Methods, systems, and computer program products for determining a property of construction material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9880146-B2
Application number	US-201514666273-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 23, 2015
Priority date	Aug 30, 2005
Publication date	Jan 30, 2018
Grant date	Jan 30, 2018

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer program products for determining a property of construction material. According to one aspect, a material property gauge operable to determine a property of construction material is disclosed. The gauge may include an electromagnetic sensor operable to measure a response of construction material to an electromagnetic field. Further, the electromagnetic sensor may be operable to produce a signal representing the measured response by the construction material to the electromagnetic field. An acoustic detector may be operable to detect a response of the construction material to the acoustical energy. Further, the acoustic detector may be operable to produce a signal representing the detected response by the construction material to the acoustical energy. A material property calculation function may be configured to calculate a property value associated with the construction material based upon the signals produced by the electromagnetic sensor and the acoustic detector.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A material property gauge for determining a property of construction material, the material property gauge comprising:
(a) at least one of a probe and a surface sensor configured to contact and measure a moisture and seismic response of a construction material and obtain signals relating to seismic and moisture material properties;
(b) a moisture property gauge connected to the at least one of a probe and a surface sensor for generating a measure of moisture of the construction material;
(c) a seismic detector connected to the at least one of a probe and a surface sensor and operable to detect a response of the construction material to a mechanical energy and produce a signal representing the detected response by the construction material to the mechanical energy; and
(d) a material property calculation function configured to calculate a property value associated with the construction material based upon signals being produced by the moisture property gauge and the seismic detector.

2. The material property gauge of claim 1 where the at least one of the probe and the surface sensor is electrically connected to a moisture module and configured to generate an electromagnetic field within the construction material to determine a permittivity response of the construction material and generate a measure of moisture of the construction material.

3. The material property gauge of claim 2 wherein the at least one of the probe and the surface sensor comprises an electromagnetic sensor that includes at least one of a fringing field sensor, a capacitance sensor, a microwave sensor, a microwave resonator, a waveguide sensor, a transmission line sensor, a time domain reflectometer (TDR), a frequency domain reflectometor, FMCW, and an antenna.

4. The material property gauge of claim 1 wherein the construction material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of soil, asphalt, pavement, stone, sub-base material, and sub-grade material, sand, cement and concrete.

5. The material property gauge of claim 1 , wherein the seismic detector is one of a probe operable to be inserted beneath the surface or in surface contact of the construction material.

6. The material property gauge of claim 1 , wherein the moisture property gauge is one of an insert-able probe and a surface sensor configured to generate an electromagnetic field in one of a frequency and time domain.

7. The material property gauge of claim 2 , wherein the moisture property gauge is operable as the one of the probe and the surface sensor to measure at least one of resistivity, reactance, susceptibility, conductivity, phase velocity, energy loss, loss tangent, complex permittivity, an impedance effect, dispersion, capacitance; associated with permittivity and dielectric properties of the construction material.

8. The material property gauge of claim 1 , wherein the material property gauge is configured to produce a signal representing at least one of a pulse, step, time domain waveform, single frequency, multi-frequency, sweeps of frequency, and time-modulated frequency functions for obtaining a frequency response of the construction material.

9. The material property gauge of claim 1 , wherein the moisture property gauge comprises an impedance measurement, time domain reflectometry (TDR) or an FMCW type sensor.

10. The material property gauge of claim 1 wherein the material property calculation function is configured to correct the density, modulus, seismic response, and stiffness based on a signal produced by the moisture property gauge.

11. The material property gauge of claim 1 comprising a display operable to display the property value associated with the moisture property gauge and the seismic detector.

12. The material property gauge of claim 1 , wherein the material property calculation function is configured to: determine water content of the construction material based on the measure of moisture; and determine at least one of a quality condition relating dry density, dry modulus, dry stiffness of the construction material by determining bulk density, bulk modulus, and bulk stiffness of the construction material with the determined water content.

13. The material property gauge of claim 1 , wherein the material property calculation function is configured to correct the measure of moisture for temperature and further correct at least one of modulus, stiffness, seismic response, and density from one of temperature and moisture.

14. The material property gauge of claim 1 , wherein the material property calculation function is configured to determine the property value associated with the construction material using soil, asphalt, pavement, stone, aggregate, sub-base material, and sub-grade material, sand, cement and concrete specific calibrations or offsets determined with samples from the field or laboratory.

15. The material property gauge of claim 1 whereby the moisture property gauge is configured to calculate the material property based on corrections from a moisture signal of a manual keypad entry.

16. The material property gauge of claim 1 , wherein the seismic detector comprises a device selected from the group consisting of a geophone, an accelerometer, a vibration sensor, piezoelectric component, inductive coil, magnetostrictive component, bender element, micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS), an optical sensor, a force sensor, velocity sensor.

17. The material property gauge of claim 1 , wherein the mechanical energy is generated by a device selected from the group consisting of: an FWD, a light weight portable FWD, a LWD, a seismic analyzer, a Briaud compaction device (BCD), a Clegg Hammer, stiffness gauge, mechanical shaker, electrodynamic shaker, solenoid activated hammers, instrumented hammers, inductive based device, magnetostrictive device, a bender device, piezoelectric-based devices, a micro-electro-mechanical device, frequency domain devices, time domain devices, and a hardness gauge.

18. The material property gauge of claim 1 , wherein the material property calculation function is configured to correct and calculate at least one of a parameter of a seismic response including one of a density, a void ratio, modulus, stiffness, of the construction material based on the signals produced by the moisture property gauge and the seismic detector.

19. A method of determining a property of a material, the method comprising: inserting a probe into and or contacting a surface sensor with a construction material; using one of the probe and the surface sensor to generate an electromagnetic field within the construction material to determine a permittivity response of the construction material; generating a measure of moisture content of the construction material;
positioning a seismic detector on the surface or interior to the construction material, determining one of a bulk density, bulk modulus, or bulk stiffness response of the construction material based on detection by the seismic detector of a response by the construction material to a mechanical energy imparted into the construction material by a mechanical energy source; and determining one of a corrected quality indication related to dry density, dry modulus, and dry stiffness of the construction material based on the measure of moisture content and the response of the seismic detector related to bulk density, modulus and stiffness of the construction material.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein using the one of the probe and the surface sensor comprises generating the e

Assignees

• Troxler Electronic Lab Inc
• Troxler Electronic Lab Inc

Inventors

• Troxler Robert Ernest

Classifications

• H05K2203/162

  Testing a finished product, e.g. heat cycle testing of solder joints · CPC title

• G01N33/42 Primary

  Road-making materials (G01N33/38 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01N33/24

  Earth materials (G01N33/42 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01N23/02

  by transmitting the radiation through the material · CPC title

• G01N33/246

  for water content · CPC title