Systems for manufacturing sheets from hydraulically settable compositions

A system for manufacturing a container from a sheet having a hydraulically settable matrix, the system comprising:

• mixing means for forming a cohesive, moldable hydraulically settable mixture including a hydraulically settable binder, water, rheology-modifying agent, inorganic aggregate filler, and fibers substantially homogeneously dispersed throughout the hydraulically settable mixture;
• sheet-forming means for forming a cohesive hydraulically settable mixture into a sheet having a green hydraulically settable matrix that is characterized in that the sheet maintains its form as a sheet without rupturing as it exits the sheet forming means substantially free from underlying support;
• sheet-drying means for removing at least a portion of the water from the green hydraulically settable matrix of the sheet in an accelerated manner such that the green hydraulically settable matrix becomes substantially hardened in about 10 minutes or less after the hydraulically settable mixture is first formed into the sheet;
• and
• container-forming means for fashioning the sheet into a predetermined shape of the container.

A system for manufacturing an article of manufacture from a sheet having a hydraulically settable matrix, the system comprising:

• mixing means for forming a cohesive, moldable hydraulically settable mixture including a hydraulically settable binder, water, rheology-modifying agent, inorganic aggregate filler, and fibers substantially homogeneously dispersed throughout the hydraulically settable mixture;
• sheet-forming means for forming the cohesive hydraulically settable mixture into a sheet having a green hydraulically settable matrix that is characterized in that the sheet maintains its form as a sheet without rupturing as it exits the sheet-forming means substantially free from underlying support;
• sheet-drying means for removing at least portion of the water from the green hydraulically settable matrix of the sheet in an accelerated manner such that the green hydraulically settable matrix becomes substantially hardened in about 10 minutes or less after the hydraulically settable mixture is first formed into the sheet;
• and
• article-forming means for fashioning at least a portion of the sheet into a predetermined shape of the article of manufacture.