March 2022 ASCE-NH Newsletter | Page 6

February 2022 ASCE-NH Lunch and Learn Webinar Summary

The February 2022 ASCE-NH lunch and learn occurred virtually as a Webinar via Zoom Video Communications . There were over 85 attendees during the event and the Webinar was another excellent opportunity for Members of the Sections ( and Non-Members ) to gather remotely , receive PDHs , and engage in an interesting topic .

The Webinar was led by Theresa Anderjack Loux and Ben Cote of Aero Aggregates of North America , LLC . They showed their expertise on a relatively new material being introduced to the US construction industry , foamed glass aggregate ( FGA ). It was incredible to learn how this lighter than water aggregate could be used as a structural fill component on different , specialized jobs with a very high success rate . The material only has a bulk density of roughly 14 pounds per cubic foot ( pcf ) ( water is approximately 63 pcf , crushed stone is approximately 97 pcf ) but a compressive strength still of 19,000 pounds per square foot ( psf ) or 132 pounds per square inch ( psi ).

The process by which the aggregate is made is quite interesting as the raw material is crushed mixed glass that is mixed with about 1 % of a foaming agent and then cooked . This product provides a use for a recycling stream that may not be usable in many other situations as the glass can be of mixed colors . It also has a thermal insulating value equal to R-20 per foot adding additional benefits in specific instances . The presenters then went on to show many instances where the product had been used where loading over existing infrastructure , poor quality base materials , or loading on retaining walls were all a consideration that the FGA was able to address .

Thank you to Theresa and Ben for their time and effort to make the Webinar exceptional . All attendees look forward to considering foamed glass aggregate as part of their next specialized project ! Please look for more Webinar opportunities from the ASCE-NH Section in the coming months .

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