Wireless Concrete Sensor for Real-Time Quality Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
The concrete industry lacks real-time monitoring and tracking of fluid concrete quality during transportation and placement, leading to inefficiencies and delayed quality assessment, as existing methods rely on destructive tests and a 28-day curing period for strength evaluation.
Innovation Solution
A wireless device with sensors and a transmitter is deployed in mixer trucks to measure properties of fluid concrete and hardened concrete, transmitting data in real-time, including temperature, pH, and slump, allowing for continuous monitoring and data collection throughout the concrete's lifecycle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If destructive tests and 28-day curing period are used to determine concrete quality, then measurement accuracy is improved, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical destructive testing with wireless sensor technology that continuously monitors concrete properties (temperature, humidity, strain, acceleration) in real-time. Sensors transmit data via RFID or other wireless communication, eliminating the need for physical sample extraction and 28-day waiting periods while maintaining measurement accuracy through multiple sensing parameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables continuous monitoring of concrete curing processes from mixing through hardening. Sensors remain embedded in the concrete throughout the entire curing period, continuously transmitting data about temperature, humidity, and structural development, allowing real-time quality assessment instead of intermittent destructive testing.
2Loss of information
If real-time monitoring systems are implemented in mixer trucks, then information availability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wireless sensor node is designed as a multi-functional integrated unit that simultaneously performs sensing (temperature, humidity, strain, acceleration), data processing, wireless transmission (RFID, Bluetooth, cellular), and power management. This universal design reduces overall system complexity compared to separate components for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a hierarchical nested structure where sensor elements are embedded within protective capsules, which are then embedded in the concrete mixture. The wireless transmission protocol is nested within layered data formats that include sensor readings, location information, and quality metrics, allowing compact information packaging and reduced communication overhead.
3Ease of operation
If floating wireless devices are used to measure fluid concrete properties, then ease of deployment is improved, but measurement precision may worsen due to device movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates accelerometers and gyroscopes in the floating wireless device to dynamically track and compensate for device movement and orientation changes. The system continuously adjusts measurement readings based on detected motion, maintaining measurement precision despite the device floating and moving with the fluid concrete during mixing and transport.
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
Enables real-time quality management and tracking of concrete properties during transportation, placement, and curing, improving construction efficiency and reducing the need for destructive testing by providing immediate data on concrete strength and mixture proportions.
Implementation Method 1
the device having a weight less than a buoyancy of the device such that the device floats at the surface of the fluid concrete
Data Source
AI summary
A sensing device includes a shell comprising an elastomeric material, the shell including a first portion having a first end and a second portion having a second end. The shell may be egg-shaped. The first portion includes a conducting disc and a plate that includes a temperature sensor, a location sensor, and a micro-fiber composite sensor. The first portion also includes an antenna and a first electrode extending through a first hole in the first portion of the shell. The second portion includes a quantity of a metallic substance embedded on the inside surface of an end of the second portion, and a second electrode extending through a second hole in the second portion of the shell. The sensing device may be inserted into a concrete mixture, obtain measurements relating to the concrete mixture, and transmit data to a database.