Method and system for concrete quality control based on the concrete's maturity
First Claim
1. A logger capable of being positioned on or within a concrete mass, comprising:
- one or more temperature sensors to measure physical properties of the concrete mass and to generate sensor data associated with the temperature of the concrete mass;
a memory device that receives and stores strength-maturity correlation data formed by varying the proportions of water-to-cementitious ratio, air content, and maturity data in a plurality of calibration batches and then obtaining strength measurements while breaking the calibration batches and also receiving and storing the relative proportions of water, cement, and air content;
a microprocessor which accesses the strength-maturity correlation data and receives the sensor data and calculates maturity data and mechanical strength data based on the strength-maturity correlation data and the relative proportions of the water, cement, and air content; and
an encasement enclosing the memory device and microprocessor.
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Abstract
Method and system for controlling and monitoring the quality of concrete based on the concrete'"'"'s maturity. Various embodiments of the present invention are discussed. First, Enhanced Maturity involves a maturity calibration method to account for the water-to-cementitious-materials ratio, air content, and gross unit weight of the concrete. Second, Moisture-Loss Maturity is a method for determining the appropriate time to terminate moisture-loss protection of concrete and concrete structures. Third, Improved Maturity is a method and system for determining the strength of curing concrete using improved maturity calculations. Fourth, SPC Maturity is a method that beneficially couples maturity measurements and calculations with Statistical Process Control (SPC) methods to enable rapid recognition of changes to the concrete mix and/or incompatibilities between the various components of the concrete mix. Fifth, Loggers, Readers, and Software represent the preferred embodiment for automating and simplifying the implementations of the aforementioned methods.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A logger capable of being positioned on or within a concrete mass, comprising:
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one or more temperature sensors to measure physical properties of the concrete mass and to generate sensor data associated with the temperature of the concrete mass; a memory device that receives and stores strength-maturity correlation data formed by varying the proportions of water-to-cementitious ratio, air content, and maturity data in a plurality of calibration batches and then obtaining strength measurements while breaking the calibration batches and also receiving and storing the relative proportions of water, cement, and air content; a microprocessor which accesses the strength-maturity correlation data and receives the sensor data and calculates maturity data and mechanical strength data based on the strength-maturity correlation data and the relative proportions of the water, cement, and air content; and an encasement enclosing the memory device and microprocessor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification