Sensor-Enabled Material Marketplace for Concrete Recipe Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Concrete production is hindered by material inconsistency due to variations in ingredient quality, leading to overuse and high environmental impact, necessitating large safety margins and inefficient resource utilization.
Innovation Solution
An integrated manufacturing platform that utilizes real-time sensor data and machine learning to optimize the matching of raw material characteristics with product demands, enabling precise recipe generation and operational parameter adjustment for efficient production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If traditional concrete production methods are used, then production simplicity is maintained, but material inconsistency leads to overuse and high environmental impact
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the concrete production process into distinct stages: raw material characterization, recipe optimization, and manufacturing. By dividing the complex production system into manageable segments, each handled by specialized sensors and processing units, the patent reduces overall system complexity while enabling precise material control to eliminate overuse.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where sensor data from raw material characterization is fed back to the recipe optimization system. This closed-loop feedback allows continuous adjustment of material compositions and quantities, ensuring optimal use of materials while maintaining product quality, thereby reducing material overuse without requiring complete system redesign.
2Reliability
If safety margins are increased to account for material variation, then product reliability is improved, but manufacturing efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical quality control methods with sensor-based detection and data-driven optimization. By using sensors to precisely measure raw material properties and feeding this data into optimization algorithms, the system achieves reliable product quality without the need for excessive safety margins, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts material parameters and recipe formulations based on real-time sensor data and optimization calculations. By continuously optimizing material compositions and quantities rather than relying on fixed safety margins, the patent maintains product reliability while eliminating the inefficiency of overproduction associated with conservative safety buffers.
3Manufacturing precision
If real-time sensor characterization is implemented, then material matching precision is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs multi-functional sensor systems that can characterize multiple material properties (particle size, shape, composition, moisture content) using integrated sensing mechanisms. By designing sensor systems with universal capabilities to measure various parameters simultaneously, the patent achieves high material matching precision without proportionally increasing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates digital copies and representations of physical material properties through sensor characterization. By working with data models of material characteristics rather than physically manipulating every material property, the patent achieves precise material matching while simplifying the physical sensor infrastructure required for measurement.
4Object-generated harmful factors
If locally available materials are optimized, then environmental impact is reduced, but material characterization difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary characterization of locally available materials using sensor systems before they are incorporated into concrete mixes. By pre-measuring and optimizing material properties in advance, the system identifies the most environmentally beneficial local materials and prepares optimized recipes beforehand, reducing environmental impact without requiring complex real-time characterization during production.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary optimization platform that bridges raw material characterization and concrete manufacturing. This intermediary system processes sensor data, optimizes material selections, and generates adjusted recipes, thereby simplifying the overall process of characterizing and integrating locally available materials while maximizing environmental benefits.
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 platform enhances product quality, reduces costs, and minimizes environmental impact by optimizing the use of locally available materials, ensuring high-standards and efficient resource utilization through direct feedback loops between raw material producers and manufacturers.
Implementation Method 1
The characterized output can be extracted using, for example, image data and sensor data (e.g., near-infrared sensor data, hyperspectral data, etc.) to capture and aggregate materials characteristics at pixel level detail
Implementation Method 2
The characterized output can be extracted using, for example, image data and sensor data (e.g., near-infrared sensor data, hyperspectral data, etc.) to capture and aggregate materials characteristics at pixel level detail
Data Source
AI summary
An integrated geomaterials preparation method including receiving, through an API of an integrated geomaterials preparation platform, a raw material request and a set of end-product parameters, determining, from the set of end-product parameters, required characteristics for at least one raw material ingredient to an end product to meet the raw material request, obtaining raw material sensor data from a plurality of raw material sensor systems, identifying, from the raw material sensor data, a particular raw material having characteristics similar to the required characteristics, where each sensor system is configured to scan and characterize raw materials, generating, using the characteristics of the particular raw material, operational parameters for geomaterial processing equipment to produce a raw material ingredient to meet the raw material request, and providing, the operational parameters to the geomaterial processing equipment, which when executed by the geomaterial processing equipment cause the geomaterial processing equipment to execute the operational parameters.