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https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04380-9
ORIGINAL PAPER
Abstract
Ready mix concrete (RMC) is a new concreting concept in the Nepali construction industry introduced before one decade.
The paper aims to assess the acceptance of ready mix for residential buildings of Nepal. The relation was developed for
average compressive strength with slump value and water cement ratio based on laboratory test nominal mix M20 (1:1.5:3)
and M25 (1:1:2) along with questionnaire survey. The result also shows that the compressive strength of RMC is higher in
comparison with the SMC (site mix concrete). During questionnaire, more than 60% of users prefer the RMC over SMC.
The merit and demerit of construction projects using RMC and SMC are discussed and interpreted.
Keywords Strength · Ready mix · Ordinary concrete · Cost variations · Acceptance · Green marketing
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test of different site of Kathmandu Valley. Both qualitative which includes 12 samples for RMC and 12 samples for SMC.
and quantitative approaches of research were used (Yadav The samples were collected according to IS 456 2000 as Sam‑
et al. 2017). pling and Strength of Designed Concrete Mix (IS 456, 2000).
The secondary data were collected from different construction The typical samples were chosen based on visual identi‑
site for the Kathmandu Valley (Fig. 1). The primary data analysis fication of a suitable RMC and SMC, as well as a variety
is from: (a) Construction of Auditor General Building supreme of samples collected from different places. For the study,
audit institution of Nepal, (b) Construction of Nepal Army Head 96 samples were collected which includes: a) cube test: 36
Quarter Building, Bhadrakali, (c) Commercial Building for samples for RMC, 36 samples for SMC and b) slump test: 24
Sushil Gupta at Kupondole, Lalitpur, and (d) Residential Build‑ samples for both RMC and SMC (IS 456, 2000).
ing for Bishnu Agrawal at Sanepa, Lalitpur (RMC, 2010).
Study population The slump test was carried out from (4 × 3(M20) + 4 × 3(M25)
24 numbers of concrete mix. Slump test results were achieved
In this study, the targeted population was the different type in the site using test mould for slump test: non-porous base
of buildings of Kathmandu Valley. The total samples used in plate, measuring scale, tamping rod (IS 456, 2000).
the study are 72 numbers for compressive strength test (for
laboratory test) and 24 samples for slump test (field test). The Questionnaire survey
samples for laboratory tests include 36 samples from three
batches of M20 and M25 concrete formed by ready mix con‑ The questionnaire sheet includes 23 numbers of question,
crete from the site: a) Auditor General Building supreme audit from each selected site five personnel was asked to answer
institution of Nepal and b) Nepal Army Head Quarter Build‑ the question (Appendix).
ing, Bhadrakali. The remaining 36 samples are taken by site
mix concrete of three batches of M20 and M25 concrete from Laboratory test
the site: a) Commercial Building for Sushil Gupta at Kupon‑
dole, Lalitpur and b) Residential Building for Bishnu Agrawal Based on the samples retrieved from the sites, laboratory
at Sanepa, Lalitpur. The field test was carried out by slump test tests on the 72 samples were conducted in the Central
Auditor General
Commercial building BuildingAnamnagar
Kupandol
Residen al Building
Sanepa
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International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
Material Testing Laboratory of Institute of Engineering, c) Mixing of concrete was done by taking the required
Pulchowk. Laboratory test was performed on the data amount of ingredient from their site.
collected from primary source. The compressive strength d) Ordinary Portland cement was used from their site, and
tests have been performed from the samples collected. minimum grade was 25MPA
Laboratory compressive strength value from primary data e) Slump test (IS: 1199 – 1959).
was observed from laboratory test (Shetty 2000). f) Cost comparisons of RMC and SMC (Allan 2006).
The above-mentioned tests, compressive strength from
the cube which were casted from each site of three number Rate of SMC and RMC as per government norms and
of batch, i.e., (4 × 3 × 3(M20, 28 days) + 4 × 3 × 3(M25, district rate is shown in Table 1.
28 days)) 72 no of cube samples (IS 456, 2000).
a) Slump test is conducted in field to find workability Strength of RMC and SMC by laboratory test
value. and results
b) Arbitrary value of mix design was taken which is already
done by contractor. The result obtain based on the ages shows that the strength
for RMC is uniform and meets nearly as design strength,
Table 1 Cost for concrete for S. No. Category Unit Rate SMC/RMC
SMC: M25 and M20
a Supply of material and cement concrete work for superstruc‑ Cu.m 18, 380.4 SMC
ture, deck slab, beam including 30 m transportation in valley
for M20
b Supply of material and cement concrete work for superstruc‑ Cu.m 22, 424.98 SMC
ture, deck slab, beam including 30 m transportation in valley
for M25
c Ready mix concrete including 3 km outside ring road for M20 Cu.m 14, 500 RMC
d Ready mix concrete including 3 km outside ring road for M25 Cu.m 15, 500 RMC
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International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
whereas in SMC, the result found more variance with Table 5 shows the compressive strength test of the sam‑
respect to design concrete strength (Haq et al. 2013; Nadu‑ ples at 28 days of casting obtained from the residential
puru 2015). And the result shows that more W/C ratio building of Bishnu Agrawal. The test results show that the
leads to low compressive strength and low porosity. This compressive strength of the concrete of batch 3 at M20 is
may be due to the cause that the lower water/cement ratio higher, whereas the compressive strength test of the concrete
has stronger compression strength than the larger water/ of batch 3 at M25 is higher.
cement ratio, according to the results (Chaudhari et al.
2014). Plot of average strength of concrete and slump
Table 2 shows the compressive strength test of the or water cement ratio
samples at 28 days of casting obtained from the Auditor
General Building. The test results show that the compres‑ The graph of average strength of concrete of different
sive strength of the concrete of batch 3 at M20 is higher, grade with different slump and water cement ratios (w/c) is
whereas that of the batch 1 at M25 is higher. obtained as shown in Fig. 3. Similarly, strength of concrete
Table 3 shows the compressive strength test of the was taken for RMC and SMC/OC.
samples at 28 days of casting obtained from the Army Figure 3 shows the relation established between the
Head Quarter. The test results show that the compres‑ average strength and slump value. In Fig. 3, the minimum
sive strength of the concrete of batch 1 at M20 is higher, strength is found at 155 mm slump and maximum strength
whereas that of the batch 3 at M25 is higher. at the slump value at 80 mm The best fit line equation
Table 4 shows the compressive strength test of the sam‑ was Avg. Str. = − 0.007*slump + 23.58 having R2 value
ples at 28 days of casting obtained from the commercial R 2 = 0.757. The graph shows the slump value 80 mm
building of Sushil Gupta. The test result shows that the com‑ gained the best strength result.
pressive strength of the concrete of batch 3 at M20 is higher, Figure 4 shows the relation established between the aver‑
whereas the batch 1 at M25 is higher (Suryakanta 2015). age strength and slump value. In Fig. 4, the minimum strength
Table 2 Slump test and 1 Site: Construction of auditor general building supreme audit institution of Nepal
compressive strength test for
site 1 Code 1B1-20 1B2-20 1B3-20 1B1-25 1B2-25 1B3-25
Table 3 Slump test and 2 Site: Construction of Nepal Army Head quarter Building Bhadrakali, Kathmandu
compressive strength test for
site 2 Code 2B1-20 2B2-20 2B3-20 2B1-25 2B2-25 2B3-25
Section 3F-Slab 3F-Slab 4F-Slab 3F-Column 4F-Column 4F-Column
Casting Date 12/8/2074 12/9/2074 2/6/2075 11/15/2074 1/27/2075 1/28/2074
Testing Date 1/6/2075 1/7/2075 3/3/2075 12/13/2074 2/24/2075 2/25/2074
Nominal ratio 1:1.5:3 1:1.5:3 1:1.5:3 1:1:2 1:1:2 1:1:2
W/C 0.45 0.46 0.48 0.43 0.44 0.45
Slump(mm) 145 155 160 148 150 152
S1 2.19 2.10 1.75 2.59 2.76 2.85
S2 1.84 2.02 2.08 2.72 2.85 3.07
S3 2.15 2.02 1.97 2.80 3.02 2.85
Avg. strength(KN/cm2) 2.06 2.05 1.94 2.70 2.88 2.92
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Table 4 Slump Test and 3 Site: Commercial building for Sushil Gupta at Gusinggal, Lalitpur
Compressive Strength Test for
site 3 Code 3B1-20 3B2-20 3B3-20 3B1-25 3B2-25 3B3-25
Section Raft GF-Slab GF-Slab Pile GF-Column GF- Column
Casting Date 12/12/2074 1/25/2075 1/26/2075 12/4/2074 12/13/2074 12/28/2074
Testing Date 1/10/2075 2/22/2075 2/23/2075 1/2/2075 1/11/2075 1/26/2075
Nominal ratio 1:1.5:3 1:1.5:3 1:1.5:3 1:1:2 1:1:2 1:1:2
W/C 0.48 0.5 0.49 0.42 0.44 0.43
Slump(mm) 85 125 123 126 130 135
S1 1.97 1.88 2.19 2.23 2.72 2.54
S2 2.23 1.53 2.41 3.29 3.07 2.54
S3 1.88 2.45 2.19 3.20 2.89 2.63
Avg. strength (KN/cm2) 2.03 1.96 2.26 2.91 2.89 2.57
Table 5 Slump Test and 4 Site: Residential Building for Bishnu Agrawal at Sanepa, Lalitpur
Compressive Strength Test for
site 4 Code 4B1-20 4B2-20 4B3-20 4B1-25 4B2-25 4B3-25
Section Tie Beam Tie Beam GF-Slab Footing Footing GF- Column
Casting Date 1/22/2075 1/29/2075 3/2/2075 1/6/2075 1/7/2075 2/15/2075
Testing Date 2/19/2075 2/26/2075 3/30/2075 2/3/2075 2/4/2075 3/12/2075
Nominal ratio 1:1.5:3 1:1.5:3 1:1.5:3 1:1:2 1:1:2 1:1:2
W/C 0.47 0.46 0.45 0.4 0.44 0.42
Slump(mm) 135 133 128 130 133 128
S1 2.41 2.32 2.63 2.85 2.85 3.51
S2 2.41 2.41 2.72 2.76 3.07 3.42
S3 2.19 2.50 2.85 2.89 3.11 3.29
Avg. strength (KN/cm2) 2.34 2.41 2.73 2.83 3.01 3.40
23.00 40.00
Avg. Strength (MPa)
22.80 30.00
22.60
20.00
Avg.str. = -0.007*slump + 23.58
22.40 R² = 0.757 Avg.str. = -0.510*Slump + 99.97
10.00 R² = 0.954
22.20
0.00
130 135 140 145 150
22.00
0 50 100 150 200 Slump, mm
Slump, mm
Fig. 4 Auditor General Building Average Strength vs. Slump for
Fig. 3 Auditor General Building Average Strength vs. Slump for (a) 25 MPa
20 MPa and (b) 25 MPa
concrete (Omotola and Idowu 2011). In Fig. 5, the mini‑
is found at 146 mm slump and maximum strength at the mum strength is found at 0.48 w/c and maximum strength
slump value at 135 mm. The best fit line equation was Avg. at the w/c value at 0.45 The best fit line equation was Avg.
str. = -0.510*Slump + 99.97 having R2 value R2 = 0.954. The str. = − 23.99*w/c + 33.71 having R2 value R2 = 0.994. The
graph shows the slump value 135 mm was the best strength result. graph shows the w/c value 0.45 was the best strength result.
Figure 5 shows the relation established between the aver‑ Figure 6 shows the relation established between the average
age strength and water cement (w/c) ratio value for 20 MPa strength and water cement ratio value for 25 MPa concrete.
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International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
In Fig. 6, the minimum strength is found at 0.44 w/c and Army head quarter building
maximum strength at the w/c value at 0.42. The best fit line
equation was Avg. str. = − 277.5*w/c + 147.6 having R2 value For Army Head quarter building, the relation was estab‑
R2 = 0.930. The graph shows the water cement ratio (w/c) value lished between the average strength and slump value for
0.42 was the best strength result (Paul 2016; Lee et al. 2020). 20 MPa concrete where the minimum strength is found at
160 slump and maximum strength at the 145 slump. The
best fit line equation was Avg. str. = − 0.620*slump + 21.37
having R2 value R 2 = 0.836, whereas for M25 MPa the min‑
23.00 imum strength is found at 140 mm slump and maximum
Avg. Strength (MPa)
22.80
strength at the slump value at 145 mm. The best fit line equa‑
tion was Avg. str. = − 2.775*slump + 33.88 having R2 value
22.60 R2 = 0.930 Fig. 7. The graph assessment shows the slump
22.40
value 125 mm was the best strength result (Kim 2009).
Avg.str. = -23.99*w/c + 33.71 This relation was established between the average strength
22.20 R² = 0.994 and water cement (w/c) ratio value for 20 MPa concrete where
22.00 the minimum strength is found at 0.48 w/c and maximum
0.44 0.45 0.46 0.47 0.48 0.49 strength at the w/c value at 0.45. The best fit line equation was
W/C ratio Avg. str. = − 0.620*w/c + 21.37 having R2 value R2 = 0.836.
The graph assessment shows the w/c value 0.45 was the best
Fig. 5 Auditor General Building Average Strength vs. W/C for (a) strength result. Similarly, the relation was established between
20 MPa and (b) 25 MPa the average strength and water cement ratio value for 25 MPa
concrete where the minimum strength is found at 0.43 w/c and
40.00 maximum strength at the w/c value at 0.45. The best fit line
equation was Avg. str. = 1.095*w/c + 26.14 having R value
R2 = 0.892. The graph assessment shows the water cement
Avg. Strength (MPa)
30.00
ratio (w/c) value 0.45 was the best strength result (Titarmare
et al. 2012).
20.00 Avg.str. = -277.5*w/c + 147.6
R² = 0.930 Commercial building
10.00
The relation was established between the average strength
0.00 and slump value for 20 MPa concrete at commercial build‑
0.415 0.42 0.425 0.43 0.435 0.44 0.445 ing where the minimum strength is found at 85 slump and
W/C ratio
maximum strength at the 123 slump. The best fit line equa‑
tion was Avg. str. = 1.168*Slump + 18.50 having R2 value
Fig. 6 Auditor General Building Average Strength vs W/C for R2 = 0.531. The graph assessment shows the slump 123
25 MPa
gained the best strength result.
This relation was established between the average
strength and slump value. In Fig. 4, 10 the minimum strength
15000
NRs
10000
5000
0
RMC 20MPa SMC 20MPa RMC 25MPa SMC 25MPa ∆ rate in ∆ rate in
Rate/M3 Rate/M3 Rate/M3 Rate/M3 20MPa RMC 25MPa RMC
& SMC & SMC
Rate/M3
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International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
is found at 135 mm slump and maximum strength at the prices yield a difference of about 26 and 45% for M20 and
slump value at 130 mm. The best fit line equation was Avg. M25 between RMC and SMC; SMC is higher than the upper
str. = − 1.679*slump + 31.26 having R2 value R2 = 0.782. limit recorded in Nepal (Magudeaswaran and Eswaramoor‑
The graph assessment shows the slump value 126 mm was thi 2013). A typical intended concrete compressive strength
the best strength result. of 25 MPa is sought by over half of the sample, whereas
The relation was established between the average strength only about 10% seek a compressive strength of 25 MPa or
and water cement (w/c) ratio value for 20 MPa concrete. greater. According to Allen (2006), this could also result in
In Fig. 4.11, the minimum strength is found at 0.5 w/c and demand fluctuation.
maximum strength at the w/c value at 0.49. The best fit line
equation was Avg. str. = 1.168*w/c + 18.50 having R2 value User acceptance
R2 = 0.531. While the graph was plotted, it was seen that the
w/c value 0.49 was the best strength result. Price, according to the experts interviewed, is likely the most
The relation was established between the average strength significant barrier to RMC adoption in the Nepali market. The
and water cement ratio value for 25 MPa concrete. In reader is advised to distinguish between unit pricing and overall
Fig. 4.12, the minimum strength is found at 0.42 w/c and cost in this regard. They also stated that the majority of Nepa‑
maximum strength at the w/c value at 0.43. The best fit line lese clients wrongly believe that the unit pricing represents the
equation was Avg. str. = − 1.679*w/c + 31.26having R2 value overall cost. To avoid the “apparent” price difference between
R2 = 0.782. The water cement ratio (w/c) value 0.43 was the RMC and SMC, the average customer usually opts for the lat‑
best strength result (Manjunatha et al. 2015; Domagała 2020). ter, regardless of the design and construction implications that
ultimately result in direct savings (Shahi 2013). Customers’
Residential building perceptions and awareness of RMC qualities, according to the
experts, are equally important. They pointed out that RMC’s
In the residential building site, the relation was established small presence in the building industry is due to three character‑
between the average strength and slump value for 20 MPa con‑ istics that characterize the local market: reluctance to change, a
crete with the minimum strength found at 135 slump and maxi‑ lack of market motive, and a lack of confidence among concrete
mum strength at the 128 slump The best fit line equation was practitioners. (Mannan and Idris 2013).
Avg. str. = 1.972x = *slump + 20.98 having R2 value R2 = 0.883. It should be mentioned that, regardless of concrete type, it
It was seen that the slump 128 was the best strength result. is normal, albeit erroneous, in the local market to design resi‑
The relation was established between residential build‑ dential buildings at an average nominal compressive strength
ing average strength vs. slump for 25 MPa; the minimum of 25 MPa (Omotola and Idowu 2011). As a result, when RMC
strength is found at 130 mm slump and maximum strength is utilized, the structural design does not take advantage of its
at the slump value at 128 mm. The best fit line equation was greater strength. When it comes to customer satisfaction with
Avg. str. = 2.848*slump + 25.12 having R2 value R2 = 0.953 RMC quality, it appears to be fairly high. During the ques‑
with the slump value 128 mm that was the best strength result. tionnaire, approximately three quarters of the participants
In the relation of residential building average strength vs. W/C expressed satisfaction with RMC. Jain (2017) shows prospects
for 20 MPa, the minimum strength is found at 0.48 w/c and of RMC and the same could be reviled from the questionnaire
maximum strength at the w/c value at 0.45. The best fit line as 61% of the respondents were satisfied with uses of RMC
equation was Avg. str. = 1.972*w/c + 20.98 having R2 value regarding strength and cost with respect to site mix concrete.
R2 = 0.883 with the w/c value 0.45 that was the best strength A smaller group representing 29% of the respondents were dis‑
result. Residential building average strength vs. W/C for satisfied with RMC. A much smaller group amounting to 10%
25 MPa shows the minimum strength is found at 0.40 w/c and of the respondents were willing to adopt both of two. Surpris‑
maximum strength at the w/c value at 0.42. The best fit line ingly, three quarters of the participants (almost the sum of the
equation was Avg. str. = 2.848*w/c + 25.12 having R2 value previous three groups of participants) would adopt RMC for
R2 = 0.953 with the water cement ratio (w/c) value 0.42 that greater quality, service, and sustainability in the construction
was the best strength result (NPCS 2008; Schabowicz, 2019). business.
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