Real-Time 3D Concrete Vibration Effort Tracking and Visualization with Ultra-Wide-Band Technologies

Real-time monitoring of concrete vibration quality is a difficult task that has eluded construction professionals for decades. Many of the concrete quality problems such as honeycombs have their roots in the lack of quality control methods that can provide real-time feedback on the quality of concrete consolidation to vibrator operators. This research developed a wireless sensing-based internal vibrator tip tracking approach for 3D concrete vibration effort tracking and visualization. This paper described the overall workflow of the proposed system, explained the technical rationales used in the proposed approach, analyzed outdoor experiment results for research validation, and finally discussed future research needs. The research results suggest that the proposed approach is capable of displaying vibration location and time in real-time and providing an innovative tool for construction contractors to proactively address concrete consolidation issues associated with improper vibration practices.