Systems and methods are disclosed for detecting a crack in an automotive windshield and alerting a user of the same. This can allow the user to repair the crack before the user might otherwise detect the crack by his/her own visual inspection. The windshield can be provided with emitters configured to emit signals (e.g., sound, light, etc.) and corresponding detectors configured to detect the emitted signals. Signal profiles or signatures can be stored that represent normal measurements when there is no crack. Upon detecting a signal signature that deviates from the stored normal signal signatures, the system can notify the user of a potential crack in the windshield. The system can also determine the location of the crack based upon which of the detectors detect a change in the detected signal.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for processing recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). One of the methods includes obtaining first optical measurements of RCA particles as the RCA particles are conveyed past the first optical sensors; determining, based on the first measurements, an initial characterization of the RCA particles; iteratively performing a carbonation process on the RCA particles, obtaining second optical measurements of the RCA particles, and determining, from the second measurements, a second characterization of the RCA particles, wherein conditions of the carbonation process are initially set based on the initial characterization, and the conditions of the carbonation process are adjusted based on the second characterization; ceasing the iterative performance of the carbonation process in response to the second characterization meeting target carbonation characteristics; iteratively performing a densification process on the RCA particles, obtaining third optical measurements of the RCA particles, and determining, from the third measurements, a third characterization of the RCA particles, wherein conditions of the densification process are initially set based on the initial characterization or the second characterization, and the conditions of the densification process are adjusted based on the third characterization; and ceasing the iterative performance of the densification process in response to the third characterization meeting target densification characteristics.

A method for estimating characteristics of a ceramic fired body, the method including: preparing a ceramic fired body by firing a formed green body; measuring a color of the ceramic fired body; and with use of a correlation between the color and at least one characteristic selected from a group consisting of a porosity, a pore diameter, and a thermal expansion coefficient previously determined for a ceramic fired body having a same composition as that of the ceramic fired body, estimating the at least one characteristic of the ceramic fired body from the color of the ceramic fired body, measured in the previous step.

Embodiments are described herein for a sensor device created for determining and monitoring quality and strength developments in concrete and other materials using temperature and electrical resistivity parameters. The embodiments described herein may be utilized in the construction industry for real-time monitoring of concrete and cement structures or for monitoring the strength and quality of soils, polymers, and liquid additives as well. According to various embodiments, alternating current (AC) electrical and temperature measurements may be performed to correlate to the quality and performance of the concrete, polymers, treated soils, and other materials. These measurements may be made by compact sensor devices that are configured to read both temperature and AC electrical measurements continuously to quantify the performance of materials.

A performance evaluation device and a design method of a cement for well cementing in a penetrated hydrate layer are provided. The performance evaluation device includes an equivalent wellbore, an inner circulation system, an outer circulation system, a thermal insulation cover, a bracket, a temperature sensing system, and a cement mold. The device can simulate a true downhole situation, conduct an evaluation experiment on the heat insulation performance of a cementing cement, and conduct experiments at different temperatures with automatic temperature control. The design method is to use a low-hydration, early-strength, and heat-insulating cement slurry system during the well cementing in a penetrated hydrate layer, where the low-hydration and early-strength characteristics ensure the effective sealing of a hydrate layer during a cementing process, and the heat insulation characteristic results in low heat conductivity and thus can ensure the stability of a hydrate layer during a production operation.

The present application belongs to the technical field of monitoring of durability of concrete, and particularly relates to a method for optimizing a structure of an electrical capacitance tomography sensor and analyzing an electromagnetic field. A specific process of the method includes eight steps: parameter setting, geometric setting, material setting, mesh generation, physical field setting, solution, sensor structure optimization and calculation of electromagnetic field distribution. The method proposes a new concept for solving a forward problem of an ECT system based on COMSOL software. After modeling is completed, uniformity of a sensitive field of the ECT sensor is analyzed according to calculation results, and structural parameter values of components of the ECT sensor are adjusted to seek an optimal design scheme.

Described herein are systems and methods based on acoustic emission (AE) technology to monitor a concrete structure for a short interval and, based on signals acquired, estimate Alkali-silica reaction (ASR) progression status in the structure remotely and efficiently without halting any serviceability and operational activities of the structure, knowing the ASR progression status of the structure helps determine rehabilitation and future structural safety and serviceability of the structure.

The disclosure describes techniques for detecting a crack or defect in a material. The technique may include applying an electrical signal to a first electrode pair electrically coupled to the material. The technique also may include, while applying the electrical signal to the first electrode pair, determining a measured voltage between a second, different electrode pair. At least one electrode of the second, different electrode pair is electrically coupled to the material. The technique may further include determining a corrected measured voltage by suppressing a thermally induced voltage from the measured voltage and determining whether the material includes a crack or other defect based on the corrected measured voltage.

A non-destructive testing method for flexural strength of fine ceramic, an apparatus, and a storage medium, including adjusting an uncut intact fine ceramic test sample to an ultrasonic testing position, and fixing the test sample; adjusting an ultrasonic testing instrument, controlling and adjusting the positions of ultrasonic testing probes of the ultrasonic testing instrument until the ultrasonic testing probes, the fine ceramic test sample and the resiling direction are located on the same plane, performing ultrasonic testing on the test sample, and collecting ultrasonic testing data of the test sample; adjusting the position of the fine ceramic test sample until a resilience testing rod and the test sample are located on the same plane and fixed, performing resilience testing on the test sample, and collecting resilience testing data of the test sample; and building a data model, or substituting testing data into the pre-built data model.

The non-destructive inspection method includes: a water absorbing or drying step of changing a water-content state of a test piece; a transmission image capturing step of irradiating, with a radiation, the test piece absorbed water or dried for a predetermined time in the water absorbing or drying step and capturing a transmission image created by visualizing the radiation transmitted through the test piece; and an evaluation step of evaluating the test piece on the basis of the water-content state of the test piece determined from the transmission image captured in the transmission image capturing step.