A process for forming an artificial reef includes forming a form having a geometric shape, applying at least one blockout onto a surface of the form such that the blockout extends outwardly of the surface of the form, applying a sprayable concrete over the form and over a portion of the blockout, curing the sprayable concrete on the form for a period of time such that the sprayable concrete adheres to the blockout, and removing the cured sprayable concrete and the blockout from the surface of the form. The blockout is of a cast concrete material such as a cinder block. The blockout has openings therein so as to open to an interior of the artificial reef.

There is provided a method for forming a pattern or a shape in a concrete wall structure, the method comprising: mixing a cement about 100% by weight and silicon about 50% by weight to form a mixed silicon; inserting the mixed silicon into a forming frame; pressing a pressing member onto the first surface and removing the pressing member from the first surface; attaching the forming frame onto the form; placing and curing a concrete to the surface of the mixed silicon in which the shape or pattern is defined; and removing the mixed silicon from the cured concrete, thereby to obtain a concrete wall structure having the three-dimensional pattern or shape formed therein.

A concrete test cylinder mold formed of expandable polystyrene and which is used to form geometrically uniform concrete test cylinders that accurately reflect the structural properties of the concrete mix used to form the test cylinders despite fluctuations in temperature to which the test cylinder may be exposed during formation within the mold. The mold is constructed and configured such that compression testing of the concrete test cylinder may be conducted while the cylinder is still in the mold. A specially designed heat shield may be used in unison with the concrete test mold to form, at least in part, a system by which heat further may be retained within the system during formation of the concrete test cylinder.

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 discloses a TRC assemble permanent column formwork and a manufacturing method thereof, which belongs to the technical field of reinforced concrete building construction. The TRE assemble permanent column formwork comprises first panels, second panels, circumferential bolts, longitudinal bolts, nuts and gaskets; the formwork is manufactured from an engineered cementitious composite ECC and a woven fabric net; the first panels are used for assembling the column formwork at the two ends of a column, and the second panels are used for assembling the column formwork in the middle section of the column; the panels are provided with preformed bolt holes, and the bolt holes among the panels are corresponding to each other for bolt connections; the bolts include circumferential bolts and longitudinal bolts. The TRE permanent column formwork provided by the present invention can reduce material waste, labor cost, and project cost. Besides, the panels have advantages of easy and firm assembling, convenient transportation and low manufacturing cost, and the formwork has great application prospects.

A method of manufacturing unitized formed mineral-based construction materials includes providing starting materials that include an aggregate, a cementing agent and water. The starting materials are mixed to achieve a mixture of the starting materials which is then placed into a form and cured to allow the mixture of starting materials to become a solidified unit. The solidified unit of the mixture of starting materials is defined by a minimum dimension of thickness, length, and/or diameter. The solidified unit of the mixture of starting materials is placed into a kiln which is then heated to a processing temperature of between about 1000 C. and about 1350 C. and maintained for a period of time of between about 10 minutes and about 60 minutes per centimeter of the minimum dimension of the solidified unit of the mixture of starting materials.

A concrete product is produced by providing red dune sand having a particle size of 45 microns or less and mixing the red dune sand with hydraulic cement in a ratio of about 30% of the cement being replaced by the red dune sand. The cement and red dune sand are then mixed with fine and course aggregate, water and a superplasticizer and cast after pouring into a mold cavity. Then within 24 hours of casting, the cast article is steam cured for 12 hours under atmospheric pressure, demolded and placed in an auto clave at 100% humidity. The temperature in the auto clave is raised to 180 C. within one to two hours and maintained at that temperature for 4 to 5 hours. The temperature also increases the pressure to about 10 bars. The pressure is released to reach atmospheric pressure within 20-30 minutes and the temperature reduced gradually, so that the article can be removed.

The invention encompasses methods to control the curing of a CO.sub.2 Composite Material (CCM) and processes that use such equipment to cure the CCM. The method provides a way to compute the expected water distribution in an uncured porous concrete product based on a set of environmental conditions on.

A process for providing a fiber cement product is provided the process comprising the steps of:providing an uncured fiber cement product;curing said uncured fiber cement product;drying said cured fiber cement product to obtain a humidity of said cured fiber cement product being less than or equal to about 8% w;abrasive blasting at least part of the surface of said dried fiber cement product.

A building product is made from granular material and a binder that includes steel slag. A process for making the building product includes combining the granular material and the binder and then curing the combined granular material and binder with carbon dioxide. A building material includes a mixture of steel slag and a silica-rich material. The steel slag and silica-rich material is treated by heating. The silica-rich material may be waste glass and/or fly ash. A process for making the building material includes mixing the steel slag and silica-rich material and further heating the mixture.