Development and testing of the concrete maturity sensor housing

Abstract

. The two types of custom housings for the maturity sensor made of twocomponent plastic were proposed and subjected to durability testing in this study. The first rectangular housing was made of two parts connected by 6 screws and waterproofed with rubber. The second housing was made keg-shaped with a cylindrical keg and screw-on cap. The housings were tested for water resistance, integrity when dropped, and load resistance on three sides using an electromechanical press-machine. At compression tests, both housings demonstrated fairly acceptable resistances, ranging from 0.6 to 2.11 kPa. If referring to the weight applied, it may be supposed that the housings may bear from 65.3 to 165.3 kg depending on the sides, on which the loads are applied. The integrity tests did not cause notable damage on both types of housings, while the water-resistance test revealed the weakness of rectangular housing that failed the test at 3 days of submerging. Comparatively, the cylindrical housing turned out to be more reliable, since its average resistance deviation on all sides appeared to be twice less than those in rectangular one. Moreover, the keg-shaped housing turned out to be waterproof, less material, and labor-intensive.