July 2025 Webinar: Best Practices Using Blended Cement in Sustainable Infrastructure
- Registration Closed
With the recent fundamental shift towards building more sustainable infrastructure, the use of blended cement to lower the embodied carbon of concrete has grown rapidly. In 2021, blended cement represented approximately 3% of the 100 million metric tons of cement consumed annually in the United States. Between 2021 and 2024, the share of blended cement grew to more than 60% of total U.S. cement consumption.
Blended cements are produced by intimately and uniformly inter-grinding or blending two or more types of fine materials. Manufactured to meet ASTM C595/C595M, the primary materials are portland cement or portland cement clinker, limestone, slag cement, fly ash, silica fume, calcined clay, and other pozzolans. Blended cements can also capitalize on performance and durability benefits of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) that have been demonstrated for well over 80 years.
For both fresh and hardened concrete properties, concrete mixtures formulated with blended cements can perform similarly to those formulated with traditional portland cement. Maintaining concrete behavior requires additional trial batching as when changing from one source of material to another. This webinar will include discussion of best pre-construction practices when transitioning projects to blended cements, including Type IL and other ASTM C595 blended cements including Type IS (slag), Type IP (pozzolan), and Type IT (ternary).
The majority of blended cement consumed in the U.S. is currently portland-limestone cement (PLC), or Type IL. PLC contains more than 5% but less than or equal to 15% by mass of finely ground limestone as an ingredient. There are several examples of dam projects in the U.S. that incorporated PLC. In this webinar, case histories will be discussed for recent projects that used PLC for mass concrete and geotechnical applications including anchoring and foundation grouting.
Joshua Gilman
Director of Sustainable Infrastructure
American Cement Association
Mr. Gilman has 15 years of experience relating to geotechnical and civil engineering on a wide variety of heavy civil works, geotechnical and water resource projects for federal, municipal, industrial, contractor and private clients. He joined the American Cement Association (ACA) in 2019 and his current role is Director of Sustainable Infrastructure. He is responsible for providing subject matter expertise and outreach on infrastructure applications for conventional concrete, mass concrete, and cement-specific applications such as roller-compacted concrete (RCC) and soil-cement (SC) with a focus on sustainable solutions. In addition to providing technical support to the industry and giving numerous technical presentations, he was responsible for the development and oversight of the second edition of ACA’s “Design Manual for RCC Spillways and Overtopping Protection” which is the premier design reference for practitioners, regulators, and contractors in the dam industry. He also contributes to developing and maintaining cement-based standards and guide documents through participation in ACI and ASTM technical committees with a focus on improving the sustainability of cement and concrete applications in practice.
Ted Montoya
Senior Civil Engineer
AECOM
Mr. Montoya is a Design and Construction Engineer with 24 years of experience in the design and construction of dams and hydraulic structures. He has worked with a number of water utility and mining clients, developing skills with respect to design, construction oversight, quality assurance, reporting, and project management. He has been involved in three large dam raises from the design phase through construction completion and a fourth during the construction.
Conrad Ginther, P.E.
Construction Manager/Geotechnical Engineer
Geosyntec
Mr. Ginther is a geotechnical engineer and construction manager specializing in seepage barriers, grouting, cutoff walls, dam design and construction, and dam safety.
Bryan Bledsoe
Civil/Structural Engineer (CELRH-MXE
USACE
Mr. Bledsoe is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of West Virginia with 15 years of experience with the US Army Corps of Engineers and has been a structural engineer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dam Safety Modification Center, LRD Dam Safety Production Center since 2021. Previously, he was a structural engineer with the USACE Huntington District where he inspected, designed, and supported construction and maintenance of flood risk management and navigation dams. He has depth of experience in analysis, design, and construction of mass and reinforced concrete structures as well as significant experience with the design, testing, and installation of post-tensioned anchors. His experience also includes HSS design, bridge inspection, fatigue and fracture, and fabrication of HSS and similar structures. He is co-chair of the Anchoring and Tension Micropiles committee in the USACE GG&M and Structural CoPs, a member of the ASTM A01 (steel) and C01 (cement and concrete) committees, a member of the Post-Tensioning Institute DC-35 committee (ground anchors), and serves as a structural subject matter expert reviewing AE design packages for the National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs.
Key:
Complete
Next
Failed
Available
Locked