1|Page

Report On RMC Batching Plant

Submitted by: Aditi. K. Shah Signature of Director: Sign. Of H.O.D:

2|Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I gratefully acknowledge the following persons and institutes: (1.) I express my sincere thanks to Dr. Saleem Sheikh, Director, Laxmi Institute of Technology, Sarigam for extending all facilities & encouragement for this educational visit. (2.) My special thanks to Mr. A. K. Mandal, General Manager, Noor India Buildcon Pvt. Ltd. for his valuable time and guidance at the RMC Batching Plant. (3.) Lastly I am grateful to Mr. Ramdev Jadeja, Head of Dept. Civil engg. Dept. LIT for taking the responsibility of the educational visit and his constant support.

Place: Vapi. 26 sept. 2011 Aditi. K. Shah

3|Page

CONTENTS

Topic No. (1.)

Title Process of Manufacture of Concrete a. Batching

Page no. 4

(2.)

Mixing a. Hand Mixing b. Machine Mixing

(3.)

Transporting a. Transit Mixer

(4.)

Development of Concrete Pump a. Pumpable Concrete

(5.)

Placing Concrete a. Formwork b. Underwater concreting

10

(6.)

Compaction of Concrete a. Compaction by Vibrator

12

(7.)

Curing of Concrete a. Water curing and other types

13

(8.)

Finishing of Concrete & Strength of Concrete a. Water-cement ratio & Grades of concrete

14

(9.)

Views on Educational Visit

15

(10.)

Conclusion

17

4|Page

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE OF CONCRETE

Production of quality concrete requires meticulous care exercised at every stage of manufacture of concrete. It is interesting to note that the ingredients of good concrete and bad concrete are same. If meticulous care is taken at every stage, it will result in good concrete. Various stages of manufacture of concrete are: (a) Batching (d) Placing (g) Finishing (b) Mixing (e) Compacting (c) Transporting (f) Curing

Modern Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) Batching plant and Transportation of concrete by transit mixer

5|Page

BATCHING
The measurement of materials for making concrete is known as batching. The types of batching are: (1.) Volume batching (2.) Weight batching Volume Batching Volume batching is not a good method for proportioning the material because of the difficulty it offers to measure granular material in terms of volume. Volume of moist sand in a loose condition weighs much less than the same volume of dry compacted strength. Because of this, for quality concrete materials have to be measured by weight only. However, for unimportant concrete work or any small job, concrete may be batched by volume. Generally for every batch mix, one bag of cement is used. Volume of one bag of cement is taken as 35 litres. Weigh Batching Weigh batching is the correct method of measuring the materials. For important concrete works, invariably, weigh batching system should be adopted. Use of weigh system in batching facilitates accuracy, flexibility and simplicity. In modern batching plants sophisticated automatic microprocessor controlled weigh batching arrangements, not only accurately measures the constituent materials, but also the moisture content of the aggregates with the help of sensors and corrective action is taken to deduct that much quantity of water contained in sand from total quantity of water. A number of such sophisticated batching plants are working in our country for last 4-5 years.

6|Page

MIXING
Thorough mixing of the materials is essential for the production of uniform concrete. The mixing should ensure that the mass becomes homogeneous, uniform in colour and consistency. There are two methods adopted for mixing concrete: (1.) Hand mixing (2.) Machine mixing

Hand Mixing Hand mixing is practised for small scale unimportant concrete works. As the mixing is not thorough and efficient, it is desirable to add 10 % more cement to cater for the inferior concrete prepared by this method Hand mixing should be done over impervious concrete or brick floor of sufficiently large size to take one bag of cement. Spread out the measured quantity of coarse aggregate and fine aggregate in alternate layers. Pour the cement on top of it, and mix them dry by shovel, turning the mixture over and over until the uniformity of colour is achieved. This uniform mixture is spread out in thickness of about 20 cm. Water is taken in a water can fitted with a rose-head and sprinkled over the mixture and simultaneously turned over. This operation is continued till such time a good uniform, homogeneous concrete is obtained.

Hand mixing of concrete

7|Page

Concrete High-speed mixer

Machine Mixing Ready Mixed Concrete, or RMC as it is popularly called, refers to concrete that is specifically manufactured for delivery to the customer's construction site in a freshly mixed and plastic or unhardened state. Concrete itself is a mixture of Portland cement, water and aggregates comprising sand and gravel or crushed stone. In traditional work sites, each of these materials is procured separately and mixed in specified proportions at site to make concrete. Ready Mixed Concrete is bought and sold by volume - usually expressed in cubic meters. RMC can be custom-made to suit different applications. Ready Mixed Concrete is manufactured under computer-controlled operations and transported and placed at site using sophisticated equipment and methods. RMC assures its customers numerous benefits.

8|Page

TRANSPORTING OF CONCRETE
Transporting of concrete is done with the help of: Transit mixers, mortar pans, wheel barrows, crane bucket and ropeways, truck mixer and dumpers, belt conveyers, chute, skip and hoist

Transit mixer Transit mixer is one of the most popular equipments for transporting concrete over a long distance particularly in RMC plant. There are over 600 transit mixers in operation in India. They are truck mounted having a capacity of 4-7m3. In a transit mixer, mixed concrete is transported to the site by keeping it agitated all along at a speed varying between 2-6 revolutions per minute.

9|Page

DEVELOPMENT OF CONCRETE PUMP

Pumpable concrete Concrete pumping is the pouring of concrete from a concrete pumping truck into the form. Once concrete pumping is complete and the forms used during concrete pumping are removed, waterproofing is next. After pumping the concrete allow about 7-days to cure.

10 | P a g e

PLACING CONCRETE

Formwork Construction formwork is the use of support structures to mould and set concrete that has been poured into moulds. There are a variety of formworks that are used in construction. The type of formwork that is used in a construction project is determined by many different aspects such as the height of a pillar, which will determine what type of materials will be used to create the specific mould wherein the concrete will be poured. The different materials which are usually used include: steel, wood, aluminium, or prefabricated forms. These materials are normally stripped away from the concrete structure once the concrete has set but can also be left to form part of the structure. This type of formwork is known as stay-in-place formwork.

Timber formwork is the cheapest form of formwork as it makes use regular plywood.

Formwork is kept on the columns for maximum a day while on the beams and slabs for almost 14 days. Stay-in-place form work is used for the supporting pillars of a structure. This formwork type makes use of insulating concrete forms wherein reinforced concrete id poured and then left in place. There are many types of formwork that can be used to erect a building.

11 | P a g e

Underwater Concreting

This topic includes information related to underwater concrete placed during construction. Underwater concrete is placed using a tremie, a vertical pipe with a funnel shaped top. Mixtures for underwater concrete are designed for a continuous pour and prevention of cement washout. Additives are used in conjunction with cement and aggregate to increase underwater concrete strength.

What can be a better example of under water concreting other than the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai.

Bridges are the best examples of underwater concreting.

12 | P a g e

COMPACTION OF CONCRETE
Compaction begins immediately after placement which is how the concrete attains its level of smoothness, density, surface texture and strength. This stage continues until the density requirements are met. The final stage is curing where moisture is applied, allowing hydration of the concrete, thus causing it to harden and strengthen. The machine can work on a variety of applications such as bentonite landfill sealing, dam construction, contaminated soil stabilisation as well as roller compacted concrete and cement treated base for road construction.

Compaction of concrete using Vibrator Surface vibrators are applied to the top surface of concrete and act downwards from there. They are very useful for compacting slabs, industrial floors, road pavements, and similar flat surfaces. They aid in levelling and finishing the surface.

13 | P a g e

CURING OF CONCRETE
With the knowledge that wet cured concrete develops the best performance characteristics, it's believed that wet curing floors have better surface hardness and resistance to abrasion. After finishing steps are complete, workers flood the surface of a slab with water and roll down cover-curing plastic, being careful to eliminate air voids between the cover and the concrete. During the next seven days, covers are removed when needed to add water if surfaces start to dry out. After curing is completed, the blankets are removed followed immediately by floor maintenance scrubbing and pickup equipment. Floors are then allowed to dry out for a minimum 48-hour period before the application of a penetrating densifier, which is worked into the surface with strip pads with embedded diamond grits mounted on buffing machines.

14 | P a g e

FINISHING OF CONCRETE
Finishing makes concrete attractive and serviceable. The final texture, hardness, and joint pattern on slabs, floors, sidewalks, patios, and driveways depend on the concretes end use. Warehouse or industrial floors usually need to be level and smooth, while other interior floors that are covered with carpet do not have to be as exact. Exterior slabs must be sloped to carry away water and must provide a texture which will not be slippery when wet.

STRENGTH OF CONCRETE
Many factors influence the rate at which the strength of concrete increases after mixing. Some of these are discussed below. First, though a couple of definitions will be useful. The process of strength growth is called 'hardening.' This is often confused with 'setting' but setting and hardening are not the same. Setting is the stiffening of the concrete after it has been placed. Water-Cement Ratio This is defined as the mass of water divided by the mass of cement in a mix. For example, a concrete mix containing 400 kg cement and 240 litres (=240 kg) of water will have a water/cement ratio of 240/400=0.6. The water/cement ratio may be abbreviated to 'w/c ratio' or just 'w/c'. In mixes where the w/c is greater than approximately 0.4, all the cement can, in theory, react with water to form cement hydration products. At higher w/c ratios it follows that the space occupied by the additional water above w/c=0.4 will remain as pore space filled with water, or with air if the concrete dries out. Consequently, as the w/c ratio increases, the porosity of the cement paste in the concrete also increases. As the porosity increases, the compressive strength of the concrete will decrease. Gain of Strength with age It is a well established fact that concrete gets stronger with age. This is particularly true for concrete pipe which is installed in a moist buried environment. Concrete is the only pipe that gets stronger with age. Increasing in strength with age continues as long as any unhydrated cement is still present, provided the concrete remains moist and the concrete temperature remains favourable. When the temperature of the concrete drops below freezing temperature the strength gain virtually stops.

15 | P a g e

The Visit to RMC Batching Plant

Here are my views on my first ever visit to a RMC Batching plant: The RMC Batching plant comprised of special arrangements to feed all the constituents of concrete i.e. cement, sand, coarse aggregate and water to the mixer in a fixed proportion by the use of hydraulic machines fully equipped with sensors for detecting proper amount of each ingredient. The machine was computer operated. The prepared concrete was loaded onto the transit mixer having a capacity of 7m3.So the mixer of capacity 1/2m3 has to operate 14 times to fill the transit mixer once. The building construction carried out at that time was for a textile industry which consists of main building, POY (partially oriented yarn factory) and chip plant along with customary Batching plant. The concrete used for the bldg. construction was of M-25 grade which should have 150kg/cm2 strength. The aggregate used in concrete preparation was angular. The reinforcements used for columns had 20mm diameter while steel rods 8mm diameter are used for beams and slabs. We saw the formwork applied for the beams and columns in different buildings. The formwork is kept on columns for max. 1day while for beams and slabs it is kept upto 14 days. The framed structure of building displayed the columns and beams along with supporting beams to increase the load bearing capacity to the structure. It was brought to our knowledge that theoretically the leftover concrete of a days work cannot be used but in practical it is crushed and used again the next day in different form. The reinforcements were provided in the top layer of the ground floor and in the bottom layer of the upper floor slabs. The inter locking of reinforcements not only bonds them together but also increases strength of concrete. The covers made up of concrete are placed below the reinforcements to provide additional covering between reinforcement and other surface in the slabs as well as in beams and columns. After placing concrete, screed vibrator was used for compacting of concrete. Vacuum dewatering was done to control the w/c ratio and brick strength of the floor. Hardener was added in the concrete mix to achieve quick strength of floor in seven days. Red-oxide was added to the concrete mix to save the reinforcement from rusting but generally epoxy coating is used in industry. We were also informed about foundation and flooring work. Generally trapezoidal foundation is preferred in bldg. Construction. It consists of Earth layer (30-35cm), PCC (50mm), reinforcements, brickwork, Plinth level and tiles. In olden days bent up beams were used to reduce the effect of sagging and hogging of beams. Decorative stones such as quartzite, small river stones or crushed glass are sometimes added to the surface of concrete for a decorative "exposed aggregate" finish, popular among landscape designers. Concrete has relatively high compressive strength, but much lower tensile strength. For this reason is usually reinforced with materials that are strong in tension (often steel).

16 | P a g e

CONCLUSION
Ready mixed concrete is very often preferred to the usual mixing of on-site concrete, as it can help reduce the confusion of on site labour, and deliver good quality precision mixes which can be maintained throughout the life of the building project. Sometimes however, relying on a predetermined concrete mixture can reduce the flexibility in the components of the mixture, and the supply chain. Today, RMC is playing a very important role in building road and civil structures. They offer unmatched rigidity and long life to the structure. Hence it is getting popular and the use is increasing day by day. There are many advantages of ready mixed concretes some of which are: Less wastage of basic materials Increased concrete quality No labour required Reduced noise and dust pollution No storage space required for basic materials Reduced required time

Some disadvantages can include; long distances may be an issue, site and site access may not be suitable for the weight of the truck, and the concretes lifespan may be affected after 2hrs of leaving the batching plant. Ad mixtures can be used to increase this life span where concrete has to be transferred over longer distances.

17 | P a g e

18 | P a g e

19 | P a g e

20 | P a g e