All About Ready Mix Concrete

RMC or ready mix concrete is a concrete, a mixture of fine sand, water, Portland cement, and coarse aggregates. It is manufactured in the cement factory or batched plant instead of mixing at the construction site. A specific proportion of the material is required to prepare this mixture. Once the mixture is ready, it transported in the transit mixer to the worksite. A cylindrical truck which is known as cement mixer is used to carry the concrete mixture.

The ready-mix concrete prepared is durable and sustainable. It is eco-friendly as it is prepared in a close chamber that reduces noise and air pollution. Further, a durable structure is obtained as it increases the service life. In this article, we will discuss various types of ready mix concrete and its advantage as well as disadvantage.

Types of ready-mix concrete

There are three types of RMC, that is made depending on the various material used during mixing.

• Transit mixed concrete
• Shrink mixed concrete
• Central mixed concrete

1. Transit mixed concrete

Transit mixed is also known as truck mixed concrete where materials are batched at a central plant and then mixed thoroughly in the truck during transit. It separates water from the cement and aggregate, and then the mixture is finally mixed at the site. The mixing of concrete at the site avoids the problem of premature hardening and slump loss that results in a delay in transportation. One significant disadvantage of transit mixed concrete is that the capacity of the truck is smaller.

2. Shrink-mixed concrete

Shrink mixed concrete or ready-mix concrete enhances the load capacity of the truck where concrete is partially mixed at the plant to reduce the volume of the mixture. The balance mixing is completed in the truck during the transit or at the worksite.

3. Central-mixed concrete

It is also known as the central batching plant where the mixture is properly mixed before loading into the truck mixer. It is also known as wet batch plants or pre-mix plants. The advantages of a wet batch plant are of better quality and consistency.

Advantages of ready-mix concrete

Till now we have read types and what RMC is, here we will discuss about the advantages of it.

• The concrete produced is of better quality as it made of specific proportion and advanced equipment is used.
• Storage of material at the construction site is not required.
• Reduces labor cost
• Reduces air and noise pollution at the site
• Environment friendly
• RMC avoids delay and construction work is completed on time
• Wastage of material at the worksite is avoided.
• The practice of proper mixing of the cement will reduce the consumption of the cement
• Ready-mix concrete saves the use of cement as bulk concrete is used instead of cement bags
• The concrete is delivered on time at the worksite whether the quantity is large or small

Ready-mix Concrete – Limitations

• It requires a large amount to be invested initially
• RMC is not suitable for a small project
• To avoid interruption in work effective transportation system is required that will carry the mixture from the plant area to the job site.
• As the truck reaches should be ready at the site to start working immediately to avoid slumps in the mixture.
• The mixture must be used within the time frame that is 210 minutes from the transit of the plant. In case if the vehicle is stuck in traffic or some other problem has arisen then it would create a problem.