Abstract
There are two types of specifications: prescriptive and performance based. The prescriptive specifications focus on materials properties, materials proportions, mixing and transporting procedures and on a variety of processes, such as placing and curing. In these specifications, the concrete desired performance it is not necessarily described. On the other hand, performance specifications stipulate what is required from the product and do not prescribe how the product should be produced. In other words, they focus on the desired performance rather than on the concrete ingredients, materials selection, proportioning or construction methods. These are the responsibility of those individuals who contractually have to comply with the specifications. In this case, con- crete is defined in terms of measurable fresh and hardened properties and durability and as there are no restrictions regarding materials and their proportions in the performance specifications, innovative solutions may be used in order to achieve the performance requirements. Currently, most concrete specifications are predominantly prescriptive with some performance requirements. Nevertheless, there is a consensus that in order to extend the service life of concrete structures, this has to be changed. This paper gives an overview of the international specifica- tions and describes the international efforts on the performance specification implementation in the concrete industry.
Highlights
ACI 116-00 [1] defines specification as an explicit set of requirements to be satisfied by a material, product or service
Concrete is defined in terms of measurable fresh and hardened properties and durability and as there are no restrictions regarding materials and their proportions in the performance specifications, innovative solutions may be used in order to achieve the performance requirements
In order to guarantee the proper performance of the concrete in service, the general concept of performance specification concrete should be applied as follows [3]: n There would be a qualification/certification system that establishes the requirements for a quality control management system, qualification of personnel and requirements for concrete plants. n The specification would have provisions that clearly define the functional requirements of the hardened concrete
Summary
ACI 116-00 [1] defines specification as an explicit set of requirements to be satisfied by a material, product or service. Concrete specifications are still prescriptive in nature, indicating maximum w/cm, maximum and minimum volume of supplementary cementitous materials, but excluding the requirements the material should comply with in order to guarantee that its service life is achieved. These requirements are the performance requirements, which in the prescriptive specifications, are believed to be indirectly attained through the specification, for example, of the maximum w/cm allowed. In order to guarantee the proper performance of the concrete in service, the general concept of performance specification concrete should be applied as follows [3]: n There would be a qualification/certification system that establishes the requirements for a quality control management system, qualification of personnel and requirements for concrete plants. Some of the actions that should be taken in this direction are: n Education of designers, contractors, suppliers and owners regarding performance concepts; n Creation of performance based standards and codes; n Creation of performance specifications
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