ORIGINAL ARTICLE Monitoring of concrete homogenisation with the power consumption curve D. Chopin Æ B. Cazacliu Æ F. de Larrard Æ R. Schell Received: 10 February 2005 / Accepted: 20 March 2006 / Published online: 27 February 2007 Ó RILEM 2007 Abstract Homogenisation time increases for superplasticized concrete slowing down their industrial production. Monitoring power con- sumption measurement capability to control concrete homogeneity during mixing is explored. Various High Performance Concrete and Self- Compacting Concrete was batched in a 1 m 3 pan mixer, with increasing mixing time. Rheology and compressive strength were measured and compared for different mixing times. Correla- tions were established between power consump- tion and compressive strength evolutions. Also, power consumption for the longest mixing time and concrete rheological parameters (yield stress and plastic viscosity) are related. On the another hand, tests show that mixing difficulty for a given mix-design is reduced with increased mixer capacity and when fast planetary tools are implemented in the mixer. As a conclusion, the power consumption evolution can be very useful information to control concrete homogeneity during mixing, to control material flowability, and to compare the capability of different mixers. Re ´ sume ´ La production industrielle des be ´tons fortement adjuvante ´s est ralentie par un temps d’homoge ´ne ´isation long. Le suivi de la mesure de la puissance consomme ´e comme outil de contro ˆle en ligne de l’homoge ´ne ´ite ´ dans le malaxeur est explore ´. Diffe ´rentes formules de Be ´tons a ` Hautes Performances et de Be ´tons Autoplac ¸ants sont fabrique ´es dans un malaxeur annulaire de 1 m 3 , a ` diffe ´rents temps de malaxage. Des mesures de rhe ´ologie et des re ´sistances en compression sont faites et compare ´es pour diffe ´rents temps de malaxage. Des corre ´lations entre les e ´volutions de la puissance et de la re ´sistance en compression sont e ´tablies. E ´ galement, la puissance au temps de malaxage le plus long est relie ´e aux parame `tres rhe ´ologiques du be ´ton (seuil et viscosite ´). D’autre part, les essais montrent que la difficulte ´ de malaxage diminue avec la capacite ´ du malaxeur et lorsque des agitateurs plane ´taires rapides sont introduits dans le malaxeur. En conclu- sion, l’e ´volution de la puissance consomme ´e D. Chopin  B. Cazacliu (&)  F. de Larrard LCPC, rte de Bouaye, BP 4129, 44341 Bouguenais cedex, France e-mail: bogdan.cazacliu@lcpc.fr Present Address: D. Chopin Chryso, 8, rue Vallin, 44400 Reze ´, France R. Schell RMC, 2 rue de Verseau, Silic 423, Rungis, France Present Address: R. Schell RS Conseils & De ´veloppement, 39 rue du Centre, 77310 Pringy, France Materials and Structures (2007) 40:897–907 DOI 10.1617/s11527-006-9187-8