Method and composition for producing aggregates from cement and concrete, including residual or returned concrete. Exemplary methods involve the use of an aggregate-forming inducer that provides a surface anchoring site for cement paste to bond/adhere, such as shredded news print, cardboard, or mixtures thereof, and also including fiber materials such as polymers, glass, and other material fibers. The aggregate-forming inducer is mixed with fresh concrete until aggregates are formed.

The invention relates to processes for making improved ultra-high performance concrete with plasma-treated inclusions and articles made from the same. The invention includes a process for producing silicon carbide and multiwalled carbon nanotubes by heating agricultural waste husks in an inert atmosphere to a temperature higher than 1300 degrees C. to obtain a mixture containing silicon carbide and MWCNTs, and treating the mixture to extract the silicon carbide and MWCNTs for use as microinclusions in ultra high performance concrete.

Method and installation (100) for providing a batch of fresh concrete having a temperature in a predetermined temperature range at a remote point of use, whereby a control unit (140) controls at least one step of cooling of cement and/or aggregate and/or mixing water before mixing and/or of the fresh concrete, during the production of the batch.

A method of determining slurry mixability may include: providing a dry blend comprising one or more particulate materials; calculating a minimum water requirement of the dry blend; calculating a water requirement of a slurry having a target slurry density and comprising the dry blend; determining if the slurry is mixable based on the water requirement of the slurry and the minimum water requirement; and preparing the slurry if the slurry is mixable.

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.

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.

Systems and methods of sequestering carbon dioxide in concrete are described herein. The methods include combining water and a foaming agent to form a foaming agent mixture, adding a gas comprising carbon dioxide to the foaming agent mixture in a first mixing chamber, mixing the water, the gas comprising carbon dioxide and the foaming agent to form a foam mixture in the first mixing chamber, the foam mixture comprising a plurality of foam bubbles containing the at least a portion of the carbon dioxide, combining the foam mixture with concrete materials in a second mixing chamber so that the foam mixture contacts the concrete materials, the concrete materials comprising cement, and mixing the foam mixture and the concrete materials in the second mixing chamber to form the concrete having the carbon dioxide sequestered therein.

Cementitious compositions include: a) 4-80 wt.-%, preferably 26-75 wt.-%, especially 30-66 wt.-% of a cementitious binder, especially of Ordinary Portland Cement, b) 5-95 wt.-%, preferably 20-73 wt.-% more preferably 33-66 wt.-%, of aluminum oxide, and c) 1-15 wt.-% preferably 2-10 wt.-%, more preferably 3-6 wt.-% of fibers. Such cementitious compositions have a very high strength and are used for example for concrete repair or as grouting materials.

A method and system for initiating a majority percentage of chemical admixture dosage into a delivered concrete load preferably just before arrival of the concrete delivery truck at the delivery pour site, such that a maximized slump (or slump flow, or other slump characteristic) increase occurs just before discharge/pour. The invention employs a concrete slump management system having a processor that is programed to consider time of pour (discharge) and stored data that includes dosage response (change of slump characteristic) of the concrete mix due to past additions in the same type of concrete mix, and thus maximizes pre-pour increase in slump characteristic while minimizing or avoiding the risk of overshooting the slump target as well as limiting the time required for adjusting concrete to attain the target slump value at the jobsite.

A method and system for initiating a majority percentage of chemical admixture dosage into a delivered concrete load preferably just before arrival of the concrete delivery truck at the delivery pour site, such that a maximized slump (or slump flow, or other slump characteristic) increase occurs just before discharge/pour. The invention employs a concrete slump management system having a processor that is programed to consider time of pour (discharge) and stored data that includes dosage response (change of slump characteristic) of the concrete mix due to past additions in the same type of concrete mix, and thus maximizes pre-pour increase in slump characteristic while minimizing or avoiding the risk of overshooting the slump target as well as limiting the time required for adjusting concrete to attain the target slump value at the jobsite.