Development of an Automated Concrete Quality Control and Simulation Planning System.

This report documents the development of a cornmercial computer automated system for concrete quality control. The system consists of a software package and two pieces of computerized test equipment. The software package, QuadrelTM, runs on a personal computer in the Microsoft Windows environment and was designed for the concrete construction testing and planning industry. The two pieces of test equipment consist of the QdrumTM calorimeter and the QuadLoggeTM datalogger. The technical basis for the development of the system is the maturity principle as defined by the Freislehen Hansen model. It is assumed that both adiabatic heat development and compressive strength development are functions of the maturity. The concrete quality control and evaluation functions are accomplished through analyzing and interpreting various concrete test data and batch information. The data required by the system include the mixture proportions, adiabatic heat signature, and standard fresh and hardened concrete tests. A system of relational databases are used to link batches, tests and equipment. Expert system technology is used to determine whether a candidate mixture is within a given specification.