An integrated fluids mixing and delivery system includes one or more mixers configured to receive a cement powder and a flow of a mixing liquid, and to mix the cement powder and the flow of the mixing liquid to form a cementing fluid having respective appropriate characteristics for cementing operations. The one or more mixers are also configured to receive a base drilling fluid and a dry component, and to mix the base drilling fluid and the dry component to form a drilling fluid having respective appropriate characteristics for drilling operations.

A low-density, high-strength concrete composition that is both self-compacting and lightweight, with a low weight-fraction of aggregate to total dry raw materials, and a highly-homogenous distribution of a non-absorptive and closed-cell lightweight aggregate such as glass microspheres or copolymer polymer beads or a combination thereof, and the steps of providing the composition or components. Lightweight concretes formed therefrom have low density, high strength-to-weight ratios, and high R-value. The concrete has strength similar to that ordinarily found in structural lightweight concrete but at an oven-dried density as low as 40 lbs./cu.ft. The concrete, at the density ordinarily found in structural lightweight concrete, has a higher strength and, at the strength ordinarily found in structural lightweight concrete, a lower density. Such strength-to-density ratios range approximately from above 30 cu.ft/sq.in. to above 110 cu.ft/sq.in., with a 28-day compressive strength ranging from about 3400 to 8000 psi.

Described are a method and system for minimizing errors in the manufacture or management of aggregate-containing construction materials such as concrete. Aggregates used for making concrete are stored or weighed in dry bulk bin type hoppers, and conveyed from these hoppers into mixer drums which batching or mix the concrete. The hoppers or conveyor belts may contain sensor probes for measuring moisture levels in the aggregate. These sensor probes require calibration from time to time, but time and expense are required for proper calibration, leading to habitually erroneous moisture level data used in the industry on a daily basis. The present inventors believe that the smallest inaccuracies in aggregate moisture level readings can have profound effects on the properties of the resultant concrete product. To confront this problem, the present inventors discovered that the inaccuracy of these aggregate moisture sensors, as used for evaluating the aggregate as a dry bulk material, can be detected and even addressed through the use of slump monitoring systems to evaluate the concrete slurry mix prepared from the aggregates.

Manufactures, methods and apparatus are provided through which in some implementations a structural cellular lightweight concrete comprises a concrete mixture that is no more than 65% by volume of the manufacture of structural cellular lightweight concrete, the concrete mixture including concrete conforming to the requirements of ASTM C33; foam that has a density of at least 5 lbs/ft.sup.3, having high stability characteristics, and having a closed cell bubble structure; mix water being potable and free of contamination or deleterious materials; and Portland cement conforming to ASTM C150, the Portland cement being Type I, Type III or White Portland cement, and at least 35% air by volume of the manufacture of structural cellular lightweight concrete.

Some aspects of what is described here relate to analyzing a well cement slurry. In some aspects, a well cement slurry is mixed in a mixer under a plurality of conditions. The plurality of conditions correspond to a plurality of distinct Reynolds number values for the well cement slurry in the mixer. Power number values associated with mixing the well cement slurry in the mixer under the plurality of conditions are identified. Each power number value is based on an amount of energy used to mix the well cement slurry under a respective one of the plurality of conditions. Values for parameters of a functional relationship between power number and Reynolds number are identified based on the power number values and the Reynolds number values for the plurality of conditions.

The invention provides methods and compositions for treating wash water from concrete production with carbon dioxide. The treated wash water can be reused as mix water in fresh batches of concrete.

A liquid additive mixing apparatus is provided that has a plurality of chambers containing additives, as well as a system for mixing the additives. One or more additives are mixed with water to form a mixing fluid. The mixing fluid is placed in a first tank that is fluidly connected to a cement mixing unit. A cementing operation is executed during which the mixing fluid from the first tank is mixed with a cement to form a slurry. A capillary electrophoresis (CE) instrument is employed to monitor at least one additive parameter and detect deviations from a predetermined tolerance for the at least one additive parameter.

A quality control system of the invention allows controlling, image analysis and continuous visual monitoring of aggregates and sand processing, and physical properties and workability of fresh concrete and concrete mixes, which are manufactured from the aggregates and sand, and then transported to construction sites and used there for construction purposes. The system of the invention comprises visual monitoring devices (100), stationary or mobile, installed or remotely used at quarries, concrete plants, in concrete trucks and at the construction sites. The method for continuous visual monitoring of the aggregates, sand and concrete is based on image or video processing and analysis of the aggregates and sand, fresh concrete, concrete mixes or precast concrete, the concrete slump levels, segregation and bleeding, homogeneity of the mixture and consistency.

Techniques for additive construction of structures and production of additive construction materials are described, including a 3D printing assembly including a container configured to store a material, a mixer configured to mix the material to provide an extrudable mix including cementitious material, and a dispenser configured to receive the flowable mix from the mixer and to provide the flowable mix under one or more controlled parameters to form a structure, and a controller configured to receive a value associated with a material property parameter of the material, to generate a mixture by inputting the value into a machine learning algorithm, the mixture being generated using, by the controller, another value associated with a control parameter configured to control operation of the 3D printing assembly, and using the 3D printing assembly to print a structure using the mixture.

Device for metering color pigments as an additive for cement or alternative cement for the production of colored concrete products, comprising at least three containers (2) for receiving respectively different color pigments, a control unit (10) for setting the discharge quantities from the containers (2), and a sensor system (11) coupled to the control unit (10) in order to meter a color pigment composition taking into account the discharge quantities detected by the sensor system (11), wherein at least one brightness value L* value for the inherent color of the cement or alternative cement of the concrete product to be colored in each case is stored or storable in the control unit (10), and the control unit (10) is configured to apply a color triangle as a function of the at least one L* value for controlling the output of predetermined quantities of the color pigments from the at least three containers (2) based on a set of three standard color values X, Y, Z.