Fresh Concrete Operations

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FRESH CONCRETE OPERATIONS

Batching

Mixing

Transporting/Handling

Placing

Compacting

Curing

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Batching

Preparing or measuring quantities of the

concrete constituents

Two methods:

Batching by weight

Batching by volume

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Batching (by volume)

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Mixing
Objectives:

To coat the surface of aggregate particles with

cement paste

To blend concrete ingredients into a uniform
mass

Can be manual or thru use of equipment/machines

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Manual Mixing
Mixing by Hand

Spread aggregate out on a hard, clean, and non-
porous base

Cement is spread over the aggregate

Dry materials are mixed by turning over three times
with a shovel until the mix looks uniform

Water is gradually added

Mix is turned over until the mix appears uniform

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Machine Mixing
Tilting Drum Mixer

Either one-bagger or two-bagger

Chamber or the drum is TILTED for discharging
(even during the mix)

Good discharge action, unsegregated

Perfect for mixes with:

Low workability

Large aggregates

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Machine Mixing
Non-Tilting Drum Mixer (Reversing drum)

Axis of the drum is ALWAYS horizontal

Chute is used during discharge

Rotation can also be reversed to discharge

Discharge rate is slow  segregation

Susceptible to segregation

Essential to check the mix at the start and towards
the end

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Machine Mixing
Pan-Type Mixer

Efficient with stiff and cohesive mixes

Doesn’t rely on free fall for mixing, similar to electric
cake mixers  mixing action is electrically forced

Scraping action at the sides of the mixer (due to its
revolving star of blade (scrapes or paddles)

Drum type mixers have no scraping action thus some adheres on

the walls of the drum

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Machine Mixing

Terminologies:

Charging the mixer - putting the ingredients in the

mixer

Buttering - coating the sides of the mixer with an

initial amount of mortar

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Machine Mixing
Mixing Time

Dependent on:

Size and type of mixer

Speed of mixer rotation

Quality of blending of the ingredients

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Mixing Time
The exact value of mixing time is a function of size of mixture.
A minimum mixing time of 1 minute for mixer size of ¾ cu.m
and 15 additional seconds for each addition ¾ cu.m. yard
giving satisfactory uniformity of mixing.

Typical minimum values:

One-bagger mixer: 0.80 m3 = 1 minute

Transit mixer: 4.60 m3 = 2 ¼ minutes

generally, around 2 minutes
Prolonged mixing would lead to:

Evaporation of the water from the mix

Grinding of the aggregates
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Mixing Time

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Mixing

Intermittent Mixing

Does not affect strength and durability

Workability decreases with time unless loss of

moisture is prevented in the mixer

Retempering – adding water to restore workability

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Transporting

Dump trucks

for short distances

Agitator trucks

Water is added at central plant and mixing
occurs during transportation

Transit mixers

Water is added while being transported

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Handling

Buckets
Portalifts

Wheelbarrow
Pumping

Concrete buggies
Crane and bucket

Belt conveyors

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Handling

Pumpcrete

Concrete pumped under pressure

Types of pumps:

Direct-acting concrete pump

Squeeze-type concrete pump

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Handling

Pumpcrete

Pipe diameters > three times the maximum

aggregate size

Recommended slump: 40-100mm (medium

workability)

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Handling

Pumpcrete

Advantageous since it can be delivered to

points over a wide area otherwise not easily
accessible
Note that: too dry  blockage

too wet  segregation

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Handling
Shotcrete

Pneumatically applied mortar

Mortar pumped under pressure at high

velocity unto a backup surface

Also called gunite

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Placing

Deposit concrete as close as possible to its

final position to avoid segregation and obtain
full compaction
Methods:

Chute
Tremie

Flexible drop chute

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Compacting and Vibrating

Purpose of vibrating:

To remove entrapped air

Filing up the forms

Ensure uniform mix

Methods:

Manual and mechanical means
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Vibrating

By Hand

By rodding or ramming

Internal Vibrators

Poker or immersion vibrators

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Vibrating

Internal Vibrators

12,000 cycles per minute

0.50 to 1m on center for about 5-30

seconds depending on consistency
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Vibrating

External Vibrators

For precast or thin in-situ sections

Rigidly clamped onto the formwork resting
in an elastic support so both form and
concrete are vibrated

3,000 to 6,000 cycles per minute

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External Vibrators

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Vibrating

Vibrating Tables

Formwork is clamped to a vibrator in

precast concrete or in testing

1,500 to 7,000 cycles per minute

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Vibrating Tables

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Vibrating

Revibration

For concrete placed in layers

Purposes:

Reduce settlement cracks

Reduce internal effects of bleeding

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Curing

procedures used for promoting hydration of

cement

Consists of:

Control of temperature

Moisture movement to and from the
concrete
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Curing

Purpose:

Enhance hydration

Prevent further evaporation of water

Replace any amount of water that already
evaporated

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Curing

Methods:

Ponding
Wet sand, earth,

Plastic sheets sawdust, straw

Waterproof paper
Spraying

Wet burlaps
Steam curing

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Ready-Mixed Concrete

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Ready-Mixed Concrete
Types:

Central-mixed

Batched and mixed
at central plant

Transit-mixed

Batched at central
plant and mixed in
mixer trucks
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Ready-Mixed Concrete

Advantages:

Close quality control of batching

Use on congested site

Use of agitator trucks to ensure care of
transportation

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Ready-Mixed Concrete

Advantages:

Convenience when small quantities of
concrete or intermittent mixing is required

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Ready-Mixed Concrete

Disadvantages:

Maintaining workability up to the time of

placing

Cost is relatively higher

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