ConcTest · Development and commercialisation of the hand-held smart testing equipment for the instantaneous quality control of the concrete and cement

Cementitious materials are used in virtually all construction and engineering projects and the far reaching consequences ofpoor quality control cannot be underestimated. This is illustrated by the numerous examples of structural failure in buildingsand civil engineering projects and the disastrous failure of the cement of the Maconda oil well in 2010 causing the BPDeepwater Horizon oil spill and explosion killing 11 people and injuring 17 others, plus enormous environmental damage.There are a large variety of tests that are applied to cements and concretes including slump tests, compactability, flow tabletests, density and air content. These tests yield results in a short period of time so a batch that does not meet thespecification can be identified quickly. However, the direct measurement of strength according to standards BSEN197-1:2011/EN196-1 (cement) and BS EN 206:2013/ BS EN 12390-1:2012 (concrete) requires that samples are cured for28 days. Concrete and cement manufacturers, concrete suppliers and their customers all experience long delays waiting forconfirmation of the strength of cementitious building products.Our ConcTest technology alleviates such uncertainty. The handheld instrument rapidly and reliably predicts the ultimatestrength whilst the concrete (or cement) is in the wet state. This provides the whole value-chain with high levels ofconfidence regarding the strength that will be achieved allowing better stock management. Out of specification batches canbe identified and corrected immediately, and building and construction projects can assess the quality of concrete on the dayof pouring, avoiding the need for remedial works if the product fails the 28 day tests.This project application relates to commercialisation of a truly novel and ground-breaking device which will be used for therapid quality assurance of cementitious products through the whole value-chain.