HAVING insight into the strength of concrete helps contractors determine when the concrete can be walked on or when formwork can be removed, so that there are no unnecessary delays in the construction schedule.
However, concrete strength can be difficult to estimate, as it does not always develop at the same speed. Temperature and weather conditions will affect how fast or slow the strength of a structure develops.
Chryso’s Maturix software solution now makes it possible to measure the maturity of concrete on site or in precast element production. Maturix monitors the curing process of concrete, gathering data from in-situ sensors and processing this information on an intuitive software platform.
According to the company, it is able to make real-time maturity calculations, as well as future projections on concrete strength, based on machine learning.
“While concrete maturity alone does not show how strong the concrete is, the maturity method can determine the relationship between maturity and strength development. Concrete maturity is a concept that relates temperature, time and strength development,” the company said in a statement.
“The maturity method is therefore an easy way to estimate the early-age strength development of a concrete mix. Maturix achieves this by providing all relevant insights for concrete monitoring, including temperature, humidity and ambient climate.”
Maturix works through a concrete sensor cable which is mounted to the reinforcement before the wet concrete is poured. The thermocouple is connected to the Orbit K transmitter and the monitoring is initiated on a smartphone or computer. Data is continuously transmitted using the Internet of Things (IoT) network Sigfox for accurate real-time data.
The user can track the strength and maturity of the concrete from anywhere and at any time, and can receive a notification when the curing is complete. They can be notified by SMS, e-mail, app notification or on a customised dashboard.
“This facilitates better scheduling on site, as the user is given exact insights into the concrete behaviour – allowing the project workflow and timelines to be adjusted based on real-time data. This flexibility helps to streamline the construction process, saving time and money.”
Maturix also makes it easy to document processes for quality assurance reporting, as all monitored data is automatically saved as online reports, which can be shared, exported and downloaded.
