Cement truck comprising a motor vehicle and a drum kit connected through connection means. The motor vehicle comprises a vehicle and a first drive system to drive the vehicle and the drum kit comprises a rotating drum and a second drive system to drive the rotating drum. The connection means comprise at least electric connection means.

A volumetric mixer control system for a mobile volumetric mixer for controlling a mix recipe produced by the mobile volumetric mixer. The control system on the mobile volumetric mixer has a programmable logic controller, electronic control units for controlling flow control devices, and a controller area network for controlling the mixer control system. A mobile electronic device connects the controller area network on the mobile volumetric mixer to a remote terminal for providing a control signal to the mobile electronic device to control the mix produced by the volumetric mixer.

A system features an acoustic sensor configured to mount on a wall of a mixing drum, sense an acoustic characteristic of a mixture of a slurry, including concrete, contained in a mixing drum when rotating, and provide acoustic sensor signaling containing information about the acoustic characteristic sensed; and a signal processor configured to receive the acoustic sensor signaling, and determine corresponding signaling containing information about a slump characteristic of the mixture of concrete contained in the mixing drum, based upon the signaling received.

An apparatus (1) for producing fluid concrete comprising: a first mixer (100) configured to mix at least water (A1) and cement (C) so as to make a low fluidity concrete (2), having consistency class S2, a truck mixer configured to mix the low fluidity concrete (2) with further water (A2) so as to make a fluid concrete (3) having consistency class S2, a water supply means and at least a cement supply means configured so that said apparatus (1) can produce fluid concrete (3), a control and adjustment unit (4), connected to the water supply means and at least to the cement supply means, configured to selectively control and adjust the introduction of water (A1) and cement (C) into the first mixer (100) and the introduction of further water (A2) into the cement mixer.

A system features a combination of an acoustic sensor and a communication transmitter. The acoustic sensor is arranged on a rotating container or drum having a slurry contained therein, including concrete, and configured to provide an acoustic signal to sense an acoustic signal containing information about a characteristic of the slurry, and provide acoustic sensor signaling containing information about the acoustic signal sensed. The communication transmitter is arranged on the rotating container or drum, and configured to receive the acoustic signal, and provide the acoustic signal received from the rotating container or drum for further processing.

A system and process for detecting dynamic segregation in concrete rotated within a mixer drum, such as mounted on a delivery truck. A system processor is programmed to monitor an instantaneous and averaged rheology parameter and to deploy protocols for detecting segregation. A first protocol comprises monitoring the averaged slump during and immediately after a jump in drum speed of at least plus or minus four rotations per minute and detecting when a change in the averaged slump value meets or exceeds a threshold; and a second protocol comprises monitoring the instantaneous slump when the mixer drum is rotating at a constant speed for at least three successive rotations and detecting when the instantaneous slump value meets or exceeds a threshold limit. Once segregation is detected, one or more operations can be initiated, such as initiating an alarm or adjusting the mix.

A concrete mixer vehicle includes a mixer drum, an additive admixture system, and a controller. The additive admixture system includes an air inlet valve, a fluid valve, an air valve, and a pump. The controller is configured to operate the additive admixture system to transition the additive admixture system between an additive addition mode, a drain mode, and a system clear mode. The controller transitions the additive admixture system into the additive addition mode and operates the pump until a desired amount of an additive is added to the mixer drum, transitions the additive admixture system into the drain mode for a predetermined amount of time in response to the desired amount of additive being added to the mixer drum, and transitions the additive admixture system into the system clear mode for a predetermined amount of time to clear stagnant fluid or built up mixture from the additive admixture system.

A drum control system includes one or more processing circuits having programed instructions to control a drum assembly to rotate a drum at a first, unmixed speed to mix drum contents received by the drum where the drum contents including ingredients of a concrete mixture, acquire drum contents data indicative of a property of the drum contents from a mixture sensor and monitor the property of the drum contents as the drum rotates, acquire a target property for the drum contents upon delivery, determine a second, mixed speed based at least partially on the target property, and control the drum assembly to rotate the drum at the second, mixed speed in response to determining that the property of the drum contents indicates that the ingredients have been sufficiently mixed.

A vehicle includes an engine, a drum, a drum drive system, and a control system. The drum drive system includes a pump configured to pump a fluid through a hydraulic system and a motor positioned to rotate the drum to agitate drum contents. The control system is configured to perform a calibration test to determine a baseline operating pressure of the fluid in the hydraulic system, perform a buildup detection test to determine a current operating pressure of the fluid in the hydraulic system, and determine that there is a buildup of the drum contents within the drum in response to a difference between the baseline operating pressure and the current operating pressure exceeding a threshold differential. In some embodiments, the calibration test and the buildup detection test are only performed if a temperature of the fluid exceeds a threshold temperature.

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.