Enabling technologies based on microwave techniques for real-time measurement of moisture content in construction materials

 

Description

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The moisture content of concrete defines its quality and other important properties such as strength, setting time, and lifespan. For this reason, it is a parameter that must be monitored and, if possible, controlled during its manufacture.

Concrete aggregates, fundamental materials for concrete production, have a moisture content that affects the volume of water required during mixing. This parameter depends on environmental variables, causing it to change constantly. Currently, the methods available for measuring the moisture content of these materials are invasive and destructive, such as laboratory tests like the 24-hour thermogravimetric method. These types of methods for dosing the necessary amount of water in the mixing process do not allow for real-time monitoring or control of the optimal water volume.

This project investigates dielectric spectroscopy, a method that can be used to solve this problem and develop a real-time monitoring system in concrete manufacturing.

This method obtains the moisture content of the material by relating this parameter to its dielectric constant. The dielectric constant of the material is a measure of the amount of electrical energy the material stores and can be determined by emitting microwaves that pass through it. It has been discovered that the greater the amount of water present in the material, the more electrical energy it stores.

This measurement system works using antennas, which are devices that radiate electromagnetic fields into space. These devices do not require contact with the material; that is, they are non-invasive, and the radiation they produce is non-ionizing, so it does not destroy the material or harm the operator's health. Therefore, this system is ideal for solving the proposed problem.

Financier

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Fondecyt-Sencico.

Coordinator

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Gaby Ruiz Petrozzi.

Administrative coordinator

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Julia Acuña.

Technical team

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Gaby Ruiz Petrozzi, Jose Manrique Silupu, Juan Carlos Soto.