Contractors including Skanska and VolkerWessels have started using a concrete strength monitoring system that harnesses the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud technology to provide real-time data.
The Maturix system from Danish company Sensohive utilises thermal sensors, long range wireless transmitters and a custom cloud platform to provide contractors and engineers with insights into the concrete curing process on a mobile device.
As well as Skanska and WolkerWessels, Swedish construction company NCC, and Norway’s Kruse Smith have also started rolling out the system, which is designed to expedite construction schedules, improve safety, and replace the industry standard “cube test” that involves casting test specimens during concrete pouring.
Maturix temperature data is collected by industry standard type K thermocouples embedded in concrete and sent using the wireless transmitters
Rasmus Uhre, product manager at Sensohive, told BIM+: “[Cube test] specimens are typically left onsite in the same conditions as the structure, but as seen in several trials, there is a substantial difference when it comes to strength development, which cannot be reflected or replicated in the specimens. Maturix monitors strength in real-time – at multiple positions in the structure – and measurements provide an exact insight, not a ‘well-calculated guess’.”
The transmission of data over the long-range and low-power demand Sigfox 0G IoT network, offers benefits over systems that use Bluetooth near field communications (NFC) to transmit curing data to mobile devices via a wireless gateway.
Contractors and engineers can receive insights into the curing process on a mobile device
NFC systems require the individual to be physically present on the jobsite and hold a phone close to the sensor to take readings.
Maturix temperature data is collected by industry standard type K thermocouples embedded in concrete and sent using the wireless transmitters to radio towers in the surrounding area. In locations with limited or no connectivity, data is sent to a local base station.
Temperature data is sent automatically to the cloud every 10 minutes and is accessible in various report formats. A dedicated application progamming interface means the data can be integrated with any cloud platform, including BIM software.
Sensohive competes with other IoT platforms designed to harvest and communicate real-time concrete curing data from sensors. One product by a UK start-up uses transmitter nodes to send data over a mesh network, data analytics software interprets the results to give an accurate real-time picture of the curing process.
