Patent ID: 7935236

Claim:
A customized method for safely, efficiently and reliably de-watering porous material, including porous material incorporating steel reinforcement, comprising: providing a de-watering system, comprising; at least one array of durable dimensionally stable anodes (DDAs), said DDAs comprising strip DDAs, each said strip comprising a valve metal having an electro-catalytic surface, each said strip having voids and nodes, said nodes being distributed on said strip in a range of densities of a minimum of about 50 nodes/m 2 to a minimum of about 2000 nodes/m 2 , at least one cathode in operable communication with said at least one array and in operable communication with a second material external to said porous material, at least one source of a DC electrical signal in operable communication with said at least one array and said at least one cathode; at least one monitoring and control apparatus in operable communication with at least said porous material and said at least one source, wherein said monitoring and control apparatus monitors at least the amount of moisture in said porous material and at least controls the rate of said de-watering; measuring selected parameters of said porous material, said second material and the environs of said porous and said second materials; comparing said selected parameters to known data; establishing operating parameters of said de-watering system; connecting said de-watering system to at least part of said porous material to facilitate implementing said established operating parameters; establishing an osmotic flow of moisture from within at least some of said porous material, wherein said osmotic flow dewaters at least part of said porous material, and monitoring said osmotic flow and said porous material to maintain a pre-specified level of moisture in said porous material, wherein deployment of said de-watering system evenly distributes a positive charge in the porous material without damaging said DDAs, said porous material, any said steel reinforcement that may be incorporated in said porous material, and without creating acids or causing out-gassing at said DDAs.