Acknowledgments

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This manual was funded by the Federal Highway Administration and encouraged and supported by my immediate supervisor, Harry E. Brown. It was written under the general direction of the present director of the Virginia 'Transportation Research Council (VTRC), Dr. Gary R. Allen, and the previous director, Howard H. Newlon, Jr.

The present form of this manual, its organization, and the clarity of much of the text can be attributed to the patience, friendly encouragement, and excellent editing of Linda Day Evans. The photographs (except for those otherwise attributed and the photomicrographs) are due to the excellent work of Edward J. Deasy (VTRC photographer). All of the sketches, art work, and graphs were patiently and expertly produced by C. Randolph Combs (VTRC graphic artist and illustrator).

I thank Richard H. Howe, D. Stephen Lane, Bryant Mather, Daniel D.

McGeehan, H. Celik Ozyildirim, and W. Cullen Sherwood for their careful review of this manual. They noted errors and omissions, indicated passages easily misunderstood, made helpful suggestions, and greatly improved this manual.

I came to VTRC as a geologist with extensive training and experience in petrography, but I knew almost nothing about concrete. I am grateful to the VTRC for the opportunity to learn about this complex material and work with it for more than 25 years. My knowledge of concrete was gleaned from the literature and patiently imparted to me by Howard H. Newlon, Jr., during the years he was my immediate supervisor. My associations with Samuel S. Tyson, Michael M. Sprinkel, H. Celik Ozyildirim, and other concrete researchers were very informative and helpful.

During my years as a concrete petrographer, I was ably supported and assisted by VTRC's chief petrographic technician, Bobby F. Marshall. Without the dedicated and inventive assistance of Bobby, it is unlikely that VTRC would have been able to develop many of its petrographic procedures. Bobby always understands the need for accuracy and integrity. He keeps track of all the specimens and performs all of the sample preparation techniques.

I also had excellent cooperation from a great number of people in the materials, construction, and maintenance divisions of the Virginia Department of Transportation. I specifically thank J. Edward Galloway (retired) and Richard E. Steele of the Materials Division for the encouragement, friendship, and cooperation they gave me.