A mobile, volumetric, concrete-production system for continuous production of a fresh concrete or a batched concrete mix, said system comprising:
- (i) A mobile platform operated by a driver, an external operator, or an autonomous operating system for transporting components of the system;
- (ii) A concrete mixer tank installed on said mobile platform for continuous mixing of said fresh concrete or said batched concrete mix contained inside the tank;
- (iii) Separate compartments installed on said mobile platform for containing water and one or more chemical admixtures used for the production of the concrete;
- (iv) Dispensers and flow meters for controlled and continuous measuring, dosing, and addition of said one or more chemical additives;
- and
- (v) An on-board continuous-monitoring and quality-control system;
- wherein said continuous-monitoring and quality-control system comprises:
- A. An imaging and sensor sub-system comprising:
- (a) At least one camera installed inside the concrete mixer tank for continuously gathering visual information, thermal information, and thermal profile of said fresh concrete or said batched concrete mix at anytime before transportation, during transportation, prior to discharge and during the discharge of the concrete through a mixer trough at a construction site;
- (b) An acoustic sensor installed on the mixer tank for continuously examining changes in a sound level (dB), frequency (Hz) and duration, and a sound of low and full load of the concrete inside the concrete mixer, said acoustic sensor is thus configured to monitor the workability, cohesion, homogeneity, segregation, and water separation of the concrete;
- (c) A hydraulic pressure gauge for indicating a hydraulic pressure of the concrete inside the concrete mixer tank and a hydraulic load intensity on the mixer motor during loading and prior to discharge of the concrete while mixing at a high rotation frequency of the mixer tank from about 5 rpm to about 95 rpm, and during transportation while mixing at a low rotation frequency from about 1 rpm to about 4 rpm, said hydraulic pressure and hydraulic load intensity are indicators of the workability of the prepared concrete, and said hydraulic pressure gauge is thus configured to provide an indication to simulate the workability of the concrete;
- (d) At least one temperature gauge for continuously monitoring and controlling the concrete temperature and surrounding temperature outside the mixed concrete, said at least one temperature gauge is thus configured to monitor a hydration progress, including the degree of hydration, rate of heat of hydration and slump or flow reduction of the concrete, and water absorption by aggregates of the concrete;
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- B. A timeline operation sub-system comprising a computing unit configured to:
- (1) Receive an input data of concrete from a concrete plant loading the aggregates and optionally water into the concrete mixer tank, or from the driver, external operator, or autonomous operating system;
- (2) Continuously receive and process data from the imaging and sensor sub-system;
- (3) Generate an output data on:
- quality, consistency, workability, and stability of the concrete being produced in the mixer tank during the transportation and prior to the discharge;
- a computed volume of the concrete in the concrete mixer tank computed from an estimated volume discharged by a number of discharge rounds of the tank and by a number of empty blade spiral revolutions;
- a concrete temperature and surrounding temperature;
- sound changes that indicate drying and homogeneity of the concrete;
- and
- deviations from physicochemical parameters of the concrete production process;
- and
- (4) Build a course of actions for the driver, external operator or autonomous operating system in a form of computer commands to add water, a chemical dispersant and said particular one or more chemical admixtures to the concrete mixer tank, in specific amounts and at particular intervals of time as computed and indicated by the computing unit, in order to maintain or adjust the desired physicochemical parameters of the concrete production process, and quality, consistency, and stability of the produced concrete, and further perform a re-inspection.