Wavelogix, a manufacturer of patented and novel concrete strength sensors invented by Purdue University professor Luna Lu, announced it has received $3 million in Series A funding from Rhapsody Venture Partners.
Lu had disclosed the sensor system to the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization, which applied for the patent to protect the intellectual property and licensed it to Wavelogix.
Based on data from the Federal Highway Administration, concrete pavement makes up less than 2% of U.S. roads but about 20% of the U.S. interstate system. And Lu’s research has focused on improving the conditions of concrete pavement first because it is the most challenging road material to repair. Concrete interstate pavement also must reliably support a large proportion of the nation’s traffic.
The traditional methods used by the construction industry for more than a century call for testing large samples of concrete at a lab or on-site facility. And using that data, engineers estimate the strength level that a particular concrete mix will reach after it’s been poured and left to mature at a construction site.
Even though these tests are understood by the industry, discrepancies between lab and outdoor conditions can cause inaccurate estimates of the concrete’s strength due to the different cement compositions and temperatures of the surrounding area.
With Rebel concrete strength sensors, engineers no longer have to rely on samples to estimate when fresh concrete is ready for traffic. And they can instead directly monitor the fresh concrete and accurately measure many of its properties at once.
The sensor communicates to engineers through a smartphone app exactly when the pavement is strong enough to handle heavy traffic. And the stronger the pavement is before being used by vehicles, the less often it will need to be repaired. The ability to receive information about the concrete’s strength levels also allows roads to open to traffic on time or sooner following a fresh pour.
Construction workers are able to install Rebel sensors simply by tossing them onto the ground of the concrete formwork and covering them with concrete. Next, they plug the sensor cable into a reusable handheld device that automatically starts logging data. With the app, workers can receive information on real-time changes in the concrete strength for as long as the data is required.
In 2022, Wavelogix received a $255,996 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop its technology.
KEY QUOTES:
“Rhapsody’s investment in Wavelogix shows that our sensors bring immense value to the industry. Its funding will allow us to scale manufacturing and enable nationwide deployment of the technology.”
“Traffic jams caused by infrastructure repairs have wasted 4 billion hours and 3 billion gallons of gas on a yearly basis. This is primarily due to insufficient knowledge and understanding of concrete’s strength levels. For instance, we don’t know when concrete will reach the right strength needed to accommodate traffic loads just after construction. The concrete may go through premature failure, leading to frequent repairing.”
- Luna Lu, Purdue’s Reilly Professor in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering and Wavelogix’s founder
“Wavelogix’s solution is transformative for concrete construction. Short-term, it will allow accelerated project timelines and eliminate costly quality control errors. Beyond this, Wavelogix will enable data-driven decision-making and optimization of concrete mix designs, which will reduce carbon footprints, eliminate waste and lead to more durable structures.”
- Jason Whaley, general partner and co-founder of Rhapsody Venture Partners
