The Impact of Thermal Cracking in Concrete for Strength Development
Concrete temperature monitoring becomes more critical in cold weather as low temperatures decrease the rate of strength development during curing. That is why ensuring optimal curing conditions for your element is critical, especially during extreme weather conditions. The hydration process can be drastically impacted if freshly placed concrete…
Cut Down Your Project Schedule by Testing Concrete Strength Onsite
A lack of productivity onsite is one of the most frustrating issues facing the construction industry today. Think about the hours you spend in a single day with no choice but to sit around and wait. Historically, this issue has been largely neglected in the industry. “Up to…
How to Monitor Temperature Using a Sensor or Thermocouple for Mass Concrete
In recent years, the development of large concrete structures has become increasingly common due to its many structural benefits. Concrete presents a number of characteristics that improve the sustainability performance of a structure. Not only does it offer advantages regarding sustainability due to its low carbon emission during the construction phase, but it also…
Concrete Setting: What it Is, Why it’s Important and How to Test It
According to ASTM C125 – 20: Standard Terminology Relating to Concrete and Concrete Aggregates, the concrete setting is “the process, due to chemical reactions, occurring after the addition of mixing water, that results in a gradual development of rigidity of a cementitious mixture.” In other words, the concrete…
Why Should You Monitor Concrete Curing Temperature?
Monitoring your concrete curing temperature during the early stages of construction ensures the integrity of your structure. This is especially true during extreme weather conditions when mixing and curing of concrete are subject to different environmental elements. If freshly poured concrete is exposed to temperatures that are too…
From Jobsites to the Cloud, the Paths Your Data Can Take
Wireless technology has been growing at an incredible rate, having a deeper presence in everyday life than ever before. From earbuds to refrigerators, it seems like everything is getting the wireless treatment these days to a point where you might ask, isn’t it a bit excessive? One of…
We are very excited to announce the launch of our annual research paper contest! This is a great opportunity for civil-engineers to expose their research and development to a global audience of industry experts. Plus, the winner will receive a monetary award of $1,000 US. The “Giatec Award for…
Analyzing Corrosion in Reinforced Concrete Structures
Reinforced concrete structures have shaped our cities for thousands of years, from historical buildings stretching as far back as the Romans to present day, such as the 3-storey parking garage adjacent to the mega shopping mall a few miles from your home. As individuals living in the 21st…
Concrete-Eating Robots – The Future of Recycling Old Buildings
The process of demolishing a building involves heavy machinery to crush concrete and separate valuable materials that can be reused. Current methods consume quite a significant amount of time and money in order to safely disassemble the building, extract parts, and transport the materials to off-site centers for repurposing. Furthermore, these processes use a large volume of water to prevent dust clouds from…
Why Measure Concrete Resistivity?
Concrete is a porous material which contains microscopic voids known as pores. These pores range in size, vary in connectivity (pore structure) and can be added to the concrete via air-entraining admixtures. The water-to-cementitious material and type of cementitious materials used have a significant effect on the pore…
The global pandemic that hit our North American shores early in 2020 has brought profound change to how we work, live, and operate in the construction industry. Many companies weathered the storm, and those that did it the best relied on their resiliency to not only adapt to…
Reduce Heat Curing Cost of Concrete in Winter Using the Maturity Method
Every year, the construction industry goes through a recurring cycle. During summer, construction worksites explode in number and activity. This is the time when concrete strength development occurs at a steady pace. The summer weather contributes and does not slow concrete strength gain. This blog will walk you through some methods commonly used to ensure strength,…
Curing Boxes vs. The Maturity Method: Maintaining Concrete Temperature Onsite
Concrete curing temperature is undoubtedly a critical part of construction. According to a report by ACI Committee 308, the American Concrete Institute defines “curing” as “the process by which hydraulic-cement concrete matures and develops hardened properties over time.” This process can be negatively impacted if freshly placed concrete…
Salt on Concrete Roads Damage Outweighs the Benefits
Winter in colder climates such as Canada, Alaska, and the Upper Mid-West entails treacherous and unpredictable driving conditions, with snow and ice build-up making roads unsafe. For over 70 years, the solution to this problem has been to cover roads with sodium chloride…
SmartRock 2 VS. SmartRock 3: What’s the Difference Between these Concrete Sensors?
By now, you might have noticed that we recently released a newly re-engineered version of our leading concrete sensor. This flagship product, SmartRock®, was introduced to the market back in 2015. In September of 2020, we were thrilled to release the third generation. The purpose of this blog…
Building Clean Energy: Mass Concrete Temperature Monitoring with SmartRock®
As global initiatives to go carbon-neutral continue to push the demand for sustainable and renewable energy sources, many are looking to wind farms as a green solution to energy needs. Wind power has been used as an energy source for centuries – from windmills grinding grain to sailboats traversing bodies of water. However, as more and more of…
Dallas Bridge Margaret McDermott Eliminates Testing to Save Money
Photo by Art Davis, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons The Margaret McDermott Dallas Bridge over the Trinity River in Dallas, Texas, was intended to replace the I-30 bridge built in the late 50s to early 60s. The bridge cost over $100 million to build and features a…
Wired vs. Wireless Concrete Temperature and Strength Sensors
Since the commercialization of the maturity method, there have been important advancements in monitoring and computing technologies such as a simple thermocouple for concrete, wireless sensors, manual data entry, cloud sharing systems, and more. When deciding between wired or wireless loggers to measure the temperature and strength of…
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