Some implementations herein described improvements to concrete products and processes for producing concrete products that may provide a positive environmental impact and that can be stronger relative to the percent of cement used. Particular examples include improvements to zero-slump to near-zero-slump concrete mixture design, material storage and handling, batching, mixing, sequencing and curing processes, as well as forming and curing techniques.

Fresh concrete is treated with carbon dioxide prior to delivery to a product mold for forming concrete products. Carbon dioxide gas is directed through a manifold, which may be coupled to a feedbox or a hopper, upstream from the product mold. Treating the fresh concrete with the carbon dioxide gas while it is in a loose state prior to placement in the product mold may generally promote uniform and enhanced carbon dioxide uptake.

The present invention provides a wet press process and admixture components for making concrete slabs (flags) (16), curb (kerb) units, panels, boards, and other flat shapes, whereby colloidal silica and at least one alkanolamine and optional rheology control components are employed to provide an ideal combination of pressing time, green strength, surface definition, stack-ability, final concrete strength, and permeability. Stack-ability can be expressed in terms of minimum deflection or non-eccentricity of the units while standing on thickness edges at distances apart less than width or standing height. A wet press process typically involves introducing a highly fluid concrete mix into a mold (10,12), applying hydraulic pressure to consolidate the concrete (e.g., 1000-3000 PSI) and to extract excess water, removing the pressed concrete (16) while in a green state from the mold (10,12), and then standing the slab (16) units immediately upon removal from the mold (10,12) while in a green state, on an edge adjacent to but spaced apart from other edge-standing units. In further embodiments, rounded aggregates such as naturally occurring sand and/or gravel obtained from local sources can be incorporated into the concrete slabs without defeating (vertical) stack-ability in the green state.

A concrete curing blanket that includes a vapor barrier layer, a wicking layer, and pH-indicator, such as turmeric or Phenol Red incorporated into the concrete curing blanket. The pH-indicator may be a power or prills attached to the vapor barrier, the wicking layer, or another layer of the concrete curing blanket. Alternatively, the pH-indicator may be a series of ribbons or strips attached to the vapor barrier, the wicking layer, or another layer of the concrete curing blanket. As another alternative, the pH-indicator may be a matrix of discontinuous patches attached to the vapor barrier, the wicking layer, or another layer of the concrete curing blanket. As another alternative, the vapor barrier may include perforations.

The invention comprises a method of curing concrete. The method comprises placing a concrete cylinder in an insulated container having a sufficient quantity of water therein so that the concrete cylinder is submerged in and surrounded by the water and selectively adding heat to the quantity of water in an insulated container, so that the temperature of the quantity of water follows a predetermined temperature profile. Apparatus for performing the method is also disclosed.

A segmental joint of cast-in-place UHPC bridge beam. The joint comprises a female joints at an end of a first segment and male joints at an end of a second segment, wherein each female joints and the male joints are correspondingly connected to form a tongue-and-groove connection, and each of the male joints is of a structure with big outer part and small inner part. The beam segment joint of the present disclosure improves the structural strength of the bridge and facilitates on-site construction, which not only applies to the joint connection between the segmental cast-in-place UHPC beam segments and the construction of the segmental cast-in-place UHPC beam segment, but also to joint connection of UHPC bridge deck of UHPC-steel composite beam and of full UHPC bridge deck of UHPC composite box girder with corrugated steel webs and to UHPC bridge deck construction.

The present subject-matter relates to landscaping product comprising steel slag and optionally cement, compositions and processes for preparing same.

A multi-zone cementitious product, which includes a base zone made of a first cementitious material composition and forming a portion of the product. At least one facing zone is adjacent to and bonded to the base zone, the facing zone made of a second cementitious material composition and forming at least one exterior face of said product which is visible when the product is installed. A disrupted boundary layer is between the facing zone and the base zone, and includes material from both the facing zone and the base zone. The disrupted boundary layer bonds the facing zone to the base zone. The facing zone has a thickness sufficient to prevent the base zone from being visible when the product is installed.

The invention relates to a device for storing objects under defined temperature conditions and humidity conditions. In particular, the invention relates to a device for curing objects made of concrete. The device has a shelving system having a plurality of shelf supports and a plurality of bearing elements for supporting shelves supported on the shelf supports and arranged one above the other in a plurality of levels, on which shelves the objects are stored. According to the invention, a flow pipe system for distributing supply air provided in a climate system is at least partially integrated into the shelving system. A plurality of shelf supports in this case are at least in sections at the same time downward pipelines of the flow pipe system that the provided supply air is able to flow through. As a result, condensation at the foot of the shelving system and thus corrosion is counteracted at the shelf supports, thus increasing the service life of the shelving system.

Disclosed is a sand aerated concrete panel pre-embedded with a wire box and a wire conduit and its preparation method. The concrete panel includes a sand aerated concrete panel, a steel bar mesh cage, a wire box and a wire conduit. The steel bar mesh cage includes a plurality of longitudinal main steel bars, a plurality of transverse auxiliary steel bars and a plurality of connecting iron pieces; the wire box and the wire conduit are fixed on the steel bar mesh cage; and the steel bar mesh cage, the wire box and the wire conduit are poured in the sand aerated concrete panel. The disclosure solves the problems of complicated procedures, high cost, environmental pollution caused by dust and noise in the prior art, avoids the potential quality hazards of the panels and wall structures caused by on-site slotting, reduces labor force, intensity and cost.