CONCRETE HANDLING IN THE

FIELD
By K.Shah
B.E.(Civil Engg) NIT Rourkela,India
M.Sc. (Environment), University of Leeds, UK
Ex-GM(Civil & Environment) – MNC
Currently Guest faculty-College of Technology &
Engineering

KAS-2012 1
Stages of producing concrete.

(1) Batching
(2) Mixing
(3) Transportation
(4) Placing
(5) Compacting
(6) Curing
(7) Finishing
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(1) Batching

(a) Volume batching

(b) weight Baching

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Volume batching
 Volume batching is not good method
 Moist sand in loose condition weights less
than the same volume of dry sand.
 Practiced for small work.
 For quality work ,weigh batching is
practiced.

KAS-2012 4
 VOLUME BATCH
Gauge box
 Various gauge boxes of different volumes are
used.
Length Width Depth Volume
33.3 cm 30 cm 20 cm 20 liters
33.3 cm 30 cm 25 cm 25 liters

Grade Cement- kg Sand -lts Coarse

Aggregate
lts
1:11/2:3 (M 50 35 70
200)
1:2:4 (M 50 70 140
150)
1:3:6 (M100) 50 105 210

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Weigh Batch Machine

KAS-2012 6
Weigh batching
 Weigh batching is correct method
 Facilitates accuracy, flexibility & simplicity

Different batching machine are available :

(a) manual machines & (b) Automatic machines
Manual machine :
 Has two buckets
 Buckets mounted on common spindle about which they rotate.
 One is loaded while other is discharged in mixer.
 Spring loaded dials indicate the weight.

KAS-2012 7
Automatic weigh batch
 For large works
 Over head hopper and discharges into
mixer.
 Useful in ready mix concrete plant
 Recorders for weight
 Calibration is required from time to time.

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(2) MIXING
Mixing of cement,sand aggregates should
ensure that:
 The mass is homogeneous
 Uniform in color
 consistent

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 MIXING METHODS :

(1) Hand mixing

(2) Machine mixing

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Hand mixing
 Practiced for small scale work (small
house, repairing of house etc)
 10 % extra cement is added to
compensate inferior concrete produced by
this method.
 Spread fine & coarse aggregate in
alternate layer
 Spread cement over it
 Mix with shovel till uniform color is
achieved KAS-2012 11
Machine mixing
 Medium & large scale work use machine
mixing
 Mixing is efficient, economical & produce
quality concrete.
Type of mixer:
(a) Batch mixer : batch by batch with time
interval
(b) Continuous mixer: continuously mixed &
discharged (in dam construction)
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CONCRETE MIXER
(1) Pan type
(2) drum Type:
(a) tilting
(b) Non –tilting
(c) Reversing

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PAN MIXER

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PAN MIXER

A forced movement pan mixer has blades

that are fixed to an assembly that agitates
the concrete throughout the pan as the
vertical shaft rotates.

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 DRUM MIXER
 As per IS: 1791-1985 mixers are
designated by number which shows
capacity (liters) of batch:
a) Tilting : 85 T, 100T, 140 T, 200T
b) Non tilting : 200 NT,280 NT, 375 NT, 500
NT, 1000 R
c) Reversing : 200 R, 280 R, 375 R,500 R,
1000 R
T= Tilting, NT =non tilting, R=Reversing
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TILTING MIXER

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TILTING MIXER
 Internal blades lift and tumble the
ingredients onto itself.
Two primary types exist:
 horizontal (one end has and opening for
charging and a different end for
discharging)
 single drum (materials are charged and
discharged through a single opening).
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NON TILTING MIXER

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NON TILTING MIXER
 Single drum rotating about a horizontal
axis.
 Fixed blades work the concrete towards
the discharge end of the mixer, in order to
provide a rapid rate of discharge.

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REVERSING MIXER

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REVERSING MIXER
 The entire drum rotates around its axis as
materials are loaded through a charge chute at
one end of the drum and exit through a
discharge chute at the opposite end of the drum.
 Mixing blades are mounted on the inside surface
of the drum and as the drum rotates the blades
mix by lifting and dropping the materials during
each rotation.
 Once the materials are sufficiently mixed the
rotation of the drum is reversed and the blade
arrangement pushes the concrete through to the
discharge end of the mixer.
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Sequence of charging drum
 First half quantity of coarse aggregate is
placed in skip
 Over it half quantity of sand
 On that full quantity of cement
 Over it balance quantity of coarse & fine
aggregates is place.
 This prevents spillage of cement in air
while discharging in drum
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 25 % Water is placed in drum and then
mix from skip is discharged in the drum
 This prevents sticking of cement on blades
 75 water is immediately poured after
placing mix material (cement sand etc) in
drum.

KAS-2012 24
Mixing time
 In small machine, mixing time varies
between 1-2 minutes
 In Ready Mix Cement mixer – 15-30
seconds
 RPM of drum : 15-20
 Compressive strength of concrete
increases with increase in mixing time but
after 2 minutes increase in compressive
strength is not significant.
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 If concrete is not used after mixing it may
set
 But when concrete is agitated on time to
time in drum setting time rule does not
follow.

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Retempering of concrete :

 Some time concrete from RMC plant is not

delivered to site due to traffic congestion
 Concrete becomes stiff and becomes
unworkable
 Site engineers can reject the concrete if
delay is more
 If it can be of used then small volume of
water is added and again agitated in the
drum. This is called RETEMPERING OF
CONCRETE. KAS-2012 27
MANUFACTURING OF
CONCRETE

 With same material if care is not taken,

resulting concrete will be bad concrete
 What are good rules to make good quality
concrete.

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 TRANSPORTATION OF CONCRETE

Precaution in concrete transportation:

 Homogeneity of conc. Mass is maintained
 Movement of hand trolly or truck on rough
road surface makes vibrations
 This results in deposition of heavy
aggregates at bottom of truck
 Water & cement slurry comes on top.

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METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION

1. Mortar Pan
2. Wheel barrow
3. Truck Mixer & dumpers
4. Crane, Bucket & rope way
5. Belt conveyors
6. Chutes
7. Skip & hoist
8. Transit Mixer
9. Pump & pipeline
10. Helicopter

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 MORTAR PAN
 Common method in India
 More labour required
 Segregation of concrete is less
 Greater surface area of concrete is
exposed to sun, concrete dries.

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 WHEEL BARROW

When transportation of concrete is at

ground level.
 Movement of wheel on rough road
surface, segregates concrete.
 Some wheel barrows have pneumatic
wheel to reduce vibration

KAS-2012 32
 CRANE

 Used for transporting concrete above

ground level.
 For high rise buildings.
 Cranes are fast
 Can move horizontally & vertically
 Concrete in skip discharge from bottom
 In bucket concrete is discharged by tilting.

KAS-2012 33
 BUCKET & ROPEWAY
Use for construction in:
 Valley
 Bridge pier in river
 Dam
Advantage:
Concrete is not exposed to sun or air & no
loss of water.
KAS-2012 34
 Truck Mixer & dumpers
 Used for large concrete works.
 Can travel any part of site.
 Dumpers - 2-3 M3 Capacity
 Trucks – 4 M3 Capacity
 Bottom surface of truck is kept wet
 Top of truck is covered to prevent
evaporation
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 BELT CONVEYORS
 Limited use in construction

Advantages:

 Can transport large volume

 Very quick
 Can go where access is limited

Disadvantages :

 On steep slope concrete segregates.

 Exposed to sun for long time.

KAS-2012 36
 CHUTE
 For transporting from ground level to lower
level. (basement etc).
 Used where labour can not reach due to
less space in trench etc.
 Made of metal
 Slope should not be < 1 vertical : 2.5
horizontal.

KAS-2012 37
 SKIP & HOIST
 Labour can go upto 3rd or 4th floors.
 So skip is used for transport vertically up
(in multistory building).
 Skip travels on vertical rail.
 Skip can discharge manually or
automatically.

KAS-2012 38
TRANSIT MIXER

KAS-2012 39
 TRANSIT MIXER
 Used for long distance travel in RMC plant.
 Concrete is continuously agitated in truck drum
(2 – 6 rpm).
 Also transported mix in dry condition and water
is added on reaching the destination.
 Wet Mix in truck must reach site in 1- 1.5 hours.
 Pumps are also fitted on truck mixer to
discharge concrete.

KAS-2012 40
 PUMPS & PIPELINE
 Most popular method
 Reliable & good quality pumps are used.
 Mostly operated by diesel.
 Concrete is placed in collecting hopper.
 Rotating blades in hopper pushes concrete
towards pipe.
 Vacume in hose pipe (600 mm Hg)
 Rotating rollers in pump chambers squeeze the
concrete in pipe and flow of concrete is started.
 Concrete is discharged from other end of hose
pipe.
 Concrete can be pumped upto 400 m height and
2000 m distance.
KAS-2012 41
SECTION OF PUMP

KAS-2012 42
 PIPELINE
Pipeline should :
 Have correct diameter as per pump
pressure. (generally 125 mm)
 Have sufficient thickness
 Good couplings
 Poor pipeline can cause blockage.

KAS-2012 43
 PIPELINE
 Thumb rule : For 30 M3 /hr concrete and
200 m length, dia should be 100 mm.
 Length > 500 m then dia = 150 mm.
 Dia = 3 to 4 times the size of aggregate
 Leaky pipe & coupling result in escape of
water /air & finally block the concrete.
 Vertical pipe should good otherwise
difficult to change at height.
 Pump is kept at distance from building
about 15 % of vertical length.
KAS-2012 44
 PUMPABLE CONCRETE
 Concrete which can be pushed through a pipeline is
called pumpable concrete.
 Friction between pipe wall and concrete is less.
 Concrete flows in the form of plug which is separated
from pipe wall by a thin layer of lubricating cement paste.
 Flow resistant must be < pump pressure.
 If the concrete is more wet then water comes out of mix
which makes more resistance to flow.
 Stiff and also very wet concrete is not pumpable.

KAS-2012 45
 Design of pumpable concrete
 Concrete Mix is so designed that all material remain
together.
 Mix must make redial movement of grout to maintain
lubricating paste.
 Mix should be deformed at bends
 Cement & fine particles (0.25 mm size) are important for
good flow.
 350 to 400 Kg/ M3 of fine particles are necessary for
flow.
 Slump of pumpable concrete is above 75 mm.

KAS-2012 46
 PROBLEMS IN PUMPING
 Blockage in pipe
 Pipe should be cleaned after each day
operation
 Blockage can be cleaned by forward-
backward pumping.
 Tapping pipe with hammer
 Clean pipe with rod or sponge ball pushed
by compressed air.
KAS-2012 47
 PLACING CONCRETE
 Must be placed in systematic manner.
Can be placed with following methods:
 Within earth mould : Foundation
 In timber plank formwork : Road, airport
slab.
 Steel shuttering : Dam
 Under water

KAS-2012 48
 Concrete in Foundation
 In foundation, ground is made wet.
 Plastic sheet are laid between ground & slab
 Concrete is dumped not poured.
 No heap and dragging
 Placed in layers of 35 – 40 cm in mass concrete
 Avoid cold joints between 2 layers
 Surface of previous layer is cleaned with wire brush
 Sometime, cement slurry is placed on old surface
 Top of previous layer kept rough for good bond.

KAS-2012 49
Concrete on Road, airport, floor slabs

 Placed in alternate bays (allow shrinkage)

with contraction joints :

contraction joints

Bays

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 Concrete in Beams & Column
 Reinforcement correctly placed.
 Correct cover required
 Joints of shuttering to be plugged.
 Mould releasing agent inside formwork

KAS-2012 51
 STRIPPING TIME
 Form work should not removed until good
strength has come.

Type of form work Time

Vertical wall, columns 16-24 hrs
Soffit of slab (Prop should be refixed immediately) 3 days
Soffit of beam (Prop should be refixed immediately) 7 days
Props to slab Span < 4.5 m 7 days
Props to slab Span > 4.5 m 14 days
Props of beam (Span < 6 m) 14 days
Props of beam (Span > 6 m) 21 days

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UNDER WATER CONCRETE

KAS-2012 53
 UNDER WATER CONCRETE

 Tremie (means hopper) is used.

 Funnel on top
 Pipe of 200 mm size
 Pipe bottom is plugged
 Fill pipe with concrete
 Lift pipe or jerk to release the plug
 Keep bottom of pipe inside concrete

KAS-2012 54
 Underwater Concrete
 No compaction required as hydrostatic pr
of water compacts concrete.
 Concrete of 0.3 W/C ratio can be placed
with Tremie.
 Used for Pile or well foundation

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 SLIP FORM TECHNIQUE
 In this method, concrete is continuously placed, compacted & form work is
pulled up for next layer of concrete.
 Vertical slip form for Tall structure like silo, chimney
 Horizontal slip form paver machine (HSFP) for road construction.
 Concrete is dumped in front of HSFP machine by dumpers.
 Compaction by vibrator installed inside HSFP machines.
 Finishing of surface by HSF paver.
 Operation of road alignment, gradient, curve are controlled by
Computerized Laser Control system.
 Speed of construction is 1 mt /min.
 1 km of concrete road of 3.75 mt width is built in one day (16 hrs work).
 Mumbai-Pune Expressway was constructed by this machine.

KAS-2012 56
VERTICAL SLIP FORM

KAS-2012 57
HORIZONTAL SLIP FORM ROAD PAVER

KAS-2012 58
 COMPACTION OF CONCRETE
 Compaction is a process of expelling the entrapped air inside
concrete mass.
 During mixing, transporting & placing the concrete, air gets trapped
in concrete mass.
 If this air is not removed, concrete will not get strength.
 5 % of air voids reduces strength by 30 %
 10 % of air voids reduces strength by 50 %
 Durability of concrete is also reduces with air voids.
 Insufficient compaction increases permeability of concrete.
 Results in entry of aggressive chemicals in solution.
 Chemicals attack concrete & reinforcement and life of concrete is
reduced.

KAS-2012 59
 METHODS OF COMPACTION

1. Hand compaction
2. Compaction by vibration
3. Compaction by pressure &
jolting
4. Compaction by spinning
KAS-2012 60
 (2) COMPACTION BY VIBRATION

a) Internal Vibrator
b) Formwork Vibrator
c) Table Vibrator
d) Platform Vibrator
e) Surface Vibrator

KAS-2012 61
 (1) HAND COMPACTION

 Hand Rodding
Poking inside concrete with 1-2 mt long steel rod
 Ramming
Unreinforced foundation & ground floor work
 Tamping
Wooden beam is used to beat concrete (low
thickness slab, road slab)

KAS-2012 62
 COMPACTION BY VIBRATION

 In hand compaction w/c ratio is more so

we get less strength in concrete.
 In mechanical vibrator w/c can be kept low
so we get good strength.

KAS-2012 63
INTERNAL VIBRATOR

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(a) INTERNAL VIBRATOR
 Most common in use
 Called, Needle Vibrator or Immersion vibrator or
Poker vibrator.
 Consists : electrical/diesel power supply, Needle
and shaft.
 Frequency of vibrations can be 12000 cycles
vibration per minute.
 Needle diameter 20 to 75 mm
 Length 25 to 90 cm.
 Portable.
KAS-2012 65
FORMWORK VIBRATOR
 Used for columns, walls, precast slab
 Vibrator is clamped to formwork
 Vibration is given to formwork
 Vibration is transferred from formwork to
concrete
 Useful in thin wall where reinforcement
obstruct the needle type vibrator.
 Efficiency is lower then needle vibrator
KAS-2012 66
TABLE VIBRATOR
 Vibrator is clamped to table
 Used for concrete test cubes
 Cubes are kept on table to get vibrations
 Also used for small prefabricated slab

KAS-2012 67
TABLE VIBRATOR

KAS-2012 68
PLATFORM VIBRATOR
 Similar to table vibrator but of large size
 Used for long concrete electrical pole,
railway sleeper,prefabricated roofing
element

KAS-2012 69
PLATEFORM VIBRATOR

KAS-2012 70
SURFACE VIBRATOR
 Known as Screed Board Vibrator
 Used for thin roof slab where needle
vibrator can not be used
 Not effective if slab thickness is more then
15 cm.

KAS-2012 71
SURFACE VIBRATOR

KAS-2012 72
COMPACTION BY PRESSURE & JOLTING

 Used for hollow blocks, solid concrete

blocks
 Stiff concrete is vibrated, pressed & given
jolts
 Stiff concrete is compacted to get dense
form & good strength is achived.

KAS-2012 73
VIBRATION BY SPINNING
 New method
 Used for concrete pipes
 Concrete when spun at high speed gets
compaction by centrifugal force

KAS-2012 74
VIBRATORY ROLLER
 Road rollers has vibrating system
 Roller while moving on raod slab gives
vibrations
 Used for Lean concrete (M10) for road
base


KAS-2012 75
ROLLER VIBRATOR

KAS-2012 76
PRECAUTIONS IN VIBRATING CONCRETE

 Vibrator gets damaged if comes in contact

with hard object (Formwork, hard
concrete)
 Switch on when needle is inside fresh
concrete mass
 Should conform to IS 2505-1963
 Degree of compaction can be recognized
from rising air bubbles & formation of thin
film on top
KAS-2012 77
 HYDRATION OF CEMENT
 Cement is made by Cao, SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, MgO, K2O,
SO3
 After burning in Kiln following products are made:
3Cao. SiO2 (C3S) - Tri calcium silicate
2Cao. SiO2(C2S) – Di cacium silicate
3Cao. Al2O3 (C3A) – Tri cacium aluminate
4Cao. Al2O3. Fe2O3(C3AF) -Tricalcium alumino ferrite.
On addition of water in cement reaction of C3S, C2S, C3A
& C3AF liberate heat. Heat is suside by addition of water.

KAS-2012 78
 CURING OF CONCRETE
 Curing is defined as “ making satisfactory moisture
content & favourable temperature” in concrete after
placing the concrete. So that hydration may continue
until the strength is developed.
 Curing is required immediately after placing concrete.
 During hydration, heat of hydration is released.

KAS-2012 79
 CURING OF CONCRETE
 Concrete delivers its strength by the hydration of cement
particles.
 Hydration is continuous & long time process.
 Rate of hydration is fast immediately after making the
concrete
 Theoretically 0.23 w/c ratio required for hydration
 0.15 w/c ratio required for filling the voids in gel.
 Total 0.38 w/c ratio is optimum
 In field condition, water evaporates & available water
quantity reduced for hydration
 Extra water is given by curing
KAS-2012 80
 METHODS OF CURING

a) Water curing
b) Membrane curing
c) Application of heat
d) Other methods

KAS-2012 81
 WATER CURING

a) Immersion : Slab is kept in water tank

b) Ponding: Roof slab is filled with water
c) Spraying : water spary on concrete wall is
d) Wet covering : Wet gunny bags on wall

KAS-2012 82
 MEMBRANE CURING

 Concrete surface is covered by plastic

membrane
 It is used where water availability is less.
 Plastic sheet reduces evaporation in
concrete
 Membrane is applied after 2 days of water
curing

KAS-2012 83
 APPLICATION OF HEAT
 Spraying of steam on concrete provides heat & moisture.
 Higher temperature accelerates hydration rate & strength
of concrete is attended
 Early strength of structure is obtained
 Steam application possible at precast factory only.
 Precast prestressed concrete girders of bridge are cured
with steam
 Fast construction of bridge

KAS-2012 84
 HIGH PRESSURE STEAM CURING

 Superheated steam at high pressure (8.5 kg/cm2) & high

temperature(175 deg C) is applied on concrete.
 This process is called “Autoclaving”
 28 days strength of concrete is achieved in one day
 Concrete becomes sulphate resistant
 Low shrinkage in concrete
 Used in production of Cellular concrete products(
Siporex, Celcrete)

KAS-2012 85
 FINISHING OF CONCRETE
 Finishing is last operation of concrete making.
 Finishing of top surface is required in roads, airport
strip, home floor
Methods of Finishing:
a) Form work Finish
b) Surface Treatment
c) Applied Finishes

SHAH K.A. 86
 FORMWORK FINISH
 Concrete obeys the shape of formwork
 Grooves & lining on formwork plate gives
makes grooves & lining on concrete
 Prefabricated tiles can be made of any
design
 SURFACE TREATMENT
 Domestic floor should be smooth, wear resistant, crack
free.
 Mix should have good proportion without excess “Matrix”
 Exposed aggregate finish : Colored pebbles on top layer
of wall
 Bush Hammering : Electrically operated Brush with teeth
when applied on concrete removes top cement layer,
exposes aggregates and makes shining aggregates.

KAS-2012 88
 APPLIED FINISH

 Rough cast finish : mixture of cement, sand, round

gravel is applied on wall

 Non slip finish: Railway platform & walkway around

pool are given non slippery finish by mixing large size
sand particles in floor concrete.