Simulation App Guides Project Decisions at Construction Sites 

Heidelberg Materials, a large supplier of building materials, is putting multiphysics simulation into the hands of contractors with a compiled simulation app called HETT22. The app enables Heidelberg Materials' customers to use simulation to make informed decisions regarding cost-effective casting strategies at construction sites.

The app predicts curing times and accounts for variables that affect concrete strength and durability, such as time, temperature, material selections and casting technique. Ambient temperatures have a major impact on the curing time, and the app was built to use site-specific weather forecasts to provide the best possible predictions.

"We provide HETT22 to our customers because of the value it adds for them at each decision point of a concrete casting job," says Tom Fredvik, technical manager at Heidelberg Materials' Sement Norge. "We see it as a core part of our tech support offering."

Heidelberg Materials engaged consultancy Deflexional to create HETT22 and its associated models. After building the models in COMSOL Multiphysics software, Deflexional used the software's Application Builder to turn the models into a custom app, which they compiled into a standalone app using COMSOL Compiler. 

In 6 months after launch, HETT22 was downloaded more than 1,100 times.

The app also features a menu of Heidelberg Materials' cement materials for the user to choose from. The company offers hundreds of potential concrete recipes, including supplementary cementitious materials to be mixed with the concrete. By predicting the effects of choices related to physical conditions, a construction team can use the app to better manage the economics and carbon footprint of each project. 

"We wanted HETT22 to help users predict the behavior of concrete that they may not be familiar with," says Mikael Westerholm, project manager at Heidelberg Materials' Cement Sverige.

The Application Builder in the COMSOL Multiphysics simulation software makes it easy for users to build and maintain their own apps and the COMSOL Compiler add-on product makes it possible to turn them into standalone executable files with a click. The compiled apps can be distributed to anyone, even those without a COMSOL license.

"The app developed for Heidelberg Materials by Deflexional is a perfect example of how simulation apps extend the benefits of simulation beyond the simulation engineer," says Per Backlund, sales and marketing manager at COMSOL. "The collaboration between the companies resulted in an app that contains crucial knowledge about concrete curing, packaged in an intuitive user interface."

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.