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READY MIX CONCRETE : ECONOMIC AND QUALITATIVE GROWTH FOR

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Conference Paper · March 2014

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 ISBN: 978-81-929339-0-0
National Conference on: “Trends and Challenges of Civil Engineering in Today’s Transforming World ”

READY MIX CONCRETE : ECONOMIC AND QUALITATIVE

GROWTH FOR CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Abhishek shah1, Prof. Jayeshkumar Pitroda2, Prof. J. J. Bhavsar3

1
Student of first year M.E (C.E & M), B.V.M Engineering College, Vallabh Vidyanagar
2
Assistant Professor and Research Scholar, Civil Engineering Department, B.V.M. Engineering
College, Vallabh Vidyanagar-Gujarat-India
3
Associate Professor and PG Coordinator (M.E C E & M), Civil Engineering Department, B.V.M.
Engineering College, Vallabh Vidyanagar-Gujarat-India
1
abhishekshah51@gmail.com
2
jayesh.pitroda@bvmengineering.ac.in
3
jaydev_2004@yahoo.co.in

Abstract : Ready Mix Concrete is a ready-to-use material which is a mixture of Cement,

Sand, Aggregate and Water. RMC is a type of Concrete which is mixed in a batching
plant according to the specification of the customer and delivered to the site by the use
of transit mixer as it is away from the construction site. RMC is a new concreting
concept in the Indian Construction industry introduced before one decade. It was
initially not adopted by the contractors because it is costly due to its large equipments
and machineries and also due to high tax on RMC and easy availability of manpower at
cheaper rate but as time elapsed they understood that in large or medium scale project
it is cheaper as it requires less time, less manpower and high strength as compared to
Site mix concrete. So, ultimately it is time saving and cheaper. RMC is also eco -friendly
as it reduces the noise and air pollution because mixing is done in closed chamber a s
compare to site mix concrete.

Keywords : Cost, Pollution, Ready Mix Concrete (RMC), site mix concrete, utilization

INTRODUCTION :
As per the Indian Standard Specification IS 4926:2003,”Concrete mixed in a stationary
mixer in a central batching and mixing plant or in a truck-mixer and supplied in fresh
condition to the purchaser either at the site or into the purchaser’s vehicles.”
Ready-mix concrete (RMC) is a ready-to-use material, with a predetermined mixture of
cement, sand, aggregates and water. RMC is a type of concrete manufactured in a factory
according to a set recipe or as per specifications of the customer, at a centrally located
batching plant. Most of ready mixed concrete is currently manufactured under computer-

29th March, 2014, Civil Engineering Department S.N.P.I.T. & R.C., Umrakh
 ISBN: 978-81-929339-0-0
National Conference on: “Trends and Challenges of Civil Engineering in Today’s Transforming World ”

controlled operations and transported and placed at project sites using sophisticated
equipment and methods. It is delivered to a worksite, often in truck mixers capable of mixing
the ingredients of the concrete on route or just before delivery of the batch. The use of the
RMC is facilitated through a truck-mounted boom placer that can pump the product for ready
use at multi-storied construction sites. A boom placer can pump the concrete up 80 meters.
Ready mix concrete is usually ordered in units of cubic yards or meters. It must remain in
motion until it is ready to be poured, or the cement may begin to solidify. The Ready mix
concrete business in India is in its in fancy. Where as in developed countries, nearly 70 per
cent of cement consumption is in the form of ready mix concrete and 25 per cent in the form
of recast, in India, ready mix concrete accounts for less than 5 percent and as much as 82 per
cent of cement consumption is in the form of site-mixed concrete. While 70%of cement
produced in a developed country like Japan is used by Ready Mix concrete business there,
here in India, Ready Mix concrete business uses around 2% of total cement production. The
share of RMC is expected to go up from present levels of around 5 per cent of the total
cement production to the global average of 70 per cent, according to industry players.

HISTORY :

In 1903 In 1913 In 1926

RMC was First patented in The first delivery of RMC The First Transit Mixer was
Germany was made in BALTIMORE produced for delivering the
concrete

In 1931 In 1953 in India In Mid 1990

29th March, 2014, Civil Engineering Department S.N.P.I.T. & R.C., Umrakh
 ISBN: 978-81-929339-0-0
National Conference on: “Trends and Challenges of Civil Engineering in Today’s Transforming World ”

RMC plant was set up for the RMC was first time used for There were about 1100 RMC
construction of Heathrow Bhakhranagal Dam Project plants in UK
airport, London in India

In USA by 1990 In Europe in 1997 In 1993

Around 72% (more than There were 5850 companies The first RMC Plant was
2/3rd) of cement produced producing a total of 305 setup in Pune.
was being used by various million cusecs of RMC.
RMC plants.

EQUIPMENTS REQUIRED IN RMC :

Inline Bins Silos Screw Conveyer Belt

Inert raw materials like fine Cement & Fly ash are stored Cement and Fly ash are fed to
& coarse aggregates are in an airtight container called holding hopper with the help
stored in bins called as as “Silos”. The required of a screw conveyer. A heavy
“INLINE BINS” where the quantity of cement & fly ash duty cement screw conveyor is
trucks carrying fine and is extracted by the silos. fixed in an inclined position to
coarse aggregate can dump convey the cement from
the material easily. Manual Feeding Hopper to
Cement Hopper.

29th March, 2014, Civil Engineering Department S.N.P.I.T. & R.C., Umrakh
 ISBN: 978-81-929339-0-0
National Conference on: “Trends and Challenges of Civil Engineering in Today’s Transforming World ”

Transit Mixers Concrete Pumps Vibrator

Transit mixers are made to A concrete pump is a A vibrator is a mechanical
transport and mix concrete machine used for transferring device to generate vibrations
up to the construction site. liquid concrete by pumping. to remove the air voids in
The discharge of concrete is There are two types of concrete and for proper
done from front or rear side concrete pumps. compaction of concrete.
of the Transit mixer

MATERIALS USED IN RMC :

Figure 1: Materials used in RMC

29th March, 2014, Civil Engineering Department S.N.P.I.T. & R.C., Umrakh
 ISBN: 978-81-929339-0-0
National Conference on: “Trends and Challenges of Civil Engineering in Today’s Transforming World ”

TEST CARRIED OUT ON RMC:

All the ingredients used for the preparation of the concrete, are thoroughly tested for their
quality and physical properties in a well equipped laboratory attached to the plant for
conformity to relevant Indian Standard Codes.

Figure 2: Tests on Coarse Aggregates

Figure 3: Tests on Fine Aggregates

Figure 4: Tests on Water, Fresh Concrete, Hardened Concrete

29th March, 2014, Civil Engineering Department S.N.P.I.T. & R.C., Umrakh
 ISBN: 978-81-929339-0-0
National Conference on: “Trends and Challenges of Civil Engineering in Today’s Transforming World ”

PROCESS OF READY MIX CONCRETE :

Figure 5: Process of Ready Mix Concrete

APPLICATIONS OF READY MIX CONCRETE (RMC) IN THE CONSTRUCTION

INDUSTRY :

Figure 6: Applications of Ready Mix Concrete

29th March, 2014, Civil Engineering Department S.N.P.I.T. & R.C., Umrakh
 ISBN: 978-81-929339-0-0
National Conference on: “Trends and Challenges of Civil Engineering in Today’s Transforming World ”

FEATURES OF READY MIX CONCRETE (RMC) :

1. Better quality concrete is produced.

2. Elimination of storage space for basic materials at site.
3. Elimination of Hiring plant and machinery
4. Wastage of basic materials is avoided.
5. Labour associated with production of concrete is eliminated.
6. Time required is greatly reduced
7. Noise and dust pollution at site is reduced.
8 .No wastage on site
9. Environment friendly

LIMITATIONS OF READY MIX CONCRETE (RMC) :

1. Need huge initial investment.
2. Not affordable for small projects (small quantity of concrete)
3. Needs effective transportation system from R.M.C to site.
4. Traffic jam or failure of the vehicle creates a problem if the proper dose of admixture is not
given.
5. Labours should be ready on site to cast the concrete in position to vibrate it and compact it.
6. Concrete's limited time span between mixing and going-off means that ready-mix should
be placed within 90 minutes of batching at the plant.

SCOPE OF READY MIX CONCRETE:

1. Major concerting projects like dams, roads, bridges, tunnels, canals etc.
2. For concreting in congested areas where storage of materials is not possible.
3. Sites where the intensity of traffic makes problems.
4. When supervisor and labour staff is less.
5. To reduce the time required for construction etc.
6. Huge industrial and residential projects.

29th March, 2014, Civil Engineering Department S.N.P.I.T. & R.C., Umrakh
 ISBN: 978-81-929339-0-0
National Conference on: “Trends and Challenges of Civil Engineering in Today’s Transforming World ”

READY MIX CONCRETE Vs SITE MIX CONCRETE :

Ready Site

Mix Mix

Concrete Concrete

1) Consistent Quality- concrete is made in 1) The quality is inconsistent–because

high tech batching plants in a concrete is hand mixed.
computerized environment.
2) Construction in double quick time. 2) Manual mixing is time consuming. Projects
take longer time to finish.
3) Raw materials are chosen after strict 3) Quality of raw materials is manually
quality checks checked. Or not checked at all.
4) Large quantities of concrete can be 4) Takes more time. Repeated mixing needs to
ordered. This allows you to upgrade be done in large quantities as the mixer will
yourself and handle projects of any size. be too small to handle the requirement.
5) No wastage of raw materials at your 5) High wastage of raw materials due to
site. Everything is pre-mixed at our manual mixing.
plants, based on your needs.
6) No hassle of managing labour on site. 6) Involves the use of labourers for mixing the
We supply ready-to-use concrete. Our concrete on site. Management of labour
well-equipped technical crew will means more time, efforts and money.
handle the pouring and patching of
concrete at the site.
7) Safe work practices – no disruption in 7) Highly unsafe. Unskilled and untrained
your schedule. labourers may work carelessly resulting in
dangerous working conditions.
8) You don’t have to stock materials and 8) The risk of pilferage of raw materials is
watch over them. There’s no worry high.
about pilferage.

29th March, 2014, Civil Engineering Department S.N.P.I.T. & R.C., Umrakh
 ISBN: 978-81-929339-0-0
National Conference on: “Trends and Challenges of Civil Engineering in Today’s Transforming World ”

GROWTH OF RMC CONSUMPTION COMPARED TO CEMENT PRODUCTION:

Table-1
Year wise growth of RMC in Indian Market
No Year Cement Total Concrete Concrete Concrete
demand concrete requirement requirement requirement
in Million requirement for Major in rural areas within
3
Tons in million m3 projects in in million m domain of
million m3 RMC in
million m3
1 2006-07 145 282 55 96 131
2 2007-08 158 308 60 104 144
3 2008-09 172 335 66 113 156
4 2009-10 187 364 72 123 169
5 2010-11 204 397 78 134 185
6 2011-12 223 435 85 146 204
7 2012-13 243 474 93 159 222
8 2013-14 262 511 100 171 240
9 2014-15 283 522 108 184 260
10 2015-16 306 596 117 198 281

Figure 7: Growth of RMC Plant

29th March, 2014, Civil Engineering Department S.N.P.I.T. & R.C., Umrakh
 ISBN: 978-81-929339-0-0
National Conference on: “Trends and Challenges of Civil Engineering in Today’s Transforming World ”

CONCLUSIONS
Ready Mix Concrete is a modern technique of production of concrete in massive quantities
away from the actual site of placing. It is very useful where demand of concrete is very high
and construction sites are in congested areas, where mixing on site is not possible due to lake
of storage place. RMC is ready to use material. It is widely adopted throughout the world. It
gives higher strength to the structure and it also provides higher Durability to the structure. It
reduces noise pollution as well as air pollution. The Supervisory and labour costs associated
with the production of RMC is less, and the quality of concrete is high. It is suitable for huge
industrial and residential projects where time plays a vital role. So ultimately it provides
economy in the construction and better finish to the structure. Hence the advantages of RMC
are realized by engineers and contractors in the construction industry.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The Authors thankfully acknowledge to Dr. C. L. Patel, Chairman, Charutar Vidya Mandal,
Er.V.M.Patel, Hon.Jt. Secretary, Charutar Vidya Mandal, Mr. Yatinbhai Desai, Jay Maharaj
construction, Dr. F. S. Umrigar, Principal, B.V.M. Engineering College, Dr. L. B. Zala, Head
and Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Dr. A. K. Verma, Head and Professor,
Structural Engineering Department, B.V.M. Engineering College, Vallabh Vidyanagar,
Gujarat, India for their motivations and infrastructural support to carry out this research.

REFERENCE
[1] “Concrete Batch Plant Modeling Guide”. Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Retrieved 3 October 2012.
[2] "Introduction of Concrete Mixing Plant". CONCRETE-MIXINGPLANT.COM.
[3] IS 4926:2003, “The Indian Standard Specification”
[4] www.janeoocn.com
[5] www.wekepedia.com
[6] www.google.com
[7] http://www.cashconcrete.com/about-us/
[8] R. S. Aggrawal , “Concrete Technology” Published by S. Chand
[9] http://www.rmcc.com/concrete-education-ready-mix-concrete.html
[10] http://www.boralcolorado.com/bcm-about-us
[11] http://www.grecoreadymix.com/ready/applications.html

29th March, 2014, Civil Engineering Department S.N.P.I.T. & R.C., Umrakh

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