Text

theses

Proper consolidation of concrete is critical to the long-term strength of concrete bridge structures. Vibration is a commonly used method to make concrete flow able and to remove the excessive entrapped air, therefore contributing to proper concrete consolidation. To introduce vibrations to freshly placed concrete, various tools such as internal vibrators are widely used in the construction industry. Producing a dense concrete without segregation with these tools requires an experienced vibrator operator. Inexperienced vibrator operators tend to over-consolidate or under-consolidate concrete. Many of these quality problems have their roots in the lack of quality control methods that can provide real-time feedback on the quality of concrete consolidation to vibrator operators. The proposed research involves the development of a real-time wireless sensing-based internal vibrator tracking system to support intelligent concrete consolidation operations. Specifically, the research team will explore the use of an Ultra Wideband (UWB) tracking system to realize precise localization of internal vibrators. Multiple tags will be attached to each vibrator for deriving its precise poses. Computer programs will be developed to track tags, to infer vibrator poses, and to visualize operators' vibration effort in real-time. Once a vibrator is tracked, the vibration location, time, and depth associated with this vibrator will be displayed on a computer in real-time. A vibrator operator can leverage such information to visualize the distribution of his vibration effort, and spot areas that may need mitigation actions. The new concrete consolidation tool will allow contractors to proactively address concrete consolidation issues, a problem common to many concrete construction projects.

ETD_5499

M.S.

Includes bibliographical references

by Raghav Krishnamoorthy

doi:10.7282/T3J67F79

ETD graduate

The author owns the copyright to this work.