Moisture measuring – first wireless system for SA concrete industry

14th February 2014

By: Mia Breytenbach

Creamer Media Deputy Editor: Features

  

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Precast concrete manufacturers and concrete ready-mix supply and delivery companies can control concrete quality and standards with moisture control expert Ludwig Moisture Control’s new microwave moisture-measuring system and wireless Bluetooth transmission system, states concrete equipment manufacturer and supplier Pan Mixers South Africa (PMSA) marketing manager Quintin Booysen.

PMSA is an authorised distributor for the Germany-based company and PMSA currently supplies the new Ludwig FL-Mobimic Slimline microwave moisture-measuring system to the concrete industry.

“Companies are given three points of control: before the production of the concrete in the aggregate; while the concrete being mixed in the batching plant; and during transportation to construction sites,” he says.

The wireless system consists of a microwave moisture probe, with an integrated temperature sensor, transmitting unit and receiver module.

The 29-mm-high probe has a diameter of 75 mm and can be placed in stationary mixers with a rotating mixing drum and in ready-mix trucks. It can also be used in mixing processes while the transmitter unit is powered by rechargeable standard batteries, says Booysen, adding that the probe is the smallest of its kind and the first wireless moisture-control technology in South Africa.

The microwave probe was launched at the 2013 bauma Africa Trade Fair, in Johannesburg, where Ludwig Moisture Control MD Manfred Ludwig explained that the data captured from the probe is transmitted by an industrial Bluetooth connection.

The wireless microwave probe can, from its location, transmit to anywhere in the world through the Global System for Mobile Communications networks, Booysen says. He explains that the concrete’s moisture, consistency, slump, temperature, residual water, mix drum speed and mix drum rotation direction can be remotely measured by the probe, with the transmitter transmitting this information to a company’s head office for monitoring.

“A key advantage of the measuring system is the ability to measure the concrete moisture course within a specified period,” notes Booysen.

“The water:cement ratio is a vital element in the manufacturing of concrete. If the concrete mix contains too much moisture, the strength of the concrete can be reduced or the performance can be detrimentally affected,” he says.

“Often, it is difficult to know who is at fault if the concrete does not have the correct consistency or amount of moisture,” Booysen explains.

Sometimes truck drivers or the construction site staff add water to the concrete mix on site or before reaching the site, but the inspector system of the moisture-measuring system monitors whether water has been added at the batching plant, from the water tank on the truck, or on site, he says.

By monitoring the concrete moisture course of a mix, a company can reduce its liabilities and ensure energy and cost savings, as well as increased productivity and the quality of the concrete, Booysen says, adding that suppliers can prove to clients and contractors that batches of concrete containing the correct amount of moisture were supplied.

“As a concrete manufacturer, you would like to ensure that your concrete is made and delivered as per mix design; as a contractor, you would like to know it is the correct mix; and, as the engineer, you would like to know that what was manufactured and placed had the correct specifications.”

Prices, subject to the current euro exchange rate, for the system range from R120 000 for a single probe and Bluetooth system for a ready-mix truck to about R250 000 for a mixer probe and controller. The system for the full plant, including the aggregate and mixer probes and controller, would cost about R400 000, says Booysen, adding that the concrete industry reacted positively to the new wireless system.

Three companies in Cape Town, two in Johannesburg and one in Bloemfontein, have shown interest in the new slimline Bluetooth system, says Booysen, who notes that the concrete industry is not always quick to take up new technology.

“However, we believe demanding clients will force concrete manufacturers to follow this route in the medium to short term, owing to the demand for self-compacting and high-performance concrete,” he says.

Last month, Ludwig Moisture Control not only presented an industry seminar on moisture measurement and control for precast and ready-mix industry professionals at the PMSA sales and showroom facility, in Johannesburg, but also installed the first wireless system at a precast plant during the same period, in conjunction with PMSA.

The company is manufacturing four new semiautomatic and fully automatic brick and blocking plants in Southern Africa. Further plans include focusing on its 2014 strategic imperatives, which include monthly industry-specific open training sessions held at the PMSA facility, says Booysen.

“PMSA will host various concrete industry experts from current suppliers in Africa and Europe, who will present specific workshops to guests and provide them with training that is in line with PMSA’s offering to industry, throughout the year, he concludes.

Edited by Megan van Wyngaardt
Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

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