Testing Concrete after it is Cast

Closely allied to formwork is the testing of concrete after it is cast. “Testing concrete is vital because it tells contractors when it is time to remove the shuttering and move on,” explains Keshab Chopra, Managing Director, India and SAARC, Doka. “If contractors knew precisely when the concrete had achieved the desired strength, they could remove the moulds that much faster and considerably save construction time.”

Last year, Doka released Concremote, a solution that tests the strength of concrete as it sets, overseas. Now, Doka India is gearing up for the India release of Concremote. 

“We’ve had a good response for this sensor-based product in the Europe and US and are now looking to fulfil local demand for such a system," says Chopra. “With Concremote, contractors will no longer have to rely on the conventional method of testing set concrete, taking a concrete block and crushing it. The sensors can be placed on a concrete slab of, say, 300-600 mm, and thus be reused, or else inserted into a thicker element such as a concrete raft.”

Chopra expects Concremote to find users across the spectrum, including contractors, real-estate developers and government bodies. “Concremote will enable our customers to understand how concrete behaves while it is cast, by being a partner in their concreting process.”