Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2023) 8:75 https://doi.org/10.1007/s41062-023-01043-7 TECHNICAL PAPER Real‑time monitoring of early‑age compressive strength of concrete using an IoT‑enabled monitoring system: an investigative study Dane Miller 1  · Nhat‑Minh Ho 1  · Nima Talebian 1  · Zia Javanbakht 2 Received: 17 October 2022 / Accepted: 6 January 2023 / Published online: 18 January 2023 © The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 Abstract Determination of the early-age compressive strength of concrete is essential for quality assurance, safety, and economy of construction projects. Due to manual operation on construction site, conventional maturity meters are not efcient for live monitoring of the early-age concrete strength. Higher levels of automated and computerised improvements have been made possible by recent developments in wireless communications, sensor technologies, and data processing methods across the construction industry. For real-time monitoring of the early-stage concrete strength, the current study presents an innovative Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled system developed by concrete data sensors (CDS), an Australian-owned private business. The CDS sensor system (the system) communicates with temperature sensors via long-range wide-area network and is linked to a cloud-based platform for data storage. The suggested system’s efectiveness was assessed using three concrete mixtures and developed maturity relationships. It was observed that the predicted early-age compressive strength of the mixes matches well with the actual compressive strength and that the system can efectively automate the characterisation of maturity. Keywords Concrete maturity method · Real-time monitoring · Early-age compressive strength · IoT-based system Introduction Concrete is widely employed in construction industry as a durable, afordable, and structurally functional material. [1–3]. Despite its widespread use, estimation of the time needed to obtain specifc strength is challenging as it is infu- enced by various factors. Construction operations, such as removal of shoring systems, slipforming operations, and stressing of post-tensioned tendons, could potentially be optimised with an accurate assessment of the early-age con- crete strength [2, 4–17]. Monitoring the early-age concrete strength could be also used to determine the 28-day com- pressive strength and ensure concrete reaches its expected design strength. To assess the mechanical characteristics of concrete and make choices on on-site construction, concrete cylinders are often cast and cured on site. However, the cylinders do not realistically refect the properties of the in-place concrete because the curing regime and boundary circumstances of concrete samples are drastically diferent from the in situ curing conditions [5, 18]. In addition, low temperatures may result in insufcient strength development and there- fore longer curing times to reach the necessary concrete strength [1]. It is essential to correctly anticipate the concrete strength during the early phases of construction to avoid contractors acting prematurely as inadequate strength can cause problems such as cracking, performance, and durabil- ity issues [4, 8]. Thus, real-time monitoring of the short-term strength development is necessary for the quality and safety assurance of concrete buildings. Several structural collapses because of early stripping of formwork have been reported, such as the collapse of the Skyline Tower in Fairfax County in 1973 [19] and a cooling tower in Willow Island in 1978 [20, 21]. * Dane Miller dmiller@bond.edu.au Nhat-Minh Ho nho@bond.edu.au Nima Talebian ntalebia@bond.edu.au Zia Javanbakht z.javanbakht@grifth.edu.au 1 School of Sustainable Development, Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Robina, QLD 4226, Australia 2 School of Engineering and Built Environment, Grifth University, Southport, QLD 4215, Australia