Measuring the w/c ratio at light speed
Imko GmbH based in Ettlingen, Germany, is one of the nominees for this year’s Bauma Innovation Award for its mobile Sono-WZ water/cement analyzer. The company has been nominated in the components category because of its innovative, patented, radar-based measuring method. According to the manufacturer, this is the first-ever method worldwide to quickly and reliably measure the water content of fresh concrete on-site. A correctly adjusted w/c ratio is the key parameter to ensure a long service life of concrete with respect to its workability, compressive strength, structural stability, freeze-thaw resistance, shrinkage behavior, and many other important characteristics.
Sono-WZ provides the option of manually measuring plastic and liquid fresh concretes in consistency classes F2 to F6 in a quick and easy process. Automated averaging ensures representative measurements for varying material mixes if four to ten individual measurements are performed. The clearly structured measurement process makes it possible to achieve accurate, representative results within just a few minutes. In addition to water content, the analyzer also displays the ECTrime parameter. Sono-WZ uses the high-frequency damping of the radar pulse to determine electrical conductivity in the Trime measuring process, thus enabling conclusions regarding cement contents and grades. Even for individual measurements, the ECTrime parameter recorded in this process can be interpreted as a raw value, thus providing added reliability when checking a known concrete grade.
