Rigid Water-Soluble Sand Container for Concrete Additives
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing packaging solutions for concrete additives are costly, fragile, and prone to degradation during storage and transport, with flexible containers sticking or degrading in humid conditions, and requiring long dissolution times in aqueous media.
Innovation Solution
A water-soluble container with a rigid wall composed of 98% sand and 2% water-soluble binder, which dissolves almost instantaneously in an aqueous medium, allowing for easy, controlled, and cost-effective incorporation of additives into concrete mixes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If flexible water-soluble containers are used, then they can be stored and transported, but they stick and degrade in humid conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The container wall is made with a porous structure comprising 98% sand and 2% water-soluble binder, which provides rigidity while allowing rapid water penetration for instantaneous dissolution, eliminating the sticking and degradation issues of flexible containers
Solution Approach 2:
The container uses a composite material of sand aggregate and water-soluble binder (PVA or CMC), combining the structural integrity of sand with the water-solubility of the binder to create a rigid yet rapidly dissolving container that resists humidity during storage
2Productivity
If non-rigid water-soluble packaging is used, then it dissolves in water, but it requires long dissolution time
Solution Approach 1:
The porous structure of the container wall made with sand aggregate and water-soluble binder allows rapid penetration of water throughout the structure, enabling instantaneous dissolution and eliminating latency time in concrete mixing operations
Solution Approach 2:
The container composition is optimized with 98% sand and 2% water-soluble binder, creating a structure that maintains rigidity while enabling extremely rapid dissolution when contacted with water, transforming the dissolution parameter from slow to instantaneous
3Strength
If rigid water-soluble containers are used, then they provide structural integrity, but they are difficult to manufacture with rapid dissolution
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid container structure is achieved through a porous matrix of sand aggregate bound with water-soluble binder, providing structural integrity for handling while the porosity enables rapid water penetration and instantaneous dissolution
Solution Approach 2:
The composite of sand (98%) and water-soluble binder (2%) creates a material that is both rigid enough for structural container applications and rapidly dissolvable, simplifying manufacturing while achieving both strength and rapid dissolution
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides rapid, reliable, and cost-effective addition of additives to concrete, eliminating latency issues and improving storage and handling, with the container being inert and made from constituents of the concrete itself, ensuring stability and ease of use.
Implementation Method 1
the wall of which is at least partially rigid and porous and consists of a material comprising at least one aggregate agglomerated by a water-soluble binder
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a water-soluble container, the wall of which delimits a hermetically sealed inner space suitable for containing at least one dry additive. The container is at least partially rigid and the wall thereof is made from a material including at least one granulate agglomerated by a water-soluble binder. The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing such a container, as well as to the use thereof for the production of concrete.