[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 13, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21845-21846]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-08418]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


Nondestructive Evaluation Techniques for Assessing Alkali-Silica 
Reaction Degradation of Concrete Consortium

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for information.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is 
establishing the Non-destructive Evaluation Techniques for Assessing 
alkali-silica reaction (ASR) Degradation of Concrete Consortium 
(``Consortium'') and invites organizations to participate in this 
Consortium. The Consortium will examine non-destructive evaluation 
(NDE) technologies that can be used to determine the presence and the 
evolution of ASR in concrete members. This notice is the initial step 
for the Consortium to provide participants' access to NIST concrete 
specimens constructed as large reinforced concrete blocks with ASR 
reactive aggregates (``NIST ASR Specimens''). Participants will use 
NIST ASR Specimens to determine whether NDE technologies are effective 
in identifying and quantifying degree of expansion and degradation of 
concrete members due to ASR. Participation in this Consortium is open 
to all eligible organizations, as described below.

DATES: NIST will accept responses for participation in this Consortium 
from prospective participants until May 13, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Information in response to this notice and requests for 
additional information about the Consortium can be directed via mail to 
Fahim Sadek, NIST Consortium Manager, Engineering Laboratory, National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 
8611, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, or via electronic mail to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about 
partnership opportunities or about terms and conditions of NIST's 
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), please contact 
Honeyeh Zube, CRADA and License Officer at the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology's Technology Partnerships Office, by written 
correspondence to 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 2200, Gaithersburg, 
Maryland 20899, by electronic mail to [email protected], or by 
telephone at (301) 975-2209.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ASR is a concrete degradation mechanism in 
which the alkalis that are typically found in Portland cement react 
with certain amorphous or micro-crystalline siliceous phases in the 
aggregate and, in the presence of moisture, form an expansive gel. The 
gel generates macroscopic expansions within the concrete, which causes 
the concrete to crack and change its mechanical properties. NIST and 
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are engaged in ongoing research 
to develop a standardized method for quantifying the degree of 
degradation resulting from ASR. NIST's research includes the 
construction of four large reinforced concrete specimens with a length 
of 16 feet and a cross section of 3.5 feet by 6 feet. Three of the 
specimens will be cast with reactive aggregates resulting in low-, mid-
, and high-ASR expansion, while the fourth specimen will be cast with 
non-reactive aggregates. The NIST ASR Specimens will be conditioned in 
a large curing chamber at the NIST, under controlled temperature and 
humidity, for a duration of three (3) years.
    The purpose of this Consortium is for participants to evaluate 
technologies that can be used to quantify the magnitude and evolution 
of expansion and degradation in structural concrete members. The intent 
is for eligible participants to use the NIST ASR Specimens as a 
testbed, free of charge, for experimenting with various non-invasive, 
non-destructive techniques to detect and monitor the progress of the 
concrete degradation over time.

[[Page 21846]]

    To ensure safe laboratory procedures, each participant will need to 
conduct his/her operations in a manner consistent with NIST's safety 
policies and procedures. The participant will need to provide 
information regarding the technical qualifications of his/her personnel 
who would conduct laboratory work at NIST (``Participant Project 
Team''). Furthermore, the participant will need to provide a proposed 
safety standard operation procedure (SSOP) that would require approval 
from the NIST Consortium Manager. Each participant will be responsible 
for its Participant Project Team. Each member of the Participant 
Project Team working in the laboratory housing the NIST ASR Specimens 
will be required to take a one-time laboratory safety awareness 
training by NIST prior to accessing the laboratory. This training will 
require less than two (2) hours, and may take place before the first 
day of the Participant's Project Team's scheduled access to the NIST 
ASR specimens.
    To minimize disruption to NIST's ongoing laboratory work, 
participants' access to the specimens will be limited. Because the 
kinetics of the expansion cannot be predicted accurately, NIST may not 
be able to provide the participants with advance notice regarding the 
availability of the NIST ASR Specimens to the participants for 
measurements. NIST will inform the participants only after the specimen 
undergoes a measureable change in expansion. Unless a periodic access 
schedule is already in place between NIST and a participant, the 
participant would need to be able to arrive, set-up, and conduct its 
measurements with as little as one (1) week of notice. In general, it 
is expected that the NIST ASR Specimens will be available to the 
participants for measurements about one (1) month after casting of the 
NIST ASR Specimens, and periodically for the three (3) months 
thereafter. NIST also intends to provide each participant with one (1) 
day per scheduled visit to set up the NDE equipment and to complete 
data collection. Participants must not employ NDE measurement processes 
that can alter the physical or chemical state of the existing concrete 
blocks.
    Any data and intellectual property resulting from the research 
under this Consortium will be owned by the party that developed the 
data or intellectual property. NIST will not seek any patent protection 
on any invention conceived by NIST employees under this Consortium. 
Each participant in the Consortium will be required to inform NIST of 
any intellectual property developed by the members of its Participant 
Project Team in the performance of the research under this Consortium. 
Any intellectual property conceived by a member of its Participant 
Project Team will be subject to a non-exclusive, non-transferrable, 
paid-up license to practice to have practiced the intellectual property 
for government purposes, including research purposes. Each participant 
may use its own results for internal research, but a participant may 
not disclose the results to the public or any other third party without 
the prior written permission of NIST Consortium Manager.
    Participation Process: Eligibility will be determined by NIST based 
on the information provided by prospective participants in response to 
this notice on a first-come, first-serve basis. All participants will 
be required to sign the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement 
(CRADA) for this Consortium, and each participant will be bound to the 
same terms and conditions in consideration of participation in the 
Consortium. Participants will not be required to contribute any funds 
or pay any fee. NIST will evaluate the written responses from 
prospective participants to determine eligibility to participate in 
this Consortium. Prospective participants should provide the following 
information to NIST's Consortium Manager:
    (1) Can the NDE technology quantify, or does it have the potential 
to quantify, the mechanical properties of the concrete throughout the 
reinforced concrete block?
    (2) Can the NDE technology quantify, or does it have the potential 
to quantify, the degree of expansion/crack development throughout the 
reinforced concrete block?
    (3) Can the NDE technology quantify, or does it have the potential 
to quantify, the degree of the ASR reaction throughout the concrete 
block?
    (4) Can the NDE technology quantify, or does it have the potential 
to quantify, the degree of expansion/stress on the surface of the 
reinforced concrete block?
    A responding organization should not include any business 
proprietary information in its response to this request for 
information. NIST will not treat any information provided in response 
to this request as proprietary information.

Phillip Singerman,
Associate Director for Innovations and Industry Services.
[FR Doc. 2016-08418 Filed 4-12-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-13-P