Compositions and methods are provided for a system in which liquid carbon dioxide, or a mixture of liquid and gaseous carbon dioxide, is converted to solid carbon dioxide by exiting an orifice at a sufficient pressure drop, e.g., for delivery of carbon dioxide to a concrete mixture in a mixer.

The invention provides compositions and methods directed to carbonation of a cement mix during mixing. The carbonation may be in a stationary mixer or a transportable mixer, such as a drum of a ready-mix truck.

A concrete mixing apparatus includes: a rotatable mixing drum; an internal combustion engine including an exhaust system for discharging exhaust gas containing carbon dioxide; a diverter pipe connected in fluid communication with the exhaust system and the mixing drum; and means for cooling the exhaust gas upstream of the mixing drum.

A vehicle includes a chassis, a drum assembly, and a control system. The drum assembly includes a drum configured to receive drum contents including at least one of ingredients and a mixture and a drive system coupled to the drum. The drive system is configured to rotate the drum to agitate the drum contents. The control system is configured to receive delivery data for the drum contents; receive at least one initial property of the drum contents; predict a delivery property for the drum contents based on the delivery data and the at least one initial property; receive en route data including at least one of mixture data, environment data, and GPS data; and update the predicted delivery property for the drum contents based on the en route data.

A method includes acquiring, by one or more processing circuits, en route data as a vehicle travels from a first location to a second location, and predicting, by the one or more processing circuits, a delivery property for the contents based on the en route data. The en route data includes content data regarding a current property of contents being transported by the vehicle, environment data regarding an environmental characteristic external to the vehicle, and GPS data regarding at least one of a travel distance, a travel time, traffic information, or a road parameter between the first location and the second location.

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 acquire data from a reader of the portable user device regarding an identifier on a machine, perform a verification process to verify that a user of the portable user device has access to the machine based on the identifier, wirelessly connect the portable user device to the machine in response to the user being verified to access the machine, 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 based on the user input to facilitate remote operation of the controllable component of the machine.

The rheological probe generally has a base; an inner member fixedly connected to the base and extending away from the base, the inner member having in succession a base portion proximate to the base, and a tip away from the base, and a deformable portion located between the base portion and the tip; a shell member covering the inner member, the shell member having a proximal portion being pivotally connected to the base for pivoting about a pivot axis when subjected to a resistance pressure imparted by a relative movement of the probe in a rheological substance, and a distal portion, the distal portion being engaged with the tip, the shell member having mating features being pivotally engaged with corresponding features of the base, the mating features being located on transversally opposite sides of the proximal portion; and a deformation sensor mounted to the deformable portion.

The present invention relates to a control for truck mixers having a hydraulically driven mixer drum, with the hydraulic pump of the mixer drive being driven by the drive motor of the truck mixer or by a separate motor. In accordance with the invention, the speed of the drive motor is adjustable in dependence on the demanded drum speed, with the desired drum speed being able to be set via an operating lever.

Disclosed are method and system for treating concrete in mixing drums of delivery vehicles having automated rheology (e.g., slump) monitoring systems programmed to dose fluids into concrete based on the monitored rheology. The present invention takes into account a Revolution-To-Discharge value (RTD) which reflects drum rotations needed to move concrete towards and through the mixing drum opening from which concrete is discharged, and also takes into consideration a Volume-Per-Revolution-Upon-Discharge (VPRUD) value which reflects the relation between the rate of discharge and rheology (e.g., slump) of concrete upon discharge. The invention is especially useful for reclaiming concrete in the drum after delivery and can confirm rheology based upon peak (maximum) discharge pressure. The present inventors found surprisingly that discharge pressure readings are useful for recalibrating automated rheology monitoring systems as well as for reporting and/or treating the remainder concrete.

A mixer vehicle includes a mixer drum, a sensor, and a controller. The mixer drum is configured to rotate to mix a material within the mixer drum. The sensor is configured to obtain values of one or more properties of the material within the mixer drum. The controller is configured to receive the one or more properties of the material, and receive a user request to discharge the material within the mixer drum. The controller is configured to determine if the material requires additional mixing to obtain accurate values of the one or more properties of the material or to sufficiently mix the material, and limit discharge of the material from the mixer drum in response to a determination that the material requires additional mixing to obtain accurate values of the one or more properties of the material or to sufficiently mix the material.