1.
BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO CONCRETE
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Construction industry is the second largest industry in India next to agriculture. Over
the successive five year plan, nearly 50% of the outlay has been spent on construction
one such area is that of ready mix concrete (R.M.C)
Ready mix concrete industry is now an essential part of the construction through out
the world. Ready mix concrete is basically concrete which is manufactured at a place
away from job site and two locations are linked by transport operations. It is
specialized material in which the cement, aggregate and other ingredients are weigh
batched at central location , then mixed in central mixture or truck mixture before
delivery to construction site in a condition ready for placing by the customer
Ready mix concrete (RMC) is used in the place of site mix concrete for quality,
assurance, durability, consistency, pre tested engineering products convenience
environment friendly at the delivery point and convenience on congested roads or
small lanes.
There are two options of concrete construction available, namely pre cast concrete
and site placed concrete, out of which site placed concrete is mostly preferred by our
architects and engineers. Because of this placed concrete construction has a pre
dominant market in Indian construction scenario, as in may other western countries.
Concrete is generally at site either using simple mechanical mixing plant or
occasionally the batching or mixing plant. Around 95% of concrete of produced in the
country is site mixed concrete and the rest is mostly factory made as pre cast concrete.
Ready mix concrete (RMC) though being talked about for quite some time now
although a modest beginning has been made in Mumbai and Pune. However, the
acceptance of this technology as a product and service is yet in a embryonic stage.
The firs ready mix concrete plant on commercial basis in India was established only
in 1992 at Pune.
1.2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
In 1909, the residents of Sneridan, Wyoming could have witnessed the birth of Ready
Mix concrete industry had they noticed the horse drawn wagons carrying the first
probable cement mixture. Ironically, the wagons destination was a job site where an
automobile garage floor was placed. The turning of the cart wheel powered the transit
mixer.
A Building constructed using RMC in Wyoming, Washington DC
Prior to World War I, concrete was produced in stationery plant mixer hauled to
construction sites in dumps trucks. The practice of delivering pre mix concrete seems
to have originated in Balti More, Meriland; however, to Oklahoma companies were
delivering 1000 [Link]. Of concrete annually in this manner in as early as 1900.
Many delivery trucks designed were tried. Some trucks were equipped with agitators
to keep this mix from settling during transit; others were equipped with mixing units
on each truck. Stephanian applied for a patent in 1916, the patent was not granted.
In 1921, a Milwaukee firm attached to a truck and mixer concrete enroute to the
jobsite; the load was discharged by gravity all of the early truck mixers were made
with access of the drum horizontal. However, in 1937, a mixer appeared that had the
discharge of the drum elevated. These high discharge or inclined access mixer
permitted putting the concrete into forms higher and further from the mixer unit. This
innovation was quickly accepted, and today very few horizontal accesses are
produced. In 1937, mixer capacities were generally between 2 and 5 [Link]. Because
of rising labour cost and other factors the size of truck mixer has steadily increased.
Today, the most common sizes are 7 to 9 cu. Yd. With a few 15 and 16 cu. Yd. Models
being manufactured each. During the first year of ready mix operation, only one type
of concrete was available, but as the batching (the gathering together and measuring
the ingredients necessary to produce a batch concrete) improve greater diversity in the
concrete mixer became possible.
Since 1930, the ready mixed concrete industry has been striving for greater efficiency
in operation and increased quality control of their product. The national Ready Mixed
Concrete association was established to help formulate standards for the industry,
disseminate new ideas and developments, and to ant as industry, representative body.
The most interesting aspect of ready mix industry is its fantastic growth. In 1925,
there were 25 ready mix operations in United States. By 1929, this number has grown
to 100, and today there are more than 6000. From this growth pattern, it is obvious
that the ready mix concrete plant had something to offer. The consumer wanted his
concrete delivered to the job in ready-to-place condition. This growth has been
accompanied by improvements in the equipment and methods used by the ready mix
operators.
1.3 ADVANTAGES OF RMC
The conventional site mixed concrete, very often, requires large space for storing
cement, aggregates, sand etc. and a big labour force. The output of the site mixed
concrete is low; the quality of concrete is not consistent, RMC offers concrete that is
batched in a centralized automatic batching plant and required grade of concrete is
supplied to the customer in a transit mixer ready for placement into formwork. The
use of the ready mix concrete is highly advantageous for the following reasons.
Ready mix concrete had numerous advantages over site mixed concrete.
Consistent quality of concrete is assured.
Wastage in cement handling is minimized.
The workability of the concrete is as designed compatible to the placing methods.
The environment pollution is minimized.
The useful additives like fly ash, plasticizers and retarders can be added more
accurately.
The user should not worry about the logistic of supply of various raw material
and their storage and handling at site.
Total automation of material-batching and weighing eliminates under/overbatching or weighing of materials.
Water cement ratio, the most crucial factor gets maintained.
A cement saving of 15 to 25 kg per cum of concrete is certain due to better
control.
Degree of quality control can be very high.
The speed of concreting is quicker causing construction faster.
Ready mix concrete can be used for all major construction projects.
RMC increases capacity of operation of the plant.
Supervision and labour costs involved in production of concrete are substantially
reduced on account of the automatic controls operated in the plant.
The design of mix is arrived carefully and carried out as per IS under reduced
value of better control resulting into standard deviation.
Concrete of different mix properties can be produced from the same plant
incorporating a selector switch ensuring simplicity to the customer for having
different specification and requirement for concrete mix.
In spite of all numerous advantages, some limitations of ready mix concrete are that
of heavy initial investment, and a comparatively high price, as the exact proportions
of the ingredients as specified by the design are batched strict quality control.
However, duly motivated consumers would be prepared to pay for the quality they
require.
Ready Mix Concrete Plant
2.1 RMC AND ITS APPLICATIONS
Applications of Ready Mix Concrete (R.M.C):
Ready mix concrete fuels/arguments will be used for semi-mechanized methods of
construction can also be considered. It can be adventitious used for the major
construction for housing and commercial complexes, concrete roads, bridges dams
and industrial structures.
Certain essential for the success of RMC venture and the points need a close
inspection could be following:
Demand for product (Control concrete)
Continuous availability of the product
Economic production facilities
Concrete conveying equipments
Proper access
Acceptability by the users
One can easily see that most of these are there today in a number of select locations.
The acceptability by the user would depend upon whether there is a will to change
and in many ceases, especially with those exposed to the concrete culture of other
lands ,this will be certain there. They are all for it.
2.2 NECESSITY OF READY MIX CONCRETE
Yes due to many reasons and advantages from the point of project owner, project
consultants, contractors, and builders, it is high time that more and more RMC plants
are installed.
QUALITY ASSURENCE
When the ready mix concrete facility either by the contractors for the captive
consumption or by a commercial RMC, plant the concrete is required to be delivered
with a quality assurance. Thereby, the obligations to deliver the concrete of required
consistency, slump, compressive strength and allied properties such as enhancement
or retardation of setting time, temperature controlled, high performance and resistant
to freeze and thaw are taken care of by RMC plant.
CORRECT ACCOUNTABILITY INGREDIENTS
The RMC plant starts the operation only after the establishment of the predetermined
design mixes. These are achieved after a series of trails done with variable parameters
such as type of cement, size and shape of aggregates, alkali reactivity of aggregates,
type and chemical composition of admixtures, water cement ratio and ambient
temperature.
Hence the consumption of all the ingredients uses for smacking the days concrete
production can be correctly known, recorded and accounted for. The plant is required
to operate within +-2% tolerance.
THIRD PARTY IMPARTIAL LIABILITY
The RMC plant manager is obliged to adhere to the code of practice for the
manufacture and transport of the ready mix concrete. Therefore, the company
operating a commercial ready mix plant has legal and professional obligations to
deliver the product, which will render a target performance. The customers and
indirectly the consultant and the project owners, therefore, are relived of providing the
supervisory staff and related expenses, otherwise needed for site missed concrete
activity.
LESSER WASTAGE WITH RMC OPERATION
The fine and coarse aggregates in a weigh batching plant with star type open bins or
pocket silos or open row bins are handled on a paved area or metallic containers.
Hence the eventualities such as spillage and getting mixed with earth or mud or
surface water are reduced drastically. This leads to a sizeable reduction in the wastage
of raw materials, moreover, the pre-determined design mixes made with known
weight if high grade cement leads to an overall saving in the consumption of costliest
component namely cement.
POSSIBILITY OF MANUFACTURE OF VARIOUS GRADES
Due to the computer control batching and feasibility of switching over to different
design mixes with each batch, the RMC operation can produce exact quantity and
desired grade of concrete without hassles as normally faced with volumetric and
manual batching of site mixed concrete.
MEGA PROJECTS DEMAND HIGHER OUTPUTS
As observed during the past five years, the nature of construction projects in India is
with the higher expected output of concrete per. day. Moreover, industrial and
commercial structures have to be completed as a time bound commitment. This calls
foe huge production and handling of concrete at a much faster pace as compared with
the production norms between 70s and 90s. Ready mix concrete with outputs of
60-100 m3/hr is the only answer to meet these challenges demands of the construction
sector.
RMC ESSENTIAL FOR PUMPABILITY
In order to achieve the expected qualities of cohesiveness and higher percentage of
fines without chokes and bleeding of water for successful pumping of concrete, ready
mixed concrete only can fulfill the demands of the output and consistent quality of
production.
SAVING IN LABOUR COST
It is possible to achieve sizeable saving in handling the large quantities of concrete by
directly delivering the RMC into the forms of replacement of concretion into the
transport vehicles for use at longer distances. The typical applications are casting of
PCC for foundation, footing in shallow pits, concrete roads, raft and large hard
standing such as airfield runways and industrial floors wherein practically no labor
will be required to deliver the concrete at the point of pour. The concrete pumps,
conveyer or tower cranes are not requires for such works.
MORE ACCURATE QUANTITY SURVEYING
It is possible to have printouts of each batch of concrete produced in RMC plant
provided with computer control software. This facilitates the correct accounting of
ingredients and quantity of each grade of concrete consumed for every building
element.
OVERALL CONVENIENCE AND EXPEDIENCY
The ready mix concrete is manufactured at a remote place than the project site; more
working spaces are available for other activities especially when the building occupies
most of the plot area. In such situation, there is no need to stockpile the aggregates,
cement and water at the project site. It is possible to meet the peak demands of the
concrete at a reasonable time of notice with the RMC plant, whereas it is not so for
the site mixed concrete having smaller capacity of concrete mixers. The completion of
the projects can be, therefore reduced substantially and a commitment can be kept by
the project owner as the contractors.
2.3 READY MIX CONCRETE
PRACTICE IN INDIA AND
A Transit Mixer
WORLDWIDE
While ready mix concrete has been used on large scale projects in India since 1960,
its commercial use till date has been almost nil mainly because of the apparent higher
cost. This is more because the hidden cost as a result of losses and spills, theft,
damages,
overhead
charges,
administrative
expenses
of
making
concrete
departmentally are not properly qualified. The cost of ready mix concrete comes all
inclusive and company favorably if these hidden cost are taken into account. The total
market for the ready mix concrete is dependent on the economic and social
development of the country. The rate of growth of ready mix concrete depends upon
the technology development and the manner in which different sectors of industry are
prepared to invest in the ready mixed concrete business. The examination of the
growth of ready mix concrete throughout the world demonstrates that there is a very
similar pattern. There is an introductory phase-I, in which it may take 5-10 years
before ready mix concrete reaches a penetration of about 10% of the total cement
sales. Then follows the second rapid growth stage, phase-II, as the industry is
established and sales increases. During this phase, nearly 20-25%of the total cement
sales are used for ready mix concrete.
In the final consolidation, phase-III, where ready mix concrete is used as much as 5060% of the total cement produced is achieved. In several countries including USA,
Australia, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland and Singapore, the ready mix concrete has
reached phase-III, the consolidation stage.
In India, we are at the threshold of phase-II and considering the growth pattern in
other countries, we may consider the growth of ready mix concrete to take place in the
following manner.
2.3.1 PROGRESSIVE GROWTH OF READY MIX
CONCRETE
PHASE
PHASE I
PHASE II
PHASE III
TIME PERIOD IN
CEMENT
VOLUME OF
YEARS
CONSUMPTION
R.M.C PER YEAR
1992-2010
IN %
5-10% of cement
20 million cubic
2020-2050
consumption
20-25% of cement
meter/RMC/year
70 million cubic
2050 Onwards
consumption
25-40% of cement
meter/RMC/year
100 - 150 million
consumption
cubic
meter/RMC/year
In India, building construction is, mainly, in the hands of non-technical persons when
it comes to promote housing and commercial projects. Well, any civil engineering
construction project whatever the estimate cost must be designed and executed as per
the specification let it be concrete for slum improvement, airfield runaway or pre
stressed concrete, high grade concrete bridge girders.
Ready mix concrete, being an engineers product made by pretest design on weigh
batched equipments of exacting tolerances, should be todays choice of every
customer. But the scenario is far from the expected level of acceptance or enterprise
as such, has the authority on the durability, consistency, quality assurance and
performance of concrete.
