Slump flow monitoring

1. A method for monitoring concrete, comprising:

(A) rotating a mixing drum mounted on a delivery truck and having an inner drum surface upon which at least one mixing blade is attached such that said at least one mixing blade rotates with said mixing drum, said mixing drum containing concrete therein and being rotatable by a hydraulic system having charge and discharge ports, the delivery truck further having a first hydraulic pressure sensor on said charge port and a second hydraulic pressure sensor on said discharge port;

(B) providing a sequence of values calculated as the difference between the charge and discharge pressure as sensed by said first and second hydraulic pressure sensors on said charge and discharge ports of the hydraulic system to rotate said mixing drum containing concrete at one particular speed V 1 and calculating an average value based on said sequence of values;

(C) comparing said calculated average value to a set of average values at speed V 1 previously stored in computer memory storage location, said previously stored set containing values obtained from concrete having predetermined slump flows at various slump flows within a range of 16 inches to 36 inches as determined by measuring horizontal spread of concrete released from a slump cone; and

(D) providing an indication of slump flow corresponding to said calculated average value provided in (B); adjusting the slump flow of said concrete in said mixing drum based on comparing said calculated average value to a set of average values previously stored in computer memory storage location; or performing a combination thereof.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein, in providing an indication of slump flow corresponding to said calculated average value, said indication is provided by computer monitor display, printed paper output, or entry of data into computer memory storage location.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising adjusting the slump flow of said concrete in said mixing drum based on comparing said calculated average value to a set of average values previously stored in computer memory storage location, by introducing a liquid into said concrete.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said liquid introduced into said concrete comprises water, a chemical admixture, or a combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising monitoring the tilt or inclination of the mixing drum, concrete load size, temperature of the concrete, or combination thereof; and providing values corresponding to monitored tilt or inclination of the mixing drum, concrete load size, temperature of the concrete, or combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising adjusting the amount of said liquid introduced into said concrete based on said values corresponding to monitored tilt or inclination of the mixing drum, concrete load size, temperature of the concrete, or combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein, in rotating the mixing drum containing concrete therein, the water content of said concrete is adjusted to achieve a predetermined slump within a range of 0 to 10 inches, and subsequently chemical cement dispersant is introduced to adjust said concrete to a pre-determined slump flow within a range of 16 to 36 inches.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the predetermined slump is adjusted based on the concrete temperature.

9. The method of claim 4 wherein, in rotating the mixing drum containing concrete therein, water is introduced to adjust said concrete to a pre-determined slump flow within a range of 16 to 36 inches, and subsequent maintenance of slump flow over time is achieved by introducing a cement dispersant into the concrete rotated in the mixing drum and adjusting cement dispersant quantity introduced into the mixing drum.

10. The method of claim 4 wherein, the average value of hydraulic pressure required to rotate said concrete in the mixing drum at a particular speed V 1 is calculated after the average hydraulic pressure is constant over time, indicating the concrete and any added water or cement dispersant are fully mixed.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein, in comparing said calculated average value to a set of average values at speed V 1 previously stored in computer memory storage location, different calibration curves are used for different mixture designs.

12. A system for monitoring slump flow, comprising: a rotatable mixing drum mounted on a concrete delivery truck and having an inner surface upon which at least one mixing blade is attached such that at least one mixing blade rotates with said mixing drum for mixing concrete, said mixing drum being rotatable by a hydraulic system having charge and discharge ports, the delivery truck further having a first hydraulic pressure sensor on said charge port and a second hydraulic pressure sensor on said discharge port, a sensor for measuring rotational speed of said mixing drum, a computer processing unit configured for receiving values from both of said first and second hydraulic pressure sensors and for calculating the difference between the charge and discharge pressure as sensed by said first and second hydraulic pressure sensors, and for receiving values from said sensor for measuring rotational speed of said mixing drum, and computer memory storage location having stored therein a set of values obtained from concrete having predetermined slump flows at various slump flows within a range of 16 inches to 36 inches as determined by employing manual measurement of horizontal spread of concrete released from a removed slump cone.