F-Cal Semi-Adiabatic Calorimeter
The Calmetrix F-Cal is a handy, portable calorimeter with eight sample channels that emulates the curing conditions of concrete flatwork. It is fully compliant with ASTM C1753 ("Evaluating Early Hydration of Hydraulic Cementitious Mixtures Using Thermal Measurements") and is an ideal tool for quick testing of concrete in field conditions.
F-Cal units are portable, yet rugged enough to be carried in the back of a pick-up truck, or left on site in a Concrete plant for testing in real conditions.
F-Cal 8000 enables testing of up to eight cement, mortar or concrete simultaneously, in standard 3"x6" (75 mm x 150 mm) cylinders or in any container of equal or smaller size. Calmetrix's proprietary CalCommander software for data retrieval and analysis lets users to select one of the F-Cal's cells as a temperature reference cell.
F-Cal is recommended for testing in field conditions for up to 36 hours and does not require a dedicated computer or a power source. The equipment is battery operated and stores data logged for up to 7 days. Heat curves obtained can be interpreted almost instantaneously by the user, or stored and sent in a report to an off-site QC Manager.
F-Cal's main applications are: ​​
• any testing as per ASTM C1753
• on-site troubleshooting for material incompatibility (e.g. admixtures that do not work well for certain cement sources)
• quick estimation of setting times
• rapid screening of materials, e.g. different sources of cement, different brands of admixtures
• robustness test (how performance holds up to variations in material dosages)
• mix design optimization