Author: Hannah Allen      Major: Civil Engineering

Hannah is making concrete cylinders

My name is Hannah Allen, and I am in the University of Arkansas College of Engineering, specifically majoring in civil engineering. Dr. Cameron Murray (Department of Civil Engineering) is my mentor, and I am working with him on researching the curing conditions of BCSA concrete (during the spring and fall of 2021). My future plans are to finish up my senior year of school, and then further my education with a Master’s Degree in Structural Engineering. I plan also to obtain my Professional Engineer’s License after passing the Fundamentals of Engineering exam and the Principles and Practice of Engineering Exam.

BCSA concrete is important and applicable to the real world because of its quick setting capabilities. It can set up and reach high strength in only 4-6 hours (as opposed to normal Portland cement concrete, which takes 28 days to reach about the same strength). This kind of rapid strength could be imperative for fixing issues without delaying or rerouting traffic for too long. Testing its curing conditions could allow us to figure out how to get the strongest version of BCSA concrete possible.

I chose this topic because of my interest in structures. Concrete can play a big part in structures (bridges, parking decks, buildings, etc.), and I believe it is important to understand the material that I will someday be working with. Dr. Murray had already been researching BCSA concrete, but we came up with the idea to test its curing conditions, as that was something he had not previously researched. Curing the concrete in different ways can impact the final strength of the concrete, and strength is the main factor we are analyzing. My curing conditions include putting the cylinders in a water bath, lime bath, the environmental chamber, and out in the regular laboratory area.

While performing this research so far, I have learned that the BCSA concrete does indeed set quickly. We had to move much quicker than I was used to in my structural materials class. It was important that we made all of the necessary cylinders before the concrete lost its workability. The “we” I am writing about includes myself, Dr. Murray, and his graduate students. We needed all hands on deck to mix and batch 48 four-inch by eight-inch cylinders and keep the mixing materials.

This summer, I am taking a break from the research in order to complete a summer internship. However, when I return to school in the fall, I hope to take the two curing conditions that created the strongest concrete and make and test more cylinders under only those two conditions. So far, my data points to the fact that putting the cylinders in the environmental chamber first then the water bath, the water bath, and the lime bath created the strongest concrete after 28 days; however, more research is needed because some cylinders in other conditions had higher early strength.

After final testing and gathering conclusions this fall, I will present my research American Concrete Institute (ACI) Convention.