UCPRC Open House at CCPC 2026 Features Test Cell Placements, Testing & Grinding

On Thursday, April 23^rd 2026 the University of California Pavement Research Center held an Open House on their campus facilities, hosted by Dr. John Harvey and Dr. Somayeh Nassiri, UC Davis Civil and Environmental Engineering professors and ITS researchers, as Day Two of the Second Annual California Concrete Pavement Conference. The Open House was sponsored by Atlas Technical Consultants.

The day’s events started when the first Central Concrete truck rolled onto the site at 7 am and the first of three test placements began. The mix in the first test cell included BioPOZZ, a carbon negative alternative SCM from Solid Carbon.

The second and third test sections included a newly developed SCM, PozzoDyne, an activated ground-glass pozzolan from AggrePlex.

Dr. Somayeh Nassiri, center with shovel, distributes the concrete coming down the chute  in the third test cell placement. Added attractions to the three test placements were demonstrations by Rattle Stick of their vibrating float attachment.

Under the guidance of FHWA Program Manager Robert Conway, their Mobile Concrete Technology Center, the MCTC, once again was onsite at the UCPRC for Day Two of CCPC 2026. Jagan Gudimettla, pictured above, directed and led the testing demonstrations performed by the MCTC Team.

The MCTC demonstrations of new and innovative concrete test methods, included:

Super Air Meter (SAM): New technology to measure the air void system of concrete;

Surface Resistivity: Rapid measurement to indicate permeability of concrete;

Box Test: New technology to assess the workability of slipform concrete;

Float Test: New technology to assess the finishability of non-slipform concrete;

Calorimetry: Real-time assessment of the chemical consistency of concrete;

MIT-DOWEL-Scan: Real-time assessment of dowel bar alignment; and

UltraSonic Pulse Echo (MIRA): Forensic tool to detect defects and rebar on existing concrete.

ABSL Construction brought out their PC6004EC Diamond Grinder for demonstration runs on previously placed concrete pavement sections at the UCPRC.

April 23, 2026 – Caltrans METS Chief Jacquelyn Wong, FHWA’s Chris Long, Dr. John Harvey, and Caltrans State Pavement Engineer Tigi Thomas all enjoyed the robust CCPC 2026 Day Two at the UCPRC Open House.