In January 2000, a NIST/industry consortium was formed to develop a Virtual Cement and Concrete Testing Laboratory (VCCTL). Led by the Materials and Construction Research Division within BFRL/NIST, along with NIST's Information Technology Laboratory (ITL), the goal of the consortium is to develop a computer-based virtual laboratory for evaluating and optimizing cementitious materials. Substantial savings in time, materials (purchase and disposal), human resources, and money can be achieved by reducing the number of physical tests performed on concrete by private industry. The core of the virtual lab is a computer model for the simulating the hydration and microstructure development of cement-based materials that is based on 15 years of research at NIST. Much of this research, along with other results generated in the NIST HYPERCON program, is described in an electronic monograph available at http://ciks.cbt.nist.gov/monograph.
Now entering its seventh year, the VCCTL consortium continues to conduct computational research and experimental validation to improve the predictive ability of the software. This research leads to enhancements and additions to the base models and user interface, based on the specific interests of the consortium members. Version 1.1 of the VCCTL can be accessed and used via the web at http://ciks.cbt.nist.gov/vcctl. In addition, an educational version of VCCTL, which can be downloaded as a standalone Windows application, is scheduled for release to the public in mid-2007.
Current industrial members of the consortium include (in alphabetical order):
This figure gives an overview of the VCCTL system.
Interested parties should contact:
Dr. Jeffrey W. Bullard
301-975-5725
bullard@nist.gov