Trade Journals for the Concrete Industry

This article presents a new comprehensive concept for concrete production. On the basis of the following illustrated relationships between mixture design, mixing technology and the rheological characteristics of the concrete in the mixer which have to be measured, the goal-orientated production of tailor-made concretes can be ensured, taking into account both ecological and economic aspects. With the help of the Bétonlab Pro software, indicative values were calculated for the mixture design with regard to the liquid limit and the viscosity of the fresh concrete. The effects of the different mixing regimes on the liquid limit, the viscosity and the thixotropy were evaluated by the additional use of the mixer as a rotary rheometer or the use of the mixer for oscillation measurements. In this way the mixing regime and the mixture design can be optimised with the software on the basis of the measured rheological characteristic values. As a ‘low-cost rheometer’, the modified LCPC box also enables statements to be made about the viscosity of the fresh concrete in addition to the measurement of the liquid limit.