You are on page 1of 18

GUIDELINES GIVEN BY SH.

RAMESH JOSHI, GM
HYDERABAD
ABSTRACT:
This program covers different subjects like cracks in concrete, batching, mixing,
placing, compaction and curing of concrete, practice of masonry for stones and concrete
blocks, bituminous road, concrete road, plastering works, water proofing techniques, non
destructive test methods and scaffolding and shuttering in short duration of time. This
report describes most suitable subjects like wpc techniques, cracks in concrete, batching,
mixing, placing, compaction and curing of concrete, for our RMC operations.

1. PRODUCTION AND CONTROL OF CONCRETE


BATCHING,
MIXING,
COMPACTION AND CURING:

TRANSPORTING,

PLACING,

A. INTRODUCTION:
Concrete construction methods have changed drastically in our country.
Nowadays modern construction equipments are used in all developed countries and in
developing countries. It is not only essential to concrete with excellent quality but also
necessary to produce it with speed and economy. In order to modernize and further
develop the construction industry, Ready Mix Concrete is a must.
B. READY MIX CONCRETE:
If concrete, instead of being batched and mixed at site, is delivered ready for
placing from a central batching plant, it is referred to as READY MIX CONCRETE
shortly called as RMC. The Ready Mix Concrete can thus be made under better
conditions of control than are normally done at site mixing. Since the central mixing
plant operates under near factory condition a really close control of operation is highly
possible. Proper care during transportation of the concrete is also ensured by the use of
agitator trucks. Ready Mix Concrete is well established as technology for many decades
and is used extensively in many countries. Because of the cost of the additional element
of transportation Ready Mix Concrete is indeed costlier than site mixed concrete. If,
inspite of that use of Ready Mix Concrete Technology is so wide spread in many
countries such as US, UK, Europe, South East Asia etc., the Ready Mix Concrete is not
only a value added product but also a service and that it ensures quality for which
the additional cost is more than justified. Some of the prominent structures in the
world, built using Ready Mix Concrete are
1. Petronnas Towers of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (The Tallest building in the world)
2. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, USA
3. Changi International Airport, Singapore

4. Sydney Opera House, Australia


5. Euro Tunnel (UK/France)
6. The demolished World Trade Center, New York.

C. BATCHING & MIXING:


The principal functional elements of every stationary concrete production plant
comprises of the following.
1. Storage of Materials - Silos and Godown for cement, Bins for aggregates and
Containers for admixtures and Tanks for water.
2. Batching arrangement (Automatic & Semi automatic)
3. Measuring and recording equipment
4. Mixing equipment
5. Control systems
6. Electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic drives
7. Conveying systems (belt / screw conveyors)
(i) STORAGE OF CEMENT:
Cement is generally stored in Silos. The procurement and delivery of bulk cement
can be done by bulk carriers. The loading of cement is done with the help of pneumatic
blower system available at plant. If bagged cement (stored in godown) is used then the
cement is loaded using a compressed air loader and splitter unit. Cement is weighed
separately and is transported from silo into mechanical or electro mechanical weigher by
means of screw conveyor.
(ii) STORAGE OF WATER:
Water is generally stored in tanks located close to the plant. It is accurately
measured by a water gauge and microprocessor unit.
(iii) STORAGE OF AGGREGATE:
The storage of aggregates is done in various ways depends on the type of plant.
a) Vertical Production Plant: In this plant the aggregates are stored above the
batching and mixing elements in one or more silos. As the aggregates are stored in
silos it is relatively easy to protect the aggregates from very low temp. in winter
period.
b) Horizontal Production Plant:
i) Star Pattern Aggregate Storage: Here the aggregates can be stored exposed to
ambient temperature in different compartments forming a star type pattern. Our
Nacharam plant belongs to this type.

ii) Inline Aggregate Storage Silos: The inline aggregate storage silo system
continuously requires a shovel wheeled loader to charge the silo with fresh materials. The
aggregates are weighed on an electro mechanical weigher belt. Our Miyapur plant
belongs to this type.
D. MIXING ARRANGEMENTS:
Concrete mixing is normally done by mechanical means but some site mixing of
concrete is done by hand for small structures. The object of mixing is to coat the surface
of all aggregate particles with cement paste to blend all the ingredients of concrete into a
uniform mass. Pan type and twin shaft power mixers have shorter mixing time give better
homogeneity, consistency and strength to the concrete.
Our Nacharam plant has pan type mixer and Miyapur plant has twin shaft
power mixer for giving high homogeneity and uniformity of concrete.
CONTROL SYSTEM:
Fully automatic plant control systems even up to 1500 mixes of different types
can be stored along with names and addresses of the consumer. The mix data with
quantity can be printed by the printer if required by the customer. Apart from this,
moisture recorder and mixer mind for consistency of mix also provided.
1) MOISTURE RECORDER:
These recorders actually measure the moisture present in sand. A recording unit,
which calculates the average moisture value of the sand, passes on the information to the
batching control unit to allow corrective action to be taken.
2) CONSISTENCY OF MIX:
Consistency of the concrete mixes checked by remote recording system which
automatic, easy and accurate. If concrete is very dry or stiff the electrical resistance of the
batch is measured and if the concrete is wet the motor output is measured. So one
operator is more efficient, he need not require a chemist to check the slump of concrete
in each and every vehicle. He can maintain the consistency of the mix once the initial
requirement slump is correlated with motor out put.
These are required for better quality control, higher economy and superior
working conditions.
E. TRANSPORTATION:
Concrete shall be transported from the mixer to the formwork as rapidly as
possible by methods, which will prevent the segregation or loss of any of the ingredients
and maintaining workability. The modes of transportation are as follows.

1) Head loads / human chain


2) Cranes
3) Buckets
4) Wheel borrows
5) Chutes
6) Belt conveyors
7) Tippers
8) Transit Mixers
9) Concrete pumps etc.,
The most common observation at site mix concrete (SMC) is a combination of manual
and mechanical mode of transportation is used. This does not give the quality,
efficiency and performance expected out of fully mechanical mode of
transportation.
From the various methods used, truck mixers with different load carrying capacity are
found to be most suitable for transporting concrete mix in horizontal direction (footing,
foundation, walls, slabs on ground) and concrete pumps with different pumping capacity
are found suitable for transportation of mix in both horizontal and vertical direction. It is
therefore, desirable to go for total mechanization as far as possible for effective mode of
transporting concrete without affecting its quality, for this purpose the need of SMC to
RMC is very much essential. So it our duty to create awareness among the customer to
go for RMC from SMC irrespective of cost difference.
Transit Mixers: The capacity of transit mixers ranges from 2 to 12 cubic meters. 6 cu.m.
capacity being ideal. The transit mixers in which the concrete inside the drum revolves
slowly so as to prevent segregation and undue stiffening of the mix. The speed of rotation
of drum may vary between 4 to 16 rpm.
F. PUMPING OF CONCRETE:
In the past fifty years, the pumping of concrete has established itself an efficient
and economical mode of transporting concrete over long distances and significant
heights. Its use has become widespread in the building and construction industries.
(i) Principle of pumping concrete:
Pumping concrete is a concrete, which has been conveyed by pressure through
rigid pipeline with flexible end hose discharged directly to a desired location, which may
be its final location.
(ii) Types of pumps:
Ordinary mobile pump, truck mounted pump and truck mounted boom pump.

(iii) Pump delivery out put:


The different capacities of pumps are available ranging from 10 cu.m. to 100
cu.m. per hour. The delivery output depends on 1) pipeline diameter 2) Pipeline pressure
3) Length of pipeline and 4) consistency of mix. Kindly note that maximum rated
output of a pump is NOT normally the figure to estimate pump delivery output. This is
for ideal and continuous pumping operation over an hour. It is rarely achieved on site. A
work factor say 0.75 must be applied to this rated output to determine the actual output of
under site conditions.
For example the rated output of pump is 90 cu.m. per hour, the actual output will
be 90 X 0.75 = 67.5 cu.m. per hour.
The normal distance concrete can be pumped is about 400 meters horizontally and
80 meters vertically.
(iv) Advantages of Boom pump over line pumps:
1) The speed of erection is high. A boom pump can start pumping within 15 to 30
minutes of arriving on site.
2) It covers wide range of working area in short duration of time.
3) Using boom pump higher out put ie high speed pours can be achieved with more
than 60 cu.m. per hour. So mass concrete pour can be completed in a record time.
4) Boom pump is highly useful for columns, walls and scattered individual locations
where shifting of pipelines are difficult.
5) High time saving.
6) Pipes do not have to be laid over areas where concrete has to be placed.
7) Less compaction is required since the force of concrete placed over the slab is
normally more than concrete pumped from line pump.
8) Time taken for vibration is always less therefore diesel consumption for the same
is also reduced considerably.
9) Number of labours required less to the customer, because concrete can be placed
directly where it is required.
10) Shifting of boom pump from one site to another site is very easy and fast. So
using boom pump can increase number of operations in a day.
(v) Pipeline and flexible end hose:
Most pumped concrete is transported to the placement area through rigid pipes
and special purpose flexible end hose. Rigid pipe is made of steel and is available in
diameter from 50 mm to 150mm. In general 125mm dia pipeline is widely used. The
flexible end hose is made up of synthetic or wire-reinforced rubber hose. This end hose
can be interchanged while shifting pipelines from one place to another place of a slab
during concreting. The following are weight of 3-meter empty pipe with different
diameters.

Pipe diameter (mm)

Mass of 3 meter empty pipe (kg)

100
30
125
40
150
55
So one workman can handle and easily shift pipe (100mm dia) from one end to another
end of slab. According to American concrete pumping association, the dia of pipeline
should be 4 times greater than the of maximum size aggregate to avoid choking. For
20mm aggregate, the minimum dia of pipeline should be 80mm.
Maximum size aggregate
25 mm 37mm
19 mm 25 mm
<19 mm

Dia of pipeline
125 mm
100 mm
75 mm

At present we are using 125mm diameter pipeline for pumping concrete with 20mm
maximum size aggregate.
Bends: Bends in pipeline are used to reduce the effective pumping distance. Normally
900, 450, and 22.50 bends are available. They can be called as C bend or S bends
depends upon its shape.
Degree of bend
22.50
45o
900

Reducing pipeline distance


3 meter
5 meter
10 meter

(vi) Pump Leveling and Pipeline Laying:


1) The area needed for pump leveling should be carefully selected so as to allow
easy discharge of concrete from the transit mixer.
2) Efficient pump operation will normally achieved by keeping the pipeline to the
point of delivery as short as possible and minimizing the number of bends and
coupling involved.
3) Pipes should be laid either horizontally or vertically and should be firmly
anchored, particularly at bends.
4) Care should be taken the load of pipelines do not affect the position of formwork
or reinforcement
5) Prior to its arrival on site, the pipeline including all fittings should be clean and in
good condition. Unclean pipelines may induce chocking.
6) The wear and tear of pipe wall thickness should be checked at regular intervals of
time.

7) For laying pipeline for multi storeyed building for example 5 th floor and above,
the minimum distance between pump and vertical pipeline should be 5meter to
avoid choking in the pipeline.
8) Connecting pipe: It is highly useful for connecting pipelines from different
manufacturer like stetter and putzmietzer for longer distances like 100 meter and
above.
(vii) Priming or Lubricating of piplines before concrete discharge:
Immediately prior to the discharge of the first load of concrete into pump hopper
the pump and pipeline should be primed or lubricated with a cementitious mortar in order
to prevent the loss of lubricating fluid from the concrete. A lubricating mix is then
pumped into the line to coat the inside area of pipe and followed by the concrete to be
pumped.
(viii) Lubricating Mix or slurry preparation:
The lubricating mix or priming mixture consists of two parts by volume of river
sand to one part of cement and sufficient water to give a flowable consistency. The
quantity of lubricating mixture is dependent on the diameter of the pipeline and its length.
In general 50 to 100 litres of priming mixture is required for the pipeline less than 50
meters length. After lubricating pump and pipeline, the pump is ready to deliver the
concrete over the slab.
(ix) Causes for Pipeline Choking:
The following are few reasons for inducing pipeline choking or blockage.
1. Slurry Leakage: The pump operator should ensure that there is no leakage of
slurry in pipeline joints especially in the initial segments. When this leakage of
slurry occurs, the lubricating layer is lost, the coarser particles interlock, the
friction between the aggregate particles and the pipeline increases. Therefore the
concrete stops moving in the pipeline. This is called as Choking. So if any
leakage is observed in the pipeline it should be arrested immediately.
2. Hydraulic oil Leakage: Hydraulic oil leakage is also one of the reason for
inducing choking of pipeline. If any leakage in hydraulic oil system, then the
pump will not get enough pressure to push the concrete through the pipeline, So
the pump choking is unavoidable if leakage is not arrested.
3. Air Lock: The level of concrete in the hopper must not get too low because air
may be sucked into the pumping cylinder. This can cause an air lock.
4. Minimum fines (300 micron passing) requirement: The proportion of fine and
coarse aggregate and cement content should be chosen in such way that the total
quantity of fines passing in 300 micron sieve should not be less than 350 kg per
cu.m.

5. Unclean pipelines: Unclean pipelines will give more resistant to concrete, which
may end up with pipeline choking. So cleaning of pipeline is very much essential
before commencing next operation.
6. The distance between pump and vertical pipeline: The distance between pump
and vertical pipeline should be minimum of 5 meters to avoid choking especially
for pumping concrete in multi-store buildings (4th floor and above.)
7. Cooling water system: There should not be any leakage in cooling water system.
G. PLACING OF CONCRETE:
The same care that has been used to secure homogeneity in mixing and the
avoidance of segregation in transporting must be exercised to preserve the homogeneity
in placing. The concrete shall be placed and compacted before setting commences and
should not be subsequently disturbed.
To secure good concrete, it is necessary to make certain preparations before
placing.
1. The forms and props must be examined for correct alignment and adequate
rigidity to withstand the weight of concrete load during concreting. Any error or
lack of supervision by the site in charge will lead to failure of formwork during
concreting.
2. Before the concrete is placed, the insides of the forms should be inspected to
make sure they are clean and have been treated with a release agent.
3. Ensure that dirt, rubbish, saw dust shavings, wire clippings, nails etc., from the
formwork are removed prior to commencement of concreting.
4. Start placing concreting in a corner, then working away from the corner.
5. If slopes, start placing concrete at the low end and working uphill.
6. The concrete should be placed in its final position rapidly so that it is not too stiff
to work.
7. A heap of concrete, which will have to be moved to some other part of the form,
must not be allowed to accumulate in one place for long time.
8. The concrete must be placed as closely as possible to its final position.
9. When fresh concrete is bonded to a previous concrete, some special precautions
must be taken to clean the surface of all foreign matter. For good bond, the former
concrete surface should be made rough and rich mortar placed on it or otherwise
bonding agent can also applied. In all cases the base course should be rough,
clean and well moistened before fresh concrete is placed.
10. Care should be taken to avoid displacement of reinforcement or movement of
formwork.
11. Ensure adequate safety equipments like rubber boots, helmets etc., provided.
12. Joints between formwork must be tight enough to prevent leakage of cement
slurry.
13. Adequate covers should be provided to steel and strength of covers should not be
less than the grade of concrete.

14. Holes made in the formwork on site should be neatly plugged, otherwise leakage
of slurry will be observed.
15. The props should have a firm bearing. If supporting base is weak in taking
bearing pressures alternative arrangements like spreaders should be used.
H. COMPACTION OF CONCRETE:
Concrete should be thoroughly compacted and fully worked around the
reinforcement, around embedded fixtures and into corners of the formwork by means of
compaction. Compaction can be done by mechanical vibrators. For mos of the placing
conditions, internal vibrators (needle vibrators) are suitable. The diameter of the needle
shall be determined based on the spacing of reinforcement bars and thickness sections.
The following care should be taken during compaction of concrete.
1) Vibrators transmitted to the formwork can be considerable resulting in loosening
of wedges and fixings. All fastenings, bolts should be continuously observed and
tightened whenever necessary.
2) Vibration should be optimum. Over vibration resulting in settlement of aggregate
particles at the bottom leaving slurry on top surface of concrete. This may induce
development of plastic shrinkage or settlement cracks.
3) If vibration is not sufficient, which will lead to development of honeycombed and
porous concrete. Due to this moisture may penetrate into concrete and corrode
steel causing durability problems.
4) During compaction, insert vibrator vertically into concrete allowing it to
penetrate rapidly to the bottom for 5 to 15 seconds depending upon workability
of concrete.
5) Dont use a vibrator to move concrete horizontally.
6) Dont push or force a vibrator into concrete, it may get caught in the
reinforcement.
7) The distance between successive positions of the vibrator must not exceed one
and a half times its radius of operation.
8) Stop vibrating concrete when large air bubbles no longer escape.
9) Dont let a vibrator run very long outside concrete, it will over heat also
consumption of fuel will increase.
10) Vibration should not be used for spreading concrete heap in forms.
11) Last but not least dont start concreting work without a spare vibrator.
I. CURING OF CONCRETE:
1) MOIST CURING: Exposed surfaces of concrete shall be kept continuously in a
damp or wet condition by ponding or by covering with a layer of sacking, canvas,
hessian or similar materials and kept constantly wet for atleast seven to ten days from
the date of placing of concrete. Whenever wind velocity and temperature of
atmosphere is high, the slab should be cured as early as possible in order to avoid
rapid rate of evaporation of water on top surface thereby minimizing plastic
shrinkage cracks. The following moist curing methods are commonly used at sites.

Ponding: This is most common method of curing concrete slab and pavements. It
consisting of storing the water to a depth of 50mm on the concrete surface.
Covering the concrete with wet burlap: The concrete is covered with burlap (Jute)
as soon as possible after placing. The material is kept continuously moist for the
curing period.
Sprinkling of water: The sprinkling of water can be one in fine streams through
nozzles fixed to a pipe.
2) MEMBRANE CURING: Approved curing compounds may be used in lieu of moist
curing. Such compounds can be applied to all exposed surfaces of the concrete as
soon as possible after the concrete has set.
Receiving of good quality of raw material and proper design mix and strict quality
control tests on fresh concrete alone cannot ensure good concrete. This is O.K. up to
production and despatching of fresh concrete from plant. It is often necessary to ensure
the concrete dispatched from plant is properly placed, compacted and cured through good
workmanship.
Entire quality control tests, proper design mix with good quality raw material will be
useless once the concrete is placed with poor workmanship and bad construction
practice.
Also it is very difficult and costly to alter concrete once it is placed. Hence
constant and strict supervision of site in charge and Application Engineer is very
important at site when concreting is going on.
J. REMOVAL OF FORMWORK:
Forms may generally be removed after the expiry of following period.
Type of formwork

Minimum period before striking formwork

Vertical formwork to columns


Walls, large beams

16 to 24 hours

Formwork to slabs
(props to be refixed immediately
after the removal of formwork)

3 days

Formwork to beams

7 days

Props to slabs
1) Spanning upto 4.5 meter
2) Spanning over 4.5 meter

7 days
14 days

Props to beams and arches


1) Spanning upto 6 meter
2) Spanning over 6 meter

14 days
21 days

2. CRACKS IN CONCRETE
Cracking of concrete is a complex phenomenon. All the concrete structures crack
in some form or other. Cracking of concrete structures can never be totally eliminated.
The development of cracks and their repair including considerable cost and
inconvenience to the builders. Adopting good construction techniques can prevent it. In
general concrete cracks when increase of tensile strain beyond the tensile strain capacity
of concrete. Cracks are broadly classified into two types.
1. Structural Cracks: Due to incorrect design, overloads, faulty construction.
2. Non-structural cracks: Due to internally induced stress in building materials.
Cracks are generally observed in two forms:

I - Cracks before hardening of concrete: This is may due to


i.
ii.
iii.

Plastic shrinkage cracks


Plastic settlement cracks
Formwork movement.

II - Cracks after hardening of concrete: This may due to


i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.

Drying shrinkage
Corrosion of reinforcement
Alkali silica reaction
Cement carbonation
Freeze thaw cycle
Design load
Early thermal contractions
External seasonal temperature variations.

i) Plastic shrinkage cracks:


These cracks occur in concrete before it hardened in a period of 1 to 8 hours. Over
vibration & bleeding influences plastic shrinkage cracks.
Prevention: 1) using windbreakers 2) Plastic sheets to cover the top surface of concrete
to avoid rapid rate of evaporation of water 3) Early curing 4) Using low w/c ratio mixes
5) optimum vibration.

ii) Plastic settlement cracks:


This type of cracks is formed directly over the formwork tie bolts or
reinforcement near the top. This may due to high slump, bleeding and rapid drying of
concrete on top surface.
Prevention: 1) Revibration can be done 2) Low slump concrete with sufficient vibration.
3) Early curing.
Remedy: The remedial measures for the above plastic shrinkage and plastic settlement
cracks after the concrete has hardened is sealing the cracks in order to protect
reinforcement. The sealing can be done by using cement mortar or low viscosity
polymer.
iii) Drying shrinkage cracks:
It develops only if there is a restraint. Drying shrinkage is reduction of volume
of concrete caused by chemical & physical loss of water during hardening process. A loss
of moisture from concrete paste results volume shrinkage by as much as one percent. The
surface cracking on slabs and walls usually occurs due to drying shrinkage. The extent of
this type cracks depend upon the amount of shrinkage.
Prevention: Generally this type of shrinkage cracks decrease with the increase in the
amount of aggregate and the reduction in water content. Therefore using the maximum
practical amount of aggregate and lowest usable water content in the mix can reduce the
drying shrinkage. Adequate curing up to a minimum period of 7 to 10 days is essential.
iv) Thermal Cracks:
The temperature difference within a concrete structure result in differential
volume change. Crack caused due to heating of concrete due to hydration in first 24 hours
and then cooling at later stage of hydration. This will create internal and external restrain.
Generally it is observed in high thick section slab, very rich mixes (high grade concrete
mixes) and mass concrete works. Normally it will appear several weeks after placement
of concrete.
Prevention: 1) Reduce heat of hydration using blended cement. 2) Reduce initial
temperature of material by sprinkling water 3) Temperature of surrounding (Normally
mass concrete works like large footings, foundation will start in the evening about 4.00
p.m.) 4) Early curing and constant curing will protect concrete from rapid drying and
cooling.

(v) Cracking due to corrosion of reinforcement:


It is the most frequent cause of damage to reinforced concrete structures. The
corrosion of steel provides iron oxides and hydroxides, which have a volume much
greater than the volume of original metallic iron. This increase in volume causes radial
cracks around reinforcing bars. The splitting cracks may propagate along the bars
resulting in the formation of longitudinal cracks parallel to the bar.
Prevention: 1) Concrete with low permeability ie low w/c ratio 2) Sufficient cover
thickness 3) Chemical coated reinforcement 4) Corrosion inhibiting admixtures can be
used.
(vi) Cracking due to alkali silica reaction:
The concrete may crack due to local expansion as a result of reactions between
aggregate containing reactive silica and alkalis from cement hydration.
Prevention: 1) Proper selection of aggregate 2) Use of low alkali cement 3) Use of
blended cement
The cracks due to corrosion of reinforcement and alkali reaction will appear on surface
only 2-3 years after placing concrete.
(vii) Cracking due to poor construction practices:
Poor construction practices such as adding plenty of water to concrete to improve
workability, lack of early curing, inadequate form support, inadequate compaction can
result in cracking in concrete structures.
There are so many reasons behind formation of cracks on slab. So, in order to get defect
free slab the following simple principle should be used.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Rigid & tight formwork.


Concrete with proper design and good quality raw material
Low water cement ratio
Maximum slump of 90 to 100 mm when placing concrete.
Optimum vibration.
Early curing and minimum continuous curing up to 7 to 10 days from the date of
placement of concrete.
7. Good workmanship.

3. CONCRETE WITH WATER PROOFING COMPOUND


NEED FOR WPC:
If concrete having voids and capillaries due to improper grading of material and
water entrapment ( due to high water cement ratio), the water will penetrate into concrete
body, corroding reinforcement and causing durability problem. So the materials used to
reduce flow of water inside the concrete body are called as Water Proofing Compounds.
Kindly note that A concrete having proper mix design, low water cement ratio and
sound aggregate will be impermeable and need no water proofing additives.
Method of waterproofing:
Integral Water proofing method: Integral water proofing liquid admixtures directly
added to concrete mixers to render the concrete watertight. The chemicals contained in
the formulations react with water and other elements in concrete to form crystal, which
penetrates the concrete, and fill pores and capillaries. The crystals block the passage of
water and become an integral part of concrete. At Miyapur and Nacharam plant integral
water proofing compound is being used as per customer request.
Apart from above method, polymer modified cementitious coatings, polyurethane
and epoxy coatings and polymer modified bituminous membranes water proofing
systems are available for roof structures.

4. ADVANTAGES OF READY MIX CONCRETE:


1. QUALITY CONTROL & QUALITY ASSURANCE: The nerve and brain of
RMC plant is the quality control laboratory equipped with sophisticated instruments
and manned by trained and experienced personnel. The quality is monitored at every
stage, right from receipt of the raw material to dispatch and placing of concrete,
which ensures that consistent quality, reaches the customer. The following tests are
conducted for quality assurance.
i)
Cement: Normal consistency, IST, FST, Compressive strength,
Chemical analysis as per manufacturers certificate.
ii)
Fine Aggregate: Sieve analysis (daily basis), silt test (daily basis)
specific gravity, density moisture content (daily basis), water
absorption
iii)
Coarse Aggregate: Sieve analysis (daily basis), impact value, density
(once in a week), dust percentage (daily basis)
iv)
Water: Chemical analysis as per IS 456-2000 requirements.
v)
Concrete: Workability, Yield, Density, and compressive strength.
vi)
Customer Service: The following technical services are also offered
by the RMC plant 1) Compressive strength test certificates 2)
Technical assistance for customer in construction aspects specially
when using RMC.
In RMC, the concrete is delivered with required consistency, quantity, and
compressive strength. So, in RMC the concrete is delivered with a quality assurance.
This type of quality assurance cannot be achieved in site mix concrete.
2. CORRECT ACCOUNTABILITY OF INGREDIENTS: The mixes in RMC are
pre-determined, hence the consumption of all the ingredients used for making the
days total concrete production can be correctly known, recorded and accounted for.
The variation in raw material consumption in SMC is more.
3. AVOIDANCE OF GODOWNS FOR STORAGE OF MATERIALS: The
customers and project owners are relieved of providing a godown for storage of
materials and the supervisory staff and related expenses otherwise needed for site mix
concrete activity.
4. ECONOMIC MIXES: In RMC the concrete is provided on weight basis where as in
site mix concrete the concrete, the concrete is produced on volume basis. So the
wastage of cement content due to volume batching cannot be avoided at site.
Moreover accurate blended and economic mixes are not possible using pozzolanic
material at site mix concrete.
5. PRODUCTION OF HIGHER GRADE CONCRETE: The RMC can produce
higher grade concrete varying from M50 to M75 without hassles. The concrete could

also be made using different types of cements viz. 53 grade, 43 grade, PPC, slag
cement, SRC etc., as there will be 3 silos for storage of different types of cement.
6. MEGA PROJECTS DEMAND HIGHER OUTPUTS: The nature of mega
construction projects and its expected output of concrete per day is high. Many
industrial and commercial structures have to be completed as a time bound
commitment. This calls for huge production and handling of concrete at a much faster
pace. Ready Mix Concrete with an output of 60 80 cu.m. per hour is the only
answer to meet these challenging demands of the construction industry.
7. TIMELY DELIVERY & SAVINGS IN LABOUR COST TO THE CUSTOMER:
With the help of transit mixers and high capacity pumps, it is possible to deliver huge
quantity of concrete in record time, thereby lot of labour cost can be saved to the
customer. Whereas it is not so for the site mixed concrete having smaller capacity of
concrete mixers.
8. EASY ORDER BOOKING: Ordering the concrete will normally be the
responsibility of the contractor or customer to contact marketing department of RMC
supplier. Once the order is placed, the RMC supplier will dispatch the concrete
according to the requirement. Otherwise just one phone call is sufficient in one-hour
advance to the supplier to dispatch required quantity of concrete at right time. The
following essential information to be given to RMC supplier by the contractor:
Contractors Name
Project name and address with phone number
Date and time of concrete required
Grade of concrete
Total quantity required
The type of pump (Boom or line pump) and number of pumps for pumping
concrete
Any specified mix required with any additives like Fibres, WPC and extra cement
content
Quality requirements like maximum slump at site, early age strength, maximum
size aggregate etc.,
Testing requirements like slump test, no. of cubes cast at site if any.

CONCLUSION:
The future of RMC in India is bright. The allotment of land at concessional rates
and availability of water, electricity and other infrastructure and removal of sales tax by
state government would accelerate the growth of RMC industry in India. It is
economically viable to set up a Ready Mix Concrete plant which will pay back the
investment in about 3-4 years depending its volume of production. Many government
departments like Railways, Port trust, High ways, PWD, Airport Authority of India and

flat promoters/builders are likely to use RMC for their future projects thus creating a
bright future for RMC industry for faster track and quality construction.

5. COMPARISON OF SMC AND RMC


Sl.no.

Description

Raw material

required near mixer

2.

Batching

Volume batching

3.

W/C ratio

Manual not accurate

Accurate

4.

Admixture

Manual

Computerised

5.

Mixing

Tilting mixer

Turbo Mixers

6.

Mixing time

Approximate

Auto timer

7.

Batch size

140 litres

2000 litres

8.

Discharge

platform

Truck mixer

9.

Rate of production

3 cu.m./hr.

50 cu.m./hr.

10.

Degree of control

Fair

Very good

11.

Yield

Variable

Consistent

12.

Testing of fresh concrete

once in 25 batches

Batch to batch

13.

Mode of placing

Manual/hoist/crane

TM & pumps

14.

Time frame

100 cu.m./day

15.

Labours requirement

More

16.

SMC

Quality
Consistent

RMC
Batching plant
weight batching

1000 cu.m./ day


Less

Variable

17.

Technical service

It depends on Masons

Provided by
well
experienced
and qualified
personnel

18.

Cost per cu.m.

low

high

CONTENTS:
1) PRODUCTION AND CONTROL OF CONCRETE
A. INTRODUCTION
B. READY MIX CONCRTE
C. BATCHING
D. MIXING AND CONTROL SYSTEM
E. TRANSPORTING OF CONCRETE
F. PLACING OF CONCRETE
G. COMPACTION OF CONCRETE
H. CURING OF CONCRETE
2) CRACKS IN CONCRETE
3) CONCRETE WITH WATER PROOFING COMPOUND
4) ADVANTAGES OF RMC
5) COMPARISON OF SMC AND RMC

You might also like