A device and method for measuring slump of concrete in a hopper feeding a concrete pump. A slump sensor generates a signal from either an ammeter to measure current from a power source feeding an electric motor being configured to rotate an agitator shaft or a pressure gauge configured to measure hydraulic pressure in a hydraulic drive hose passing between a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor configured to rotate the agitator shaft. A controlling computer includes a memory in which an operating range may reside, the operating range being a range from a lower slump signal value corresponding to a lower limit of slump value to an upper slump signal value. The controlling computer generates an alert signal when the slump sensor signal falls outside of the operating range. In one embodiment, the controlling computer stops the concrete pump when the alert signal is detected.

A mixer vehicle includes a mixer drum, a first acceleration sensor, a second acceleration sensor, and a controller. The first acceleration sensor is configured to produce first acceleration signals and the second acceleration sensor is configured to measure accelerations within the mixer drum to produce second acceleration signals. The controller is configured to receive the first acceleration signals from the first acceleration sensor and second acceleration signals from the second acceleration sensor. The controller is further configured to determine a presence of material within the mixer drum based on the first acceleration signals and the second acceleration signals. The controller is further configured to determine one or more properties of the material within the mixer drum based on the first acceleration signals and the second acceleration signals.

There is described a probe for monitoring fresh concrete received in a drum of a fresh concrete mixer. The probe generally has an electromechanical actuator having a frame mounted within the drum and a moving element actuatably mounted to the frame, the moving element having a fresh concrete interface exposed within the drum and experiencing a resistance to movement within the drum upon actuation of the electromechanical actuator with an electrical signal; and a measurement unit measuring a resistance response during the actuation and generating a response signal based on the measured resistance response, the generated response signal comprising monitoring Information concerning the fresh concrete within the drum, if any.

Methods of wellbore cementing are provided. A method of analyzing a solid particulate including: measuring a water requirement of the solid particulate; and determining an approximation of specific surface area of the solid particulate from the water requirement.

For each of a plurality of production facilities, a series of operations is performed. For each of a plurality of batches of a concrete mixture produced at the respective production facility based on a formulation, a first difference between a measured quantity of cementitious and a first quantity specified in the formulation is determined. A first standard deviation is determined based on the first differences. For each of the plurality of batches, a second difference between a measured quantity of water and a second quantity specified in the formulation is determined. A second standard deviation is determined based on the second differences. A first benchmark is selected from among the first standard deviations, and a second benchmark is selected from among the second standard deviations. An amount by which costs may be reduced by improving production at the production facility to meet the first and second benchmarks is determined.

For each of a plurality of production facilities, a series of operations is performed. For each of a plurality of batches of a concrete mixture produced at the respective production facility based on a formulation, a first difference between a measured quantity of cementitious and a first quantity specified in the formulation is determined. A first standard deviation is determined based on the first differences. For each of the plurality of batches, a second difference between a measured quantity of water and a second quantity specified in the formulation is determined. A second standard deviation is determined based on the second differences. A first benchmark is selected from among the first standard deviations, and a second benchmark is selected from among the second standard deviations. An amount by which costs may be reduced by improving production at the production facility to meet the first and second benchmarks is determined.

A system includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium has instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by a processor of a portable user device, cause the processor to wirelessly connect to a machine via a wireless transceiver of the portable user device, display a control interface for the machine on a user interface of the portable user device, receive a user input through the control interface regarding operation of a controllable component of the machine, and provide a command to the machine via the wireless transceiver based on the user input to facilitate remote operation of the controllable component of the machine.

A system includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium has instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by a processor of a portable user device, cause the processor to wirelessly connect to a machine via a wireless transceiver of the portable user device, display a control interface for the machine on a user interface of the portable user device, receive a user input through the control interface regarding operation of a controllable component of the machine, and provide a command to the machine via the wireless transceiver based on the user input to facilitate remote operation of the controllable component of the machine.

A concrete mixer vehicle includes a mixer drum, a chute, and a controller. The mixer drum has an inner volume configured to hold a mixture for transportation and placement. The chute is configured to receive mixture exiting the mixer drum and direct the mixture. The controller is configured to receive a selected mode of operation of the mixer drum and the chute. The selected mode of operation is selected from a set of multiple modes of operation of the mixer drum and the chute. The controller is configured to adjust an operation of at least one of the mixer drum or the chute to cause at least one of the mixer drum or the chute to operate according to the selected mode of operation.

A system can include a dry powder mixing tank, a first powder input, a second powder input, a powder output, and a detection device. The first powder input and the second powder input can introduce powders containing different substances that become mixed in the dry powder mixing tank. The detection device can detect information about amounts of different substances in a blend of powder moved out of the tank by the powder output. In some aspects, portions of the blend that do not satisfy parameters for the blend can be diverted from a receptacle for the blend based on the detected information.