Internet of Things-Based Concrete Curing Invention for Construction Quality Control

King-Chi Lo,Qiping Geoffrey Shen,Chi-Keung Lau,Ming-Fung Francis Siu,Heung-Wing Terry Kwok,Hexu Liu

doi:10.1155/2021/9933615

Abstract

The efficiency of the traditional concrete curing process on site is low, due to the difficulties in providing continuous supervision and control of the curing environment, leading to considerable variation in the curing regimes experienced by different concrete pours. To enhance concrete curing practice, technologies have been harnessed which eliminate human involvement enabling more rigorous control of the environmental conditions affecting curing, but the potential for Internet of Things (IoT) technologies had yet to be explored in this context. This research study examined an IoT-based concrete curing control system based on sensor technologies invented for monitoring and controlling the moisture content of hardening concrete to the levels appropriate for good quality hardened concrete. Based on on-site experiments, the performance of this IoT-based method was compared with the performance of traditional curing methods. The results indicate that the system invented outperforms the traditional approach both in terms of concrete curing quality and time spent on supervision.

Highlights

Concrete is widely used in construction because of its versatility, strength, durability, and flexibility
Both the moisture content within the concrete and the temperature, during hardening, are critical parameters determining the quality of the concrete [2, 3]. e moisture content correlates to the degree to which all the cement particles are hydrated in the setting process, and the temperature determines the speed of the reaction
Concrete curing is the process by which the moisture content and temperature of fresh concrete is maintained [4, 5]. e moisture content in fresh concrete is potentially reduced by evaporation. e critical factors, which govern the evaporation of water from fresh concrete [6], are ambient air temperature and relative humidity, concrete’s temperature and moisture content, and wind velocity [7,8,9,10]

Summary

Introduction

Concrete is widely used in construction because of its versatility, strength, durability, and flexibility. To reach its best performance, proper concrete curing is required during the concrete hardening process, as the hydration reaction between water and cement takes place [1]. Both the moisture content within the concrete and the temperature, during hardening, are critical parameters determining the quality of the concrete [2, 3]. E critical factors, which govern the evaporation of water from fresh concrete [6], are ambient air temperature and relative humidity, concrete’s temperature and moisture content, and wind velocity [7,8,9,10] Concrete curing is the process by which the moisture content and temperature of fresh concrete is maintained [4, 5]. e moisture content in fresh concrete is potentially reduced by evaporation. e critical factors, which govern the evaporation of water from fresh concrete [6], are ambient air temperature and relative humidity, concrete’s temperature and moisture content, and wind velocity [7,8,9,10]

Methods

Results

Conclusion