Decisive factors to achieve precise results in concrete production

The correct installation of moisture probes and sensors plays a significant role in the achieving long-term stable results for concrete recipes.

The following factors and probe characteristics must be considered to achieve precise results, contact MESA Systems Co. to learn how our SONO probes and sensors solve these complications:

  • Variations in the grain size distribution (e.g. broken or polished sand) can cause considerable measured-value fluctuations of conventional moisture probes within ranges of 1.5%.
  • The moisture of rough aggregates can not be measured with conventional moisture probes, although these may contain up to 5 gallons of water per cubic yard (25 litres per cubic meter).
  • An abrasion of the moisture probe’s surface can lead to considerable inaccuracies of several percent deviation within a short period.
  • Fine particles in aggregates can lead to inaccuracies that may amount to several percent. The higher the content of fine particles, the less probably it is for conventional moisture probes to perform an accurate measurement.
  • Considerable dependencies can be caused by fluctuating bulk heights above the moisture probe. Conventional moisture probes have often to be installed in non-ideal installation places, e.g. inside a silo or inside the outlet.
  • When producing partial quantities of concrete, the exposure of the probe to the individual batches can be very short so that conventional moisture probes cannot measure correctly. Moisture probes should be able to distinctively detect the start and the end of a batch sequence.
  • Temperature and different mineral contents can cause measurement fluctuations