Monitoring of concrete homogenisation with the power consumption curve

Homogenisation time increases for superplasticized concrete slowing down their industrial production. Monitoring power consumption measurement capability to control concrete homogeneity during mixing is explored. Various High Performance Concrete and Self-Compacting Concrete was batched in a 1 m(3) pan mixer, with increasing mixing time. Rheology and compressive strength were measured and compared for different mixing times. Correlations were established between power consumption and compressive strength evolutions. Also, power consumption for the longest mixing time and concrete rheological parameters (yield stress and plastic viscosity) are related. On the another hand, tests show that mixing difficulty for a given mix-design is reduced with increased mixer capacity and when fast planetary tools are implemented in the mixer. As a conclusion, the power consumption evolution can be very useful information to control concrete homogeneity during mixing, to control material flowability, and to compare the capability of different mixers.