CONCRETE

INTRODUCTION
Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the worl
d. It could last in any environment, for a very long period of time. It consists
of aggregates, Cement, Sand, water and admixtures. The cement, sand and coarse
aggregate should be preferably batched by weight. This reduces the differences b
etween one batch of concrete and the next. The strength depends on ratio of conc
rete ingredient materials. In our site concrete was used in two grades. Grade 15
used for screed concrete, and Grade 30 for footing,column, beam, floor slab,lif
t wall.
Concrete Grades
The standard recommended compositions are as follows. Concrete grade is decided
according to the requirement of the structure. The basis and the method of propo
rtioning of concrete are depending on the grade of concrete and the structural i
mportance of the members.
The mix grade with the nominal portion of the mix are given in the below table,
Grade
30
25
20
15

Proportion
Nominal size of the course aggregate
1:1:2 10mm
1:1.5:3 10mm or 20mm
1:2:4 20mm
1:3:6 40mm

Mixing of concrete
The mixing of concrete could be done either manually or by machine. But machine
mixing is better than hand mixing and also machine is faster and it generally p
roduces a through mix. When the large quantity of concrete is made, it is cheape
r than hand mixing. The mix will be more uniform. In manual method feeding of
aggregates and time is controlled manually where as in auto method those things
are done automatically as programmed.
The auto method is more speed than the manual method. Also a printed record of
batched concrete can be taken by auto method. Normally the manual method is used
to batch small amount of concrete.
The raw materials for concrete are,
Fine aggregate
Coarse aggregate
Cement
Water
Admixtures
MIXING PROCEDURE
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ixing.
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First, the balance of the plant should be get zero before the concrete m
Do the moisture test and get the final proportions of the concrete mix.
doing the moisture test, we can balance required water amount.)
Then get fine aggregate in to the plant. (Sand)
After that get course aggregate in to the plant. (Metal, Sizes vary as
Metal and sand get into the rotating drum using loading shovel.
Next get required cement from silo.
Finally, all materials get into the rotating drum and mix it using water
To control the concrete setting different types of admixtures are added.

Transporting of Concrete
Transporting of concrete is very important not be more than the initi
al setting time of concrete, which is about 40 factor for laying concrete. The p
rocess mixing and conveying to the site for placing should minutes from the time
water is first added. The expectation to this general rule is ready-made concr

ete this is concrete mixed some central point by plant and conveyed to the sites
in rotating drums mounted on trucks. The agitation of the mixed in a rotatin
g drum delays the initial set. So long as the mix is agitated, it will not set
for a considerable time. The capacity of ready-made truck is variable. Such a
s 2 m, 3m, 5m, etc
Various methods are available for transportin
g concert, ranging from wheelbarrows to pump, and many factors affect t
he choice: The nature of size, ground conditions, the size of job,
the distance to be covered, and heights of loading and discharge: agg
regate size and concrete workability also have to be taken into accou
nt. On many jobs combination of methods may be required, For example
when concreting has to be transported both horizontally and vertical
ly.