1 hour
Improved RCP numbers (lower concrete permeability)
Improved finishing characteristics
Basic performance trends w/ PLC similar to traditional mixtures

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So, what is PLC, and whats different about it?

PLC is a slightly modified version of portland cement that improves the

environmental footprint, taking advantage of both physical and
chemical contributions of fine limestone particles to hydration
A metered proportion of crushed, dried limestone is fed to the finish
grinding mill along with clinker and gypsum
The limestone is more easily ground than the clinker (which is harder)
and becomes concentrated in the finest particles
Overall fineness must be higher (for equivalent performance) in order
for fineness of the clinker fraction to be similar to OPC
Production rate is slowed

Some additional grinding energy is required but increased costs are

offset by lower clinker content and related kiln fuel savings

Particle size distribution is favorably impacted
Chemical interaction of calcium carbonate, along with better particle
packing and related benefits = greater overall cementitious efficiency
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Project to study & optimize PLC synergies

MSU Construction Materials Research Center

PLC research project supported by 4 cement companies,
in-kind support from a ready-mixed concrete company partner
Begun in late 2012
Over 200 laboratory concrete mixtures, other supporting
tests, analytical evaluation, & field trials
Some of the topics investigated:
Optimal SCMs and proportions for greatest hydration benefits &
improved basic concrete performance
Concrete with smooth gravel aggregates enhanced performance
via PLC use, esp. as influenced by SCMs
Extending the boundaries on SCM use in sustainable mixtures
Case history of a construction project, Davis-Wade Stadium, MSU,
with 50% replacement mixtures & OPC vs. PLC comparisons
PLC chemical and physical properties for best SCM synergies

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Analytical evaluation of limestone-aluminate interaction

XRD Diffractograms: evolving

mineralogy differences, OPC
and PLC mixtures with 40%
Class C fly ash

Legend:
Ett Ettringite
Ms Monosulfoaluminate
Hc Hemicarboaluminate
Mc Monocarboaluminate
Ms-Hc(ss) Monosulfoaluminate-
Hemicarboaluminate solid solution

Synergistic strength benefits

are, in large part, the result of
documented CaCO3 interaction
w/ aluminates and formation of
carboaluminate crystals

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Performance synergies of PLC w/ SCMs concrete data
comparing OPC and PLC, trend averages of 4 sources

40% high-calcium fly ash

No SCMs (control)
(ASTM C618 Class C)
Otherwise similar concrete batches using limestone coarse aggregate, 320
kg/m3 total cementitious content, w/cm = 0.43. The PLC strength advantage
at 28 days in 40% fly ash mixtures ranged from 13% to 22%, averaging 16%.
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Cement paste testing, OPC and PLC strength and
setting trends vs. % fly ash replacement of cement

Observed trends suggest that equivalent performance should be

possible with at least 10% higher fly ash replacement, using PLC.

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Laboratory concrete data, DWS flatwork mix (50/30/20C)
comparing OPC and PLC, trend averages of 4 sources

Otherwise identical concrete batches using limestone coarse aggregate, 540

lb/ft3 total cementitious content, w/cm = 0.43. The PLC strength advantage at
28 days ranged up to 27% among the sources, averaging 12%.
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DWS construction, 2013

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DWS construction, 2014

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MSU Davis-Wade Stadium project concrete data, 50/30/20C mixtures

Concrete 50% Replacement

12000

10000

8000

PLC (psi)
6000

4000
y = 1.24x
2000 R = 0.73
n = 56
0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000
OPC (psi)
Approximate age, days PLC vs. OPC equivalency, each data
point = a PLC mixture strength vs. a
Strengths at ages up to 28 days, initial PLC use corresponding OPC mixture strength,
vs. previous OPC use in the same mix design 3 cylinders averaged for each

Trend comparison, field-sampled concrete of similar proportions

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MSU Davis-Wade Stadium project concrete data, 50/30/20C mixtures

Averages of multiple project samples, OPC vs. PLC, after

PLC mixtures were adjusted to lower total cementitious
content by 29 pcy (on avg.) and higher w/cm by +/- 0.015

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 ASTM C1202 (RCP) result averages
Note: w/cm for all lab mixtures = 0.43, for DWS OPC = 0.39, for DWS PLC = 0.42.

Actual
w/cm

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Completed DWS views

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Completed DWS views

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Potential sustainability benefits quantified

Comparing the 50/30/20C PLC mixture used at the Davis Wade

stadium with a traditional 80/0/20C OPC mixture designed for similar
28-day strength performance:
- 50/30/20C PLC mix 14.8 psi/lb total cementitious (8000 psi)
- 80/0/20C OPC mix 11.7 psi/lb total cementitious
Needed for 20% ash OPC mix: 8000/11.7 = 680 pcy total cementitious
- Comparing total cementitious required: 540 vs. 680 pcy
- Comparing portland cement required: 270 vs. 544 pcy
- Comparing clinker content: 233 vs. 501 pcy
The DWS mix has about 47% of the clinker factor of a 20% C ash
traditional mix designed for the same 28-day strength.
(about half of the CO2 footprint and embodied energy)
No difference in construction waste, materials transport, virgin
aggregates use, most other sustainability metrics

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Further implementation of PLC in Mississippi

MMC Materials exclusive use in central MS since

April 2015, expanding to other markets
Very favorable market acceptance
Higher fly ash replacement levels used in most cases
MDOT projects underway, using new ash limits
Slightly reduced cementitious content in many cases
Realized benefits: improved cementitious efficiency,
higher rates of fly ash replacement, excellent placing
and finishing properties, formed & slipped surface
quality, consistent with sustainability focus
Changing the market place

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 Papers and journal articles from MSU CMRC study
Cost, V. T., and Bohme, P., Synergies of Portland-Limestone Cements and Their Potential for
Concrete Performance Enhancement, 2012 International Concrete Sustainability Conference,
Seattle, WA, May 7-10, 2012, 14 pp.
Cost, V. T., Howard, I. L., and Shannon, J., Improving Concrete Sustainability and Performance with
Use of Portland-Limestone Cement Synergies, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board, No. 2342, Washington, D.C., 2013, pp 26-34.
Cost, V. T., Matschei, T., Shannon, J., and Howard, I. L., Extending the Use of Fly Ash and Slag
Cement in Concrete Through the Use of Portland-Limestone Cement, 2014 International Concrete
Sustainability Conference, Boston, MA, May 12-14, 2014, 15 pp.
Shannon, J., Howard, I. L., Cost, V. T., and Wilson, W., Benefits of Portland-Limestone Cement for
Concrete with Rounded Gravel Aggregates and Higher Fly Ash Replacement Rates, presented at the
Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting (paper no. 15-4049).
Howard, I. L., Shannon, J., Cost, V. T., and Stovall, M., Davis Wade Stadium Expansion and
Renovation: Performance of Concrete Produced with Portland-Limestone Cement, accepted for
publication, ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, manuscript number MTENG-3228.
Cost, V. T., Wilson, W., Shannon, J., and Howard, I. L, Unexpected Concrete Performance Benefits of
Sustainable Binder Combinations Using Portland-Limestone Cement, Fifth International Conference
on Construction Materials: Performance, Innovations and Structural Implications, Whistler, BC, August
18-20, 2015, pp 1430-1441.
Shannon, J., Howard, I. L., and Cost, V. T., Potential of Portland-Limestone Cement to Improve
Performance of Concrete Made with High Slag Cement and Fly Ash Replacement Rates, accepted
for publication, ASTM Journal of Testing and Evaluation, manuscript ID JTE-2015-0306.
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Slag Cement Use in the Expansion and
Renovation of the Davis Wade Stadium
at Mississippi State University

Questions?

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