Reclamation Home

Reclamation Offices

Newsroom

Library

Projects & Facilities

Technical Service Center

Reclamation Class Series

These Reclamation classes are intended to provide instruction in techniques and needs common throughout Reclamation but not readily available from other sources. Some of these classes were popular in the past, others are new. All classes focus on the newest standards, techniques, and materials. Class size is limited to assure ample time with hands-on exercises to assure that each student develops a "take home" knowledge of how to apply the learning experience to problems encountered real time in the field.

Gain new knowledge, meet new friends, develop contacts for questions: Visit Reclamation's Classes.

From the Materials Research and Engineering Laboratory:

• Reclamation's Concrete School —A 3-day course featuring lectures and hands-on training in the areas of quality evaluation of concrete aggregates, concrete materials testing, curing methods and materials, chemical and mineral admixtures, shotcrete, cement, developing conventional and specialty concrete mixture proportions, and conventional and new construction practices. For information contact Kurt VonFay at 303-445-2375.
  
• Reclamation's Concrete Repair and Maintenance —A 2-day class featuring instruction and hands-on training opportunities in many concrete repair topics. Students will learn about causes of concrete damage, methods to identify causes of damage, condition assessment techniques, and standard and nonstandard repair materials and methods, including spall repair, crack repair, and the appropriate uses of modern repair materials. This has generally been presented in the same week as the Concrete School. For information contact Kurt VonFay at 303-445-2375.
  
• Nondestructive Evaluation Methods —New technologies are becoming available to more effectively assess the properties of large mass concrete structures and to serve in tasks such as finding voids or devices in walls and plants. Hands-on and classroom instruction on the use of many typical and advanced NDE techniques, including mechanical rebound, impact echo, pulse velocity, and acoustic travel time tomography, is under development for a new course.  For information contact Bill Kepler at 303-445-2386.
  
• Basic Coatings Needs —Basic needs in coatings. Surface preparation, products, specifications do's and don'ts, inspection, removal, hazardous materials of concerns, and protections.  For information contact Allen Skaja att 303-445-2396.
  
• Reclamation's Earth School —A 1-week course in field visual classification of soils according to the Unified Soil Classification system. Morning lectures cover such topics as soil classification characteristics, drilling, logging, sample collection equipment and methodology, sample sizes required for laboratory testing, sample containers and shipping, and handling and shipping of environmental samples. Afternoons are spent in hands-on work with a wide range of soils so the students can practice what was covered in the morning lectures. Afternoon emphasis is on "calibrating" the student against a lab-classified soil and practice in correctly filling out field logs. For information contact Thomas Lippert at 303-445-2330.