Building Even Better Concrete

Manufacturers, scientists, and designers strive to reduce a vital material's environmental footprint while exploiting its many beneficial qualities

December 2007

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By Joann Gonchar, AIA

Instructions

Read the article "Building Even Better Concrete"
Complete the questions below, then fill in your answers .
Fill out and submit the AIA/CES education reporting form in the magazine, securely online, or print the form to receive one AIA learning unit.

Questions:

Program Code: 127EDIT1
LU: 1

1. Which is the fundamental ingredient in concrete?
a. cement
b. carbon dioxide
c. fly ash
d. calcium

2. The goals of the cement industry in the U.S. include which?
a. increase CO2 production to 2.8 percent
b. increase energy efficiency by 20 percent by 2020
c. reduce CO2 emissions by 20 percent by 2020
d. decrease energy efficiency by 12 percent by 2020

3. The most energy-intensive and greenhouse-gas-producing part of making cement is which?
a. mining of limestone and other raw materials
b. cooling clinker
c. the chemical process that produces clinker and the combustion of fuel required to maintain the necessary high temperatures
d. transportation

4. The greenhouse gases associated with calcination would be hard to significantly reduce unless a substitute is found for which?
a. calcium
b. cement
c. limestone
d. clinker

5. The apatite minerals in bone provide a good model for a cement because of all of the following qualities except which?
a. the minerals consist largely of calcium
b. the minerals have a similar packing density to cement at the nanoscale
c. the minerals are manufactured at temperatures under 100 degrees
d. the minerals’ hydration and hardening take minimal time

6. An example of supplementary cementitious material is any except which?
a. slag
b. gravel
c. fly ash
d. silica fume

7. The addition of slag can create concrete that is which?
a. more dense
b. more permeable to water
c. quicker to gain strength
d. has a lower compressive strength

8. Fly ash is a by-product of which process?
a. calcination
b. the manufacture of silicon or ferrosilicon metals
c. coal burning
d. steel making

9. A concrete that contains titanium dioxide can provide which beneficial result?
a. stronger concrete
b. lighter concrete
c. improved air quality
d. heat-absorbing concrete

10. All of the following describe the U.S. Federal Building in San Francisco except which?
a. heat generated by occupants, computers, and lighting is transferred to the slab via radiation
b. the building-management system opens operable components to charge the structure
c. it relies on natural ventilation and thermal mass
d. it runs chilled water through the concrete slabs

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