Avoiding uniformity problems
in truck-mixed concrete
Correct ixing concrete in a truck is
mixing
speed and
batching
M different from mixing it in a
central batch plant. Mixing
blades in a plant lift and drop
the concrete. Width limitations on truck
mixers dictate the use of spiral blades that
first move the concrete down toward the
sequence head end of the drum then back up the
central axis toward the discharge end.
are keys to When a truck mixer doesn’t produce
producing well-mixed concrete, the lack of uniformity
is usually caused by failure to set up the
well- flow down the spiral blades and the
mixed counter flow up the drum axis. Other caus-
es include the development of head packs
concrete or cement balls.
By Richard D. Developing the flow pattern
Gaynor A high mixing speed helps set the de-
sired flow pattern in the drum. Preferable
speed is 20 to 22 revolutions per minute
but not more than 25 or 27 rpm. Some-
times 17 or 18 rpm is fast enough, while
some truck mixers produce well-mixed
concrete at 12 to 15 rpm. However, the
flow pattern may be only partially devel-
oped at lower drum speeds.
To see if you’re getting the correct mixing
action, use a flashlight and look into the
discharge end of the drum (wear goggles).
cement ball
At a low drum speed the concrete surface
will be level with the ground. Increase the
drum speed in 1- or 2-rpm increments until
the concrete surface changes from level to
almost perpendicular to the drum axis. A
change as slight as 1 rpm will make the dif-
ference. Eye protection is essential because
concrete tends to splash when the desired
mixing action is reached. If you consistent-
ly produce this mixing action, the concrete
will be mixed in 40 or 50 turns.
Avoiding cement balls
Cement balls are round lumps of cement,
sand, and coarse aggregate, typically about
the size of a baseball (photo above). Gen-
erally, they appear infrequently, and occur
only in a few trucks.
There are several ways to deal with ce-
ment balls. Mixing will grind them up in a
2-inch-slump concrete, but not in a 5- to 6-
inch-slump concrete. So one quick fix is to
mix the concrete at a 2-inch slump, then
add enough water to reach the desired
slump. However, this is an inefficient solu-
tion because cement balls are evidence of
improper loading or batching sequences.
You can also eliminate cement balls by
changing to slurry mixing. There isn’t
enough water to make a real slurry, but
this procedure still works. Load all the wa- spite the absence of visual clues, head packs
ter, then load the cement and mix for one are undesirable because they cause varia-
minute at high drum speed. (Don’t try to tions in slump, air content, and strength.
load cement before water. No known truck No one knows to what extent a head
mixer will mix concrete properly if cement pack prevents a desirable mixing action
is the first ingredient.) Next, ribbon in the and flow pattern in a drum. But it is known
fine and coarse aggregate. Although slurry that additional drum revolutions won’t
mixing prevents cement balls, truck loading break up a head pack. Thus, it’s better to
can be slow and dusty. prevent them.
A better solution is optimizing the load- Prevention measures are the same ones
ing procedure. The sequencing of two in- used for cement balls. Batch about 2 tons
gredients—coarse aggregate and water—is of coarse aggregate into the drum before
important. Put about 4,000 pounds of adding other ingredients.
coarse aggregate into the drum first to
avoid a head pack. The remainder of the Beware of blade wear
aggregate and cement can be ribboned in. Nonuniformity in concrete that’s properly
About three-fourths of the water can be batched then mixed at the correct speed
added first, before coarse aggregate, rib-
boned with the aggregate, or at almost any
time except as the last ingredient. Often,
batching this three-fourths starts early,
stops during cement batching, and ends
well before the last of the aggregate. The
important point is that one-fourth of the
water must be the last ingredient.
Nonuniform mixing will result if you
batch more than about one-fourth of the
water last. A wet spot forms in the dis-
charge end of the drum before concrete in
the head of the drum has any measurable
slump. This prevents the needed flow pat-
tern from developing. The concrete will
sound and look wet, but becomes progres-
sively drier as it is discharged.
Occasionally, when cement is batched
from a separate remote bin, it’s added as
the last ingredient. With this difficult mixing
sequence, it’s even more important to get
coarse aggregate in the head of the drum
and add part of the water after all other in-
gredients are in the drum. To obtain a uni-
form slump throughout discharge, you may
have to add slightly more or less than one-
fourth of the water at the end of the batch-
ing cycle. Slurry mixing is also an alterna-
tive to cement-last loading, but water can
rarely be batched at a remote cement silo.

Controlling head packs

When sand is loaded before coarse aggre-
gate, it sometimes packs in the head of the
drum and breaks loose after about half the
load has been discharged. In severe in-
stances, streaks of unmixed sand appear in
the chute while the last half of concrete is
discharging. Usually the head pack goes un-
noticed because the sand gets mixed into
the concrete before it reaches the chute. De-
may also be caused by worn mixer
blades. The National Ready Mixed
Concrete Association’s Plant Certifi-
cation Program sets blade wear cri-
teria. Vertical height of the blade
shouldn’t be worn down by more
than 10% of the original height (ex-
cluding any of the fin or tee as
shown in the illustration above). If
you have the serial number for
your mixer, the manufacturer can
provide original blade dimensions.
Testing for mixing uniformity
Standard Specification for Ready
Mixed Concrete, ASTM C 94, con-
tains uniformity testing procedures
and requirements. Samples are tak-
en from two parts of the batch and
tested for slump, air content,
strength, coarse-aggregate content,
and air-free unit weight of concrete
and of mortar. Usually, changes in
slump, air content, and strength cor-
relate to changes in the other char-
acteristics, and a complete test of all
six characteristics is rarely necessary.
The specification also suggests
that slump tests are a quick way of
checking the probable degree of
uniformity. Observation of concrete
slump during unloading, supple-
mented by occasional testing, will
be enough to confirm basic mixing
uniformity.
Uniformity tests must be per-
PUBLICATION #J960570, Copyright © 1996, The Aberdeen group, All rights reserved
formed by skilled personnel be-
cause any variations in testing
methods will be reflected in the
uniformity test results. For instance,
ASTM C 94 requires strength tests
from two samples to agree within
7.5%. Based on ASTM precision
statements for the strength test,
about half of the strength difference
between two concrete samples will
be a result of testing variation No one knows to what
rather than real variation in the extent a head pack pre-
concrete. The inherent variability in
slump, air content, and unit weight vents a desirable mixing
tests is greater than that for strength action and flow pattern
tests, and deviations from standard
testing methods increase variability. in a drum. But it is known
Thus, it’s critical to perform these that additional drum
tests correctly.
When a mixer truck is discharged revolutions won’t break
without excessive waiting, well- up a head pack. Thus, it’s
mixed, uniform concrete should be
expected. If uniformity variations better to prevent them.
do occur, first check the mixing
speed, number of revolutions, and
batching sequence. If these are cor-
rect, blade wear or accumulations
of hardened concrete in the drum
may be the problem. ✥
Richard D. Gaynor retired as National
Ready Mix ed Concrete Associa tion
(NRMCA) executive vice president in
1996 and is currently a consultant to
NRMCA. He has conducted or super-
vised several studies of truck mixing.