DEVELOP NONINTRUSIVE MOISTURE ANALYZER FOR CONCRETE

THERE IS NEED FOR A DEVICE THAT NONINTRUSIVELY MEASURES MOISTURE CONTENT OF FRESH AND HARDENED CONCRETE. ITS PROCEDURE MUST BE QUICK AND SIMPLE. IT MIGHT ALSO BE USED FOR MEASURING MOISTURE IN OTHER MATERIALS, SUCH AS SAND AND SOIL. WE PROPOSE USING CAPACITANCE, MICROWAVE OR CONDUCTIVITY TECNNIQUES TO MEASURE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT, WHICH IS RELATED TO MOISTURE CONTENT. ALTHOUGH THE DIELECTRIC APPROACH TO AQUAMETRY HAS BEEN USED IN OTHER APPLICATIONS, THIS APPLICATION IS UNIQUE IN TERMS OF SAMPLE THICKNESS AND HETEROGENEITY. IN PHASE I, WE WILL DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF SUCH A DEVICE THROUGH ACTUALLY CONSTRUCTING MANY PROTOTYPES, PERFECTING THEIR DESIGN, AND STUDYING THEIR PERFORMANCE. WE WILL RESEARCH THE 3-WAY CORRELATION BETWEEN MOISTURE CONTENT AND DIELECTRIC CONSTANTS OF BOTH WHOLE CONCRETE AND ITS CONSTITUENTS. IN PHASE II, WE WILL TAKE THE MOST PROMISING PROTOTYPE FROM PHASE I AND REFINE THE DESIGN TO YIELD A PRACTICAL, MARKETABLE METER.