Testing the flow properties of fresh cement

A Magna Projects and Instruments product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jun 27, 2001

Magna Projects and Instruments has licensed from University College London and Herriot-Watt Universities a rugged instrument for testing the flow properties or rheology of fresh cement and concrete

Magna Projects and Instruments Ltd licensed from University College London (UCL) and Herriot-Watt Universities a rugged instrument for testing the flow properties or rheology of fresh cement and concrete.

The instrument, the Tattershall Two-Point Tester (TTPT), takes a sample of the fresh concrete or cement in a bucket-like container and stirs it with an agitator over a controlled range of speeds, measuring as the speed changes the torque needed to maintain stirring at that speed.

A computer then processes the data, plots the speed - torque graph and calculates both the slope of the resulting line and the intercept.

The two points, the slope of the graph and the intercept, give the two characteristic parameters for the material's flow behaviour, since, broadly, fresh cement and concretes behave as Bingham Fluids, which only start to flow (during useful experimental timescales) after a certain Yield Stress has been overcome, and flow in a linear or Newtonian manner after this; indeed, the slope of the graph is a measure of the material's viscosity.

Experimental work has shown that these two parameters are good indicators of the water content and of the composition ratio of the mix, providing a valuable quality control test both on-site and in development and teaching departments.

The instrument is a development of an instrument designed and refined by Dr Geoff Tattershall of Sheffield University over a 25-year period.

Also, it has applications in testing materials other than fresh cement and concrete, especially non-homogeneous fluids which cannot be tested with normal laboratory instruments.

Not what you're looking for? Search the site.

Back to top Back to top

Google Ads

 

Contact Magna Projects and Instruments

Related Stories

Contact Magna Projects and Instruments
Newsletter sign up

Request your free weekly copy of the Engineeringtalk email newsletter ...

Articles by product category

All suppliers A - Z

A Pro-talk Publication

A Pro-talk publication