Webinars Under the auspices of ACI Kuwait Chapter’s current Vice President, and Chairperson of the Technical Committee, Dr. Moetaz El-Hawary, a series of interesting and informative webinar sessions were organized on a variety of subjects. These constituted a part of ACI Chapter Talks Webinars Program.

Four webinars have been conducted to date:

ACI 562-19, Code Requirements for Assessment, Repair, and Rehabilitation of Existing Concrete Structures and Commentary. Date: Wednesday, 15th July, 2020.
Presenter: Dr. Khaled Nahlawi, Distinguished Senior Engineer, ACI.

Mass Concrete: How Big is Big? Date: Monday, 21st September, 2020.
Presenter: Mr. Robert Howell, Professional Development Program Engineer, ACI.

Wind Engineering and its Applications This webinar was arranged in association with RWDI Consulting Engineers.
Date: Wednesday, 11th November, 2020.
Presenter:
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Principal and Managing Director VP, RWDI.
Mr. V. J. Abhijith,Scientist/Project Manager, RWDI

Durability: How do we measure it? Date: Tuesday, 19th January, 2021.
Presenter: Ms. Kolie Amelio, PE, Professional Development Program Engineer, ACI.

ACI 562-19 ACI 562 is the first US code produced specifically for the repair of reinforced concrete. A publication of a new guide document for the code, with additional information and project examples to help users interpret the code requirements, were also highlighted in the webinar.

Topics covered in the presentation included:
•  Why a repair code is needed?
•  The philosophy behind ACI 562
•  How the code promotes consistency in repair design?
•  Recognizing repair construction challenges?
•  Significance of a quality assurance program for successful repairs.
•  How the code can save the owner money?

The webinar, with almost 80 participants with over 40 from Kuwait, attracted attendees from USA, UK, Saudi Arabia, India, UAE, Lebanon, Peru, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Bolivia, Turkey, Guatemala and Colombia. The webinar gave ACI Kuwait Chapter the opportunity to add to its technical program that was temporarily halted due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Chapter members obtained a valuable introduction to ACI 562 code and the benefits that can be accrued from it. The session concluded with a random draw in which an attendee from Kuwait Chapter won the chance to select one of three prizes worth up to $799.

Mass Concrete ‘Mass Concrete: How Big is Big?’ covered how to identify mass concrete; the ACI 301 requirements pertaining to it; and good construction practices. In a wide-ranging presentation, the other topics that were addressed during the webinar included: •  Examples of mass concrete structures;
•  Identifying mass concrete in the field;
•  Specification requirements;
•  Factors influencing mass concrete; and
•  Mitigation or design

Wind Engineering The presentation focused on the fundamentals of wind engineering. Various topics with real-life examples were included in the presentation which also covered: • Fundamentals of wind engineering
• Wind, climate and exposure effects
• Recent developments in wind climate mapping in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries
• Architectural aerodynamics
• Building motion and dampers
• Wind tunnel testing
• Wind design of structures

Durability The webinar on ‘Durability: How do we measure it?’ was also attended by the President of ACI, Mr. Jeffrey Coleman, who welcomed the international audience, although most of the attendees were from Kuwait. The subject matter is particularly relevant in Kuwait, given the very hot weather experienced here over 7-8 months of the year. The presentation addressed the importance of durability and current test methods, and the topics covered included:
•  How to define durability;
•  Where to find durability requirements and guidance;
•  Commonly used durability tests for freeze-thaw and alkali-aggregate reactivity.

Once again, an attendee from Kuwait won the random draw and the chance to choose one of the three $799 prizes.