Standardized Concrete Mixing Ratio System Invented in Iran

Reza Jamalpour, the inventor and the head of the research center for natural disaster risk reduction at Karaj branch of the Islamic Azad University, said the strength, efficiency, and durability of concrete are dependent on different parameters, including the type of cement, the amount of water, and the quality of sand and gravel.

Concrete is mainly prepared at the construction site using locally accessible materials of variable properties. Hence the concrete strength differs from one batch to another batch over a time period.

The variation in concrete strength depends on several factors such as variation in the materials quality, mix proportion, and mixing techniques.

If the qualities of materials are all guaranteed, the appropriate ratios of combining sand and gravel will determine the quality of concrete, he explained.

Sand and coarse aggregate must be strong and good, in order to produce durable concrete structures. Well-graded aggregates provide a dense concrete mix.

The system calculates the appropriate volumes of water and cement based on existing standards and environmental situations and offers the best ratio to the user for producing standardized concrete.

The Iran branch of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) has certified the domestically manufactured system, he said, adding that two undergraduate Ph.D. students of civil engineering and a colleague at the research center of the university have contributed to the invention of the system.

To obtain the best mixing ratios, the user puts sand, gravel, and cement separately on a vibrating tray so that they are scattered across the tray and placed on their biggest surface on the tray.

Then, a processor calculates the number and dimension of sand, gravel, and cement separately and defines the best mixing ratio which yields concrete with the highest possible quality.

The system is also equipped with temperature and humidity sensors which measure these quantities at the workshop and sends the results to the processing unit.

4155/g