Real-time in-situ strength monitoring of concrete using maturity method of strength prediction via IoT

Abstract

The estimated value of concrete compressive strength is vital for early formwork removal, leading to cost benefits for construction projects. The current research proposes a novel and economical IoT based real-time monitoring of strength of concrete during the early stages. The current experimental setup consists of IoT microcontrollers and temperature sensors connected to a cloud-based platform. M20 mix design was used to validate the proposed experimental setup. The maturity relationship between the concrete strength and the temperature was established in the laboratory as per the standards. A prototype slab with an embedded temperature sensor was cast in actual site conditions. Data collected from the temperature sensor from the slab was used to predict the strength of the slab and the results were very closely matched with the actual strength results from the cubes. A cloud-based platform was then used that showed the predicted strength in real-time. The proposed system acts as the case study for further research and development of internet/mobile applications to monitor the early age compressive strength of to aid the project managers to make informed decisions for the early removal of formwork leading to substantial cost benefits in terms of labor work and early completion of activities on a construction project.