QUALITY CONTROL IN READY MIX CONCRETE

A PROJECT REPORT Submitted by

Harsh Patel Bharat Purohit Dinesh Chaudhri Jigar Shah

In fulfillment for the award of the degree Of

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING
in

CIVIL

GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE, PALANPUR

Gujarat Technological University, Ahmedabad

December, 2011

GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE, PALANPUR Civil Engineering Department 2012

CERTIFICATE
Date: This is to certify that the dissertation entitled QUALITY CONTROL IN READY MIX CONCRETE has been carried out by HARSH PATEL, BHARAT PUROHIT, DINESH CHAUDHRI, JIGAR SHAH under my guidance in fulfillment of the degree of Bachelor of Engineering in Civil (7th Semester) of Gujarat Technological University, Ahmedabad during the academic year 2011-12.

INTRNAL GUIDE: Prof. Vijay R Sharma Prof. Upendra R Singh External guide: Bharat P Patel

Head of the Department Prof. S A Trivedi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Knowledge in itself is a continuous process. I would have never succeeded in completing my task without the cooperation, encouragement and help provided to me by various personalities with deep sense of gratitude. I express my sincere thanks to my esteemed and worthy supervisor, Prof. Vijay R Sharma, Department of Applied Mechanics, for his invaluable guidance, wild discussions, sincere encouragement and constructive criticism during the conceptualization, of this study. The prolonged interactions with him even at odd hours of the day have really inculcated in me the spirit of an independent practicing engineer. I wish to express my sincere thanks to Prof. Upendra R Singh. Appreciation is also extended to, Prof. S A Trivedi, Head of Department, Government Engineering College Palanpur for his immense guidance, gratuitous and mind provoking ideas. The technical guidance and constant encouragement made it possible to tie over the numerous problems, which so ever came up during the study. My greatest thanks are to all who wished me success. Above all I render my gratitude to the Almighty who bestowed selfconfidence, ability and strength in me to complete this work. Finally, yet importantly, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my beloved parents for their blessing, my friends for their wishes for the successful completion of this training.

ABSTRACT
Ready Mixed Concrete is a specialized material in which the cement aggregates and other ingredients are weigh-batched at a plant in a central mixer or truck mixer, before delivery to the construction site in a condition ready for placing by the builder In order to ensure that concrete produced is of desired quality, it is Necessary that quality control is exercised at all the stages right from Receipt of raw material to delivery of concrete at site. Thus, while planning to use Ready Mixed Concrete, it should be ensured that producer of Ready Mixed Concrete has adopted quality assurance programme. Quality control system should be prevalent at Ready Mixed Concrete plant. Quality Assurance Programme for Ready Mixed Concrete can be broadly divided into three components i.e. Forward control, Immediate control and retrospective control. RMC manufacturer should have laboratory facilities to carry out necessary tests to ensure quality control at all stages during production of concrete. In the present work a series tests were carried out to make comparative studies of various properties of Ready mix concrete and Experimental

investigation has been carried out to study the working of Ready Mix Concrete plant . Tests have been performed for Quality control of materials used at plant, Compressive Strength indicated that compressive strength is as per the requirement or not.

List of Figure

Figure No

Figure Description

Page No

Figure 3.5 Figure 3.6 Figure 3.7 Figure 3.8 Figure 3.9 Figure 3.10

Silos Admixture container Mixing machine Truck Mixer Truck Mixer Placing of RMC

10 10 11 12 13 15

LIST OF TABLES
Table No Table Description Page No

Table 4.1.1(a)

Sieve analysis for Fine Aggregate

19

Table 4.1.1(b) Table 4.1.2(a)

Properties of Fine Aggregate Sieve Analysis for Coarse Aggregate

20 21

Table 4.1.2(b)

Properties of coarse aggregate

21

Table 4.2 Table 4.3

Moisture Content Compressive Strength of cement

22 23

Table 4.6

Compression test on the concrete cube

30

TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages

Acknowledgement Abstract List of Figures List of Tables Table of Contents

i ii iii iv v

Chapter : 1 Introduction(page 1 starts) 1.1 General 1.2 Quality control 1.3 Forward control 1.4 Control of quality of raw material 1.5 Immediate control 1.6 Retrospective control Chapter : 2 Literature Review(page 4 starts) Chapter : 3 RMC Plant(page 7 starts) 3.1 Advantages 3.2 Disadvantages 3.3 Materials 3.3.1 Aggregates 3.3.2 Cementations Materials 3.3.3 Water 3.3.4 Admixtures 3.4 Types of RMC 7 7 8 8 8 8 9 9 1 2 2 2 2 3

3.5 Silos 3.6 Admixture Container 3.7 Stationary or central mixers 3.8 Truck Mixer 3.9 Transport of Concrete 3.9.1 General 3.9.2 Time in Transport 3.10 Placing of RMC 3.11 Consolidation 3.11.1 Hand Compaction 3.11.2 Compaction by Vibration 3.11.3 Compaction By Pressure and Jolting 3.11.4 Compaction by Spinning 3.12 Curing 3.13 Finishing

10 10 11 12 13 14 14 14 15 16 16 17 17 17 18

Chapter : 4 Quality Assurance(page 19 starts) 4.1 Test of Sieve Analysis

4.1.1 Test for Fine Aggregate 4.1.2 Test for coarse Aggregate 4.2 Moisture Content 4.3 Compressive Strength of Cement 4.4 Admixtures 4.4.1 Plasticizers 4.4.2 Super plasticizers 4.4.3 Retarders 4.4.4 Retarding Plasticizers 19 19 20 22 22 23 24 24 24 25

4.4.5 Accelerators 4.4.6 Accelerating Plasticizers 4.4.7 Air-entraining Admixtures 4.4.8 Mineral Admixtures 4.5 Tests on Concrete Cubes 4.5.1 Testing of Fresh Concrete 4.5.2 Testing of Hardened Concrete 4.6 Compressive strength

25 25 26 26 27 27 28 29

Chapter : 5 Conclusion(page 31 starts) Chapter : 6 References(page 33 starts)

Chapter : 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 General:
RMC is a specialized material in which the cement aggregates and other ingredients are weigh-batched at a plant in a central mixer or truck mixer, before delivery to the construction site in a condition ready for placing by the builder. Ready mixed concrete is suitable for small and medium projects where cost of development of adequate infrastructure for producing quality concrete will be disproportionate. Ready Mixed Concrete is also convenient for congested site where adequate space is not available for storage of raw materials and other concrete manufacturing operations. For large construction project like important bridges etc. where adequate space is available, site mixed concrete appears to be more suitable, provided adequate quality control is exercised at all the stages similar to the control being exercised by the Ready Mixed Concrete plants.

As PER Indian Standard code of practice (IS 4926) Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) is defined as The concrete delivered in plastic condition and requiring no further treatment before being placed in position in which it is to set and harden. Instead of being batched and mixed on site, concrete is delivered for placing from central batching plant. RMC is a specialized material in which the cement aggregates and other ingredients are weigh-batched at a plant in a central mixer or truck mixer, before delivery to the construction site in a condition ready for placing by the builder. Thus, `fresh' concrete is manufactured in a plant away from the construction site and transported within the requisite journey time. Sometimes Materials such as water and some varieties of admixtures can be transit-mixed (also known as Transit Mixture), that is they can be added to the concrete at the jobsite after it has been batched to ensure that the specified properties are attained before placement. Here materials are batched at a central plant and are completely mixed in the Batching Plant or partially mixed in transit. Transit-mixing keeps the water separate from the cement and aggregates and allows the concrete to be mixed immediately before placement at the construction site (Dry Concrete). This method avoids the problems of premature hardening and slump loss that result from

10

potential delays in transportation or placement of central-mixed concrete. Additionally, transit-mixing allows concrete to be hauled to construction sites further away from the plant. There are several types of RMC plants varying in type of mixing and capacity of concrete production. These plants are generally available in capacities varying from 15 cum/hour to 200 cum/hour. The RMC supplier provides two services, firstly one of processing the materials for making fresh concrete and secondly, of transporting a product within a short time. Metropolitan cities are hard-pressed for storage space. Therefore, RMC greatly relieves the space problem.

1.2 Quality control:

In order to ensure that concrete produced is of desired quality, it is Necessary that quality control is exercised at all the stages right from receipt of raw material to delivery of concrete at site. Thus, while planning to use Ready Mixed Concrete, it should be ensured that producer of Ready Mixed Concrete has adopted quality assurance programme. Quality control system should be prevalent at Ready Mixed Concrete plant.

1.3 Forward control:

Forward control covers all the aspects which are to be taken care prior to production of concrete i.e. control of material quality and storage, mix design and modifications, plant maintenance etc.

1.4 Control of quality of raw material:

A control system should be operated to provide assurance that all materials purchased and used in the production of concrete conform to standards specified. It may include visual checks, sampling and testing and certification/ information from suppliers of materials.

1.5 Immediate control:

Immediate control is concerned with instant action to control the quality of concrete being produced. Broadly it includes following:

11

Adjustment for surface moisture content of fine and coarse aggregates: For producing the desired mix concrete the amount of water to be added depends upon the surface moisture content of aggregates. There should be standard arrangement for testing surface moisture content of coarse and fine aggregates. This test should be conducted daily.

1.6 Retrospective control:

Retrospective control is concerned with those factors that influence the control of concrete quality which can not be assessed at the time of production. Strength of concrete and permeability are such factors which can not be assessed at the time of production. Broadly mix performance is the main factor that has to be taken care by the producer. The producer should introduce suitable control procedure to monitor the performance of design mix. Quality control system should be operated to check the strength of design mix from random sampling of actual quality of concrete produced at the plant. Cube test results should be compared with targeted strength of the concrete. In case, substantial difference is observed in the two values, proper analysis should be made for the factors which would have resulted in deviation from the targeted strength of design mix. Subsequently, corrective action should be taken.

12

Chapter : 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

As early as 1909, concrete was prepared by a horse-drawn mixer that used paddles turned by the carts wheels to mix concrete en route to the jobsite. In 1916, Stephen Stepanian of Columbus, Ohio, developed a self-discharging motorized transit mixer that was the predecessor of the modern readymixed concrete truck.

Theoretical models of industry dynamics was explored by Jovanovic (1982) and Hopenhayn (1992). They were study the effect of firms learned about their productivities on the entry and exit process and an industrys steady-state.but they have received limited empirical scrutiny. Syverson (2004) documents productivity dispersion in the ready-mix concrete industry using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Productivity is defined as the residual of the regression of log output on log salaries and log assets. Syverson conjectured that competition plays a key role in eliminating unproductive plants, which limits the dispersion of productivity. Moreover, there was a smaller share of low productivity plants in large markets than small ones. Goal was to explore the mechanism for plant selection in more detail, instead of focusing on the cross-sectional implications of plant selection considered by Syverson (2004). Lucia, Haltiwanger, and Krizan (1998) investigate the micro-foundations of aggregate productivity growth. They decompose changes in aggregate productivity into three effects: productivity changes within the plant, entry of more efficient producers and exit of unproductive ones and reallocation of output from inefficient plants to efficient ones. He was illustrated that the effect of policies such as entry subsidies and demand fluctuations on the evolution of aggregate productivity, a task which was beyond the reach of Lucia, Haltiwanger, and Krizan (1998). Foster, Haltiwanger, and Syverson (2005) investigate the role of a plants profitability and productivity in the exit decision. Dunne, Klimek, and Roberts (2006) were also look at entry and exit decisions of several geographically differentiated producers (including ready-

13

mix concrete). Plants that were built by firms with previous industry experience have lower exit rates than those of newer entrants. But It was difficult to gage if these other

characteristics of firms can explain the dispersion of productivity present in the data. Most interesting was the large effect of being a high productivity plant, with a coefficient was variance units in the Hotz and Miller (1993) estimated small profits and in the Aguirregabiria and Mira (2006) estimated more ten earlier. This effect is far more than the effect of the first competitor on profits. In preliminary work used the proxy variable techniques of Olley and Pakes (1996) and Ackerberg, Frazer, and Caves (2006) decreases the magnitude of productivity dispersion by 50%, separting true productivity dispersion which firms react to by investing more or purchasing more materials and dispersion due to measurement error. In the ready-mix concrete industry, plants using the same bundle of inputs produce substantially different amount of concrete. The average plant in the 75th percentile of productivity produces four times the output of a plant in the 25th percentile. But, the exit rate of a plant below the median level of productivity is 3% versus an exit rate of 6% for a plant above the median. Why do these enormous differences in productivity translate into small differences in exit rates? First, in this industry, productivity has little persistence. Thus current productivity does not provide much information on the net present value of productivity over the plants expected lifetime. Second, sunk costs slow the exit of unproductive producers, since it is costly to enter the industry. Using entry and exit information, they were fond a 20% difference in output between plants in the 25th and 75th percentile which use the same inputs. Thus, even a conservative measure of productivity dispersion finds substantial differences in productivity. An unanswered question is whether 31 the magnitude of this dispersion can be reduced through the subsidy. Ready Mix Concrete industry in India is continuously growing. This industry is exposed to risks from internal as well as external sources. It is important to address these risks, so that industry shall gain credibility and confidence of the customers, and shall have expected profit margins. Proposed paper presents a risk quantification approach for risks in RMC plants in India, using Expected Monetary Value (EMV) analysis. It is developed using guidelines available in literature in the area of risk management. 14

In the context of India, the trend of using ready mix concrete is growing steadily. Demand of RMC is increasing in housing as well as in infrastructural projects. Like other industries, RMC industry is exposed to various risks. In European countries, there is an awareness and understanding about importance of risks and its management. Operation managers on RMC Plants in the European countries are expected to work on risk management at production plant and delivery sites. Unless the risks are addressed properly, the RMC industry in India shall not gain credibility, confidence of customers and will also cause reduction in profit margins. The risk causes can be categorized into internal risk causes and external risks causes. In the literature, the word Risk has been used in many different meanings with many different words such as hazard or uncertainty. They gives different laws for solution by EMV of risk management. The general consensus in this literature, available in the field of risk management, incorporates four steps in the process of risk management. These are Risk identification, Risk Analysis, Risk Response planning and Risk Monitoring and control (Thevendran and Mawdesley 2004).Failure to perform effective risk management can cause projects to exceed budget, fall behind schedule, miss critical performance targets, or exhibit any combination of these troubles (Carbone and Tippett, 2004). They made major report and published in discussion between the experts and engineers and architects to risk management in mega cities of INDIA for risk management of RMC plant or industries. And they give conclusion by method of EMV that it is may be vary in cost of RMC plant in the limit. This approach can be made suitable for incorporating and implementing with a computer aided decision support system, provided precise data is made available.

15

Chapter : 3 RMC PLANT

3.1 ADVANTAGES:
Ready Mixed Concrete offers following benefits over the site mixed concrete. i) Quality assured concrete:- Concrete is produced under controlled conditions using consistent quality of raw material. ii) High speed of construction- Speed of construction can be very fast in case RMC is used. It has come to notice that RMC was used in MSRDC flyovers in Mumbai wherein 25 piles (200 m3) were cast in one day. Similarly, deck slabs of 370m3 were cast in one day and the projects are being completed 3-5 months ahead of schedule. iii) Versatility in uses and methods of placing: The mix design of the concrete can be tailor made to suit the placing methods of the contractor. iv) Timely deliveries in large as well as small pours. v) No need for space for storing the materials like coarse and fine aggregate, cement, water and admixtures. vi) No delay due to site based batching plant erection/ dismantling; no equipment to hire; no depreciation of costs. vii) Reduced noise and air pollution; less consumption of petrol and diesel and less time loss to business. Viii) A centralized concrete batching plant can serve a wide area. ix) Labors associated with production of concrete is eliminated.

3.2 DISADVANTAGES:
i) As the Ready Mixed Concrete is not available for placement immediately after preparation of concrete mix, loss of workability occurs. In addition, there are chances of setting of concrete if transit time involved is more. Therefore, generally admixture like plasticizers/ super plasticizers and retarders are used. Addition of retarders may delay the setting time substantially which may cause placement problems. In addition, it may also affect the 16

strength of concrete. Therefore, it is necessary that the admixtures i.e. plasticizers and super plasticizers/ retarders used in Ready Mixed Concrete are properly tested for their suitability with the concrete. In case loss of strength is observed, the characteristic strength may have to be enhanced so that after loss of strength, required characteristic strength is available. ii) Because of large quantity of concrete available in short span, special placing and form work arrangement are required to be made. iii) Concretes limited time span between mixing and going-off means that ready mix should be placed within 2hours of batching at the plant.

3.3 Materials:

3.3.1 Aggregates:

The first consideration in proportioning a concrete mix is the aggregates since they will make up the largest portion of most concrete mixes - about 65% to 80% by volume. Consideration should be given to all properties of both the coarse and fine aggregates including: hardness, absorption, specific gravity, alkali reactivity and gradation. The coarse (also referred to as stone) aggregate and fine (also referred to as sand) aggregate are graded materials - that is they are a compilation of multiple sized particles as opposed to only one or two particle sizes. This graded characteristic results in a denser product than the same volume of like-sized particles due to fewer voids between the particles. 3.3.2 Cementations Materials:

Since the cementitious material and water form the paste or "glue" that binds the aggregates together, maximizing its quality is prudent. The paste serves to fill the voids between the coarse and fine aggregate particles as well as to bind these particles into a solid mass. Cementitious material is sometimes referred to in units of sacks. 3.3.3 Water: Water combines with the cementitious material during a reaction referred to as hydration to create hardened concrete. The weight of the water in the mix (added water plus free moisture 17

on the aggregates) divided by the weight of cementitious material forms what is referred to as the water-cementitious material ratio (w/c). This characteristic of the concrete mix determines, to a great extent, the overall quality of the concrete relative to its engineering properties such as density, strength, abrasion resistance, and shrinkage to name a few. Two portions of water exist in a concrete mix. The first portion is that water necessary to hydrate the cementitious materials. The second is that portion necessary to make the concrete workable enough to be molded into the shape of its intended purpose.

3.3.4 Admixtures: A wide range of chemicals have been developed to enhance the performance of concrete and/or its engineering properties. These products are usually liquids or powders which are added to the concrete during the batching process. Some of their effects to the concrete include: i) Reducing the amount of water of convenience needed to place the concrete, thereby, reducing the overall water cementitious material ratio while maintaining acceptable workability. ii) Retarding the "set" or hardening rate of the concrete. iii) Accelerating the "set" or hardening rate of the concrete. iv) Reducing adherence of concrete to forms during manufacturing of pre-cast concrete products.

3.4 Types of RMC:

RMC can be classified according to ingredients mixed in concrete. These may be on the basis of Cementitous Material i.e. Fly ash is a part of Cement or not and Admixture is used or not. Otherwise, there are two principal categories of ready mixed concrete. i) Dry Concrete: All the ingredients are mixed in dry form without mixing water in it. All these materials are sent in rotating drum and measured water quantity is sent in separate Water container. The water is mixed at site when it reaches there.

18

ii) Green Concrete: All the ingredients are mixed together including the measured water quantity at Concrete Batching Plant itself. They are sent in rotating drum or in transit mixture to the site of concreting.

3.5 Silos:

Fig.3.5 SILOS Cement Storage Silo is basically used for storing loose cement and some times used for storing Fly ash. At Venus industries we provide solution for the same. We had Cement silos for various capacity like 35, 50, 75, 100 & 150 MT storage capacity. Cement silo comes with following accessories (Optional) i) ii) iii) iv) v) Maximum minimum level indicator High pressure safety valve Cement silo fluidizing system Screw conveyor Cement silo filter system

3.6 Admixture Container:

19

Admixture container contains the admixture in a liquid form. Generally admixture like water reducing agents/retarders are used in Ready Mixed Concrete for retention of workability and to avoid setting of concrete. IS: 9103 Specification for admixtures for Concrete may be referred to judge the suitability of admixtures.

Fig3.6 ADMIXTURE CONTAINER

3.7 Stationary or central mixers:

Stationary mixers shall not be loaded in excess of the manufacturers rated capacity. The mixing time shall be measured from the time all the materials required for the batch, including water, are in the drum of the mixer. The mixing time shall not be less than that recommended by the manufacturer. Where a continuous mixing plant is used the complete mixing time shall be sufficient to ensure that the concrete is of the required uniformity.

20

Fig3.7 Mixing machine

3.8 Truck Mixer:

Fig3.8 Truck Mixer

21

Truck mixers or agitators shall not be loaded in excess of the manufacturers rated capacity. In order to system produce a satisfactory mix, and where there is no data available to establish different period and speed revolutions, mixing shall continue for not less than 60 revolutions of the truck mixer drum at a rate of not less than 7 revolutions/min. All completely truck mixed concrete shall be visually inspected for uniformity prior to leaving the plant. When a truck mixer or agitator is used for transporting concrete which has been mixed before leaving the plant, the concrete shall be agitated during transit and re-mixed at the site for at least 2 min so that the concrete is of the required uniformity. Where water is added to the concrete in the truck mixer through the truck mixer water meter and when such water is being accounted for in the total water within the mix, it shall be ensured that the truck mixer water meter is in operational condition and properly calibrated. Where a water meter is not available, water must be measured in a suitable container before being added to the truck mixer.

3.9 Transport of Concrete:

Fig3.9 Truck Mixer

22

3.9.1 General: Ready-mixed concrete shall be transported from the mixer to the point of placing as rapidly as practicable by methods that will maintain the required workability and will prevent segregation, loss of any constituents or ingress of foreign matter or water. The concrete shall be placed as soon as possible after delivery, as close as is practicable to its final position to avoid re-handling or moving the concrete horizontally by vibration. If required by the purchaser the producer can utilize admixtures to slow down the rate of workability, however this does not remove the need for the purchaser to place the concrete as rapidly as possible. The purchaser should plan his arrangements so as to enable a full load of concrete to be discharged within 30 min of arrival on site. Concrete shall be transported in a truck-mixer unless the purchaser agrees to the use of non-agitating vehicles. When non-agitating vehicles are used, the mixed concrete shall be protected from gain or loss of water. 3.9.2 Time in Transport: The general requirement is that concrete shall be discharged from the truck-mixer within 2 hours of the time of loading. However, a longer period may be permitted if retarding admixtures are used or in cool humid weather or when chilled concrete is produced. The time of loading shall start from adding the mixing water to the dry mix of cement and aggregate or of adding the cement to the wet aggregate whichever is applicable.

3.10 Placing of RMC:

When a concrete mix has been properly designed, batched, mixed and transported, it is relevant that this concrete is also placed in the member in a correct manner. Different situations require different care and therefore suitable method of placing concrete is adopted.

23

Fig3.10 Placing of RMC

3.11 Consolidation:

After placement, the concrete needs to be worked to eliminate voids and entrapped air and to consolidate the concrete into the corners of the formwork and around the reinforcing steel. Consolidation or Compaction of concrete is the process adopted for expelling the entrapped air from concrete. If this entrapped air is not removed fully, the concrete loses strength considerably. It is seen that 5 percent voids reduce the strength of concrete by about 30 percent and 10 percent voids reduce the strength of concrete by about 50 percent. The compaction of concrete is one of the major activities in the manufacturing of quality concrete. The methods adopted for compacting the concrete are:

i) Hand Compaction

24

ii) Compaction by Vibration iii) Compaction by Pressure and Jolting iv) Compaction by Spinning

3.11.1 Hand Compaction: Hand compaction consists of rodding, ramming or tamping. It is adopted only in case of unimportant concrete work of very small magnitude. When hand compaction is adopted, the consistency of concrete is maintained at a higher level. The thickness of the layer of concrete is limited to 15 to 20 cm. In rodding, the concrete is poked by a rod to pack the concrete between the reinforcement and sharp corners and edges. It is done continuously over the complete area so as to expel the entrapped air. Ramming should not be permitted in case of reinforced concrete or upper floors as it can disturb the reinforcement or formwork. Light ramming can be permitted only in un reinforced foundation concrete or in ground floor construction. Tamping is one of the usual methods for compacting the= roof or floor slab or road pavements where the thickness of concrete is relatively less and the surface is to be finished smooth and level.

3.11.2 Compaction by Vibration: Most of the concrete now placed in building construction is compacted by vibration. Compaction of concrete by vibration has completely revolutionalised the concrete technology. It is now possible to use low slump stiff mixes for production of high quality concrete with desired strength and impermeability. A concrete with about 4 cm slump can be placed and compacted fully in a heavily reinforced concrete work which is not at all= possible with hand compaction where a slump of about 12 cm may be required. Actually, the action of vibration is to set the particles of fresh concrete in motion, reducing the friction between them and effecting a temporary liquifaction of concrete which enables easy settlement. The concrete flows or liquifies under the shear forces accompanying the vibration and the concrete is compacted away from the vibrator. Vibration by itself does not affect the strength of concrete which is controlled by water/cement ratio. But by permitting use of less water, i.e. stiff mix, concrete of higher strength and better quality can be made for a given

25

cement factor. All the potential advantages of vibration can be fully harnessed if proper control is exercised in the design and manufacture of concrete and the type of vibrator required and its correct use is made. The different kinds of= vibrator available and which are in use are as follows :

i) Internal Vibrator ii) External Vibrator iii) Screed Board Vibrator iv) Table and Platform Vibrator

3.11.3 Compaction By Pressure and Jolting This method is considered very effective for very dry concrete as is used in casting of hollow blocks, cavity blocks and solid concrete blocks. The stiff concrete is vibrated, pressed and jolted. This compacts the concrete into dense form which possesses good strength and volume stability. By employing great pressure, a concrete of very low water cement ratio can be compacted to yield very high strength. This method is mostly employed in the laboratory.

3.11.4 Compaction by Spinning Spinning is one of the recent methods of concrete compaction. The plastic concrete when spun at very high speed gets compacted by centrifugal force. It is used for compaction & fabrication of concrete spun pipes.

3.12 Curing
We have seen in Unit 2, on cement and lime, that concrete derives its strength by the hydration of cement particles. This hydration is fast to start with but continuous for a long time at a decreasing rate. Cement requires a water/cement ratio of 0.23 for hydration and 0.15 for filling the voids in gel pores. Therefore, theoretically a water/cement ratio of 0.38 would satisfy the requirement of water for hydration with no capillaries. Practically a water/cement

26

ratio of 0.5 will be required for complete hydration in a sealed container. However, in practice, water is lost from the paste by evaporation or by absorption of water by aggregates, formwork, or subgrade. If this moisture loss brings the internal relative humidity below about 80%, hydration will stop and strength development drops. Therefore, to ensure continued hydration the loss of moisture would require replenishment or by some means to prevent the loss itself. The desirable conditions are a suitable temperature and ample moisture. Curing is the process by which a favourable environment is created to ensure uninterrupted hydration. It has been recognized that the quality of concrete shows all round improvement with efficient uninterrupted curing. There are several methods by which concrete can be cured. Curing methods are generally categorized as below :

i) Water Curing ii) Membrane Curing iii) Curing at Elevated Temperatures iv) Miscellaneous Methods of Curing

3.13 Finishing:
Finishing is the last operation in manufacture of concrete. It is very important in case of concrete road pavement, airfield pavement and flooring. Surface finishes may be grouped in following categories :

i) Formwork Finishes ii) Surface Treatment iii) Applied Finishes

27

Chapter : 4 QUALITY ASSURANCE

4.1 Test of Sieve Analysis:

Aggregate gradation (sieve analysis) is the distribution of particle sizes expressed as a percent of the total dry weight. Gradation is determined by passing the material through a series of sieves stacked with progressively smaller openings from top to bottom and weighing the material retained on each sieve. Sieve sizes to be checked for compliance for the various mixtures are designated in the specifications. Gradations are expressed on the basis of the total percent passing, which indicates the total percent of aggregate by weight that will pass a given size sieve.

Some of the descriptive terms used in referring to aggregate gradation are:

i) Coarse aggregate all of the material retained on the No. 10 sieve (2.00mm). ii) Fine aggregate or soil mortar all of the material passing the No. 10 (2.00mm) sieve.

4.1.1 Sieve analysis for Fine Aggregate:

Table 4.1.1(a) Total weight of sample is 1000 gm

Sieve Size

Mass retained

Percentage Retained

Cumulative Percentage Retained

Percent Passing

4.75mm 2.36 mm

5.0 78.0

0.5 7.80

0.5 8.30

99.5 91.7

28

1.18 mm 600m 300m 150m 2.50

185.0 227.0 281.0 223.8 0.20

18.5 22.7 28.1 22.38 0.20

26.80 49.50 77.6 99.98 =262.6

73.2 50.5 22.4 0.20

4.1.1(b) Properties of Fine Aggregate: Table 4.1.1(b) Properties of fine aggregate

S. No

Properties of the aggregate

Test results of Indian Standard fine aggregate

Specific gravity

2.5

IS: 2386 1963 (Part-3)

Flakiness index

IS: 2386 1963 (Part-3)

Elongation index

IS: 2386 1963 (Part-2)

Fineness modulus

2.79

IS: 2386 1963 (Part-2)

Bulk density

1.3

IS: 2386 1963 (Part-2)

Water absorption

0.89

IS: 2386 1963 (Part-2)

29

4.1.2 Sieve Analysis for Coarse Aggregate:

Total weight of sample is 1000 gm Table 4.1.2(a) Sieve Analysis of Course Aggregates (10mm)

Sieve Size

Mass Retained (gm)

Percentage Retained

Cumulative Percentage Retained

Percent Passing

20 mm 10 mm 4.75 mm PAN

0 2516 474 10

0 83.89 15.8 0.33

0 83.87 99.67 = 183.54

100 16.13 0.33

Properties of coarse aggregate: Table 4.1.2(b) Properties of fine aggregate and coarse aggregate

S. No

Properties of the aggregate

Test results of coarse aggregate

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Maximum size Specific gravity (10 mm) Specific gravity (20 mm) Total water absorption (10 mm) Total water absorption (20 mm) Moisture content (10 mm) Moisture content (20 mm)

20mm 2.04 2.825 1.6432% 3.645% 0.806% 0.705%

30

8 9

Fineness modulus (10 mm) Fineness modulus (20 mm)

6.46 7.68

4.2 Moisture Content:

i) Clean the container, dry it and weigh it with the lid (Weight W1). ii) Take the required quantity of the wet soil specimen in the container and weigh it with the lid (Weight W2). iii) Place the container, with its lid removed, in the oven till its weight becomes constant (Normally for 24hrs.). iv) When the soil has dried, remove the container from the oven, using tongs. v) Find the weight W3 of the container with the lid and the dry soil sample. Table 4.2 Nominal maximum size of aggregate (mm) Water content per m3 of concrete (Kg) For Grades up to M 35 10 20 40 208 186 165 For Grades above M 35 10 20 200 180

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4.3 Compressive Strength of Cement:

A compression test is a method for determining the behavior of materials under a compressive load. Compression tests are conducted by loading the test specimen between two plates and then applying a force to the specimen by moving the crossheads together. The compression test is used to determine elastic limit, proportionality limit, yield point, yield strength and compressive strength.

Compressive Strength:- It is the maximum compressive stress that a material is capable of withstanding without fracture. Brittle materials fracture during testing and have a definite compressive strength values. The compressive strength of ductile materials is determined by their degree of distortion during testing. Table 4.3 Compressive Strength 33 GRADE 3 days (N/mm2) 7 days (N/mm2) 28 days (N/mm2) 16.7 23 35.04 43 GRADE 24.2 33.9 44.07 53 GRADE 29.01 40.2 56.09

4.4 ADMIXTURES:
Admixtures are commonly classified by their function in concrete but often they exhibit some additional action. The classification is as follows:

i) Plasticizers ii) Super plasticizers iii) Retarders and retarding plasticizers iv) Accelerators and Accelerating Plasticizers v) Air-entraining Admixtures 32

vi) Mineral Admixtures

4.4.1 Plasticizers:

The action of plasticizers is mainly to fluidify the mix and improve the workability of concrete, mortar or grout. The mechanisms that are involved could be explained in the following way:

Retarding Effect: The plasticizer will get adsorbed on the surface of cement particles and form a thin sheath. This thin sheath inhibits the surface hydration reaction between water and cement as long as sufficient plasticizer molecules are available at the particle/solution interface. The quantity of available plasticizers will progressively decrease as the polymers become entrapped in hydration products.

4.4.2 Super plasticizers:

They are chemically different from normal plasticizers. Use of super plasticizer permits the reduction of water to the extent up to 30 percent without reducing workability in contrast to the possible reduction up to 15 per cent in case of plasticizers. The use of super plasticizer is practiced for production of flowing, self leveling, and self compacting and for the production of high strength and high performance concrete.

Super plasticizers can produce: i) At the same w/c ratio much more workable concrete than the plain ones, ii) For the same workability, it permits the use of lower w/c ratio, iii) As a consequence of increased strength with lower w/c ratio, it also permits a reduction of cement content.

4.4.3. Retarders

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A retarder is an admixture that slows down the chemical process of hydration so that concrete remains plastic and workable for a longer time than concrete without the retarder. Retarders are used to overcome the accelerating effect of high temperature on setting properties of concrete on hot weather concreting. The retarders are used in casting and consolidating large number of pours without the formation of cold joints. They are also used in grouting oil wells. Retarding admixtures are sometimes used to obtain exposed aggregate look in concrete. Perhaps the most common known retarder is calcium sulphate. It is inter ground to retard the setting of cement. Perhaps the most common known retarder is calcium sulphate. It is inter ground to retard the setting of cement.

4.4.4 Retarding Plasticizers: It is mentioned earlier that all the plasticizers and super plasticizers by themselves show certain extent of retardation. Many a time this extent of retardation of setting time offered by admixtures will not be sufficient. Instead of adding retarders separately, retarders are mixed with plasticizers or super plasticizers at the time of commercial production. Such commercial brand is known as retarding plasticizers or retarding super plasticizers.

4.4.5 Accelerators:

Accelerating admixtures are added to concrete to increase the rate of early strength development in concrete to i) permit earlier removal of formwork ii) reduce the required period of curing iii) advance the time that a structure can be placed in service iv) partially compensate for the retarding effect of low temperature during cold weather v) concreting in the emergency repair work.

4.4.6 Accelerating Plasticizers:

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Certain ingredients are added to accelerate the strength development of concrete to plasticizers or super plasticizers. Such accelerating super plasticizers, when added to concrete result in faster development of strength. The accelerating materials added to plasticizers or super plasticizers are triethenolamine chlorides, calcium nitrite, nitrates and fluosilicates etc. The accelerating plasticizers or accelerating super plasticizers manufactured by well known companies are chloride free.

4.4.6 Air-entraining Admixtures: Perhaps one of the important advancements made in concrete technology was the discovery of air entrained concrete. Air entrained concrete is made by mixing a small quantity of air entraining agent or by using air entraining cement. These air entraining agents incorporate millions of no-coalescing air bubbles, which will act as flexible ball bearings and will modify the properties of plastic concrete regarding workability, segregation, bleeding and finishing quality of concrete. It also modifies the properties of hardened concrete regarding its resistance to frost action and permeability. Air entrainment will affect directly the following three properties of concrete i) Increased resistance to freezing and thawing. ii) Improvement in workability. iii) I Reduction in strength.

4.4.7 Mineral Admixtures:

The use of pozzolanic materials is as old as that of the art of concrete construction. It has been amply demonstrated that the best pozzolans in optimum proportions mixed with Portland cement improves many qualities of concrete, such as: i) Lower the heat of hydration and thermal shrinkage. ii) Increase the water tightness. iii) Reduce the alkali-aggregate reaction. iv) Improve resistance to attack by sulphonate soils and sea water. v) Improve extensibility. vi) Lower susceptibility to dissolution and leaching.

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vii) Improve workability. viii) Lower costs. In addition to these advantages, contrary to the general opinion, good pozzolans will not unduly increase water requirement or drying shrinkage.

4.5 Tests on Concrete Cubes:

Testing of concrete is very essential to ensure that the desired properties of the concrete is achieved after the concrete hardened. If we would not control at early stage, i.e. at the time of fresh concrete, it will not be possible to achieve the same. Testing of fresh concrete as well as hardened concrete is carried out to ensure proper quality control.

4.5.1 Testing of Fresh Concrete:

The concrete in fresh state is tested for workability. Workability Unfortunately, no test can measure directly workability. However, workability itself could not be precisely defined as has been mentioned in earlier sections. Numerous attempts have so far been made to quantify this very important and vital property of fresh concrete. But none of these methods are satisfactory for precisely measuring this property although some of them may provide useful information within a range of variation in workability.

Following three methods incorporated in IS 1199 1959 are found to be useful to measure workability of concrete at frequent intervals during progress of work in the field. i) Core test ii) Compacting factor test. iii) Vee-Bee consistometer test.

While slump cone test is responsive to medium range of workability, compacting factor test is more accurate and can be performed for a wide range of workability, i.e. for concrete mixes of high to very low workabilities. The Vee-Bee test is better suited for low and very low workabilities. However, slump cone test being simple and easy to perform is most

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widely used. It is needless to say that workability being single most important property of fresh concrete, it is to be measured at regular interval when concreting is in progress at site and if any deviation found in workability immediately corrective measure is to be taken in mix proportion, aggregate grading, water cement ratio, quantity of admixtures added in each batch and any other parameter which affects workability.

4.5.2 Testing of Hardened Concrete: Testing of hardened concrete forms the last stage of quality control. One of the purpose of the testing hardened concrete is to conform that the concrete made at site has acquired the desired strength. Two types of testing is done on hardened concrete :

i) Destructive testing of hardened concrete, and ii) Non-destructive testing of hardened concrete.

i) Destructive Testing of Hardened Concrete: For destructive testing, a specimen is separately made of concrete which is being used in actual structure and cured for specified period. The specimen is then tested for destruction thus giving intrinsic strength of concrete at the time of testing which has also been used in actual structure. Destructive testing may lead to determination of following strengths of concrete.

ii) Non-Destructive Testing of Hardened Concrete: If the specimen tested is not taken to destruction, the testing method adopted is called nondestructive testing method. As the specimen is not taken to destruction, this method can be adopted on actual structure and hence no specimen like cubes, cylinders, beams etc. are to be cast separately. This method of testing allows repeated testing of the same specimen and thus make possible a study of the variation in proportion with time which is essential requirement of quality control.

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Non-destructive testing method adopted not only for quality control and ensuring compliance with specification but also can be made for specific purposes like determination of strength of concrete at transfer of pre-stress or at the time of striking formwork. Many attempts have been made to evolve and devise non-destructive testing methods but only few of them proved to be successful and adopted in practice. The following tests are carried out for non-destructive testing of concrete. i) Rebound Hammer test ii) Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity method iii) Resonant Frequency method

4.6 Compressive strength:

i) Direct tensile strength ii) Tensile strength in flexure.

However, the most common of all these tests on hardened concrete is the compressive strength test. This is because, firstly, compressive strength test is easiest to perform, secondly, though not all but almost all desirable characteristics of concrete, if not quantitatively, but at least qualitatively can be related to the compressive strength due to the intrinsic importance of compressive strength of concrete in construction. It should be remembered that no tests are end to themselves. In fact they themselves seldom leads to a complete conclusion, hence to have these results of any practical value, they should be interpreted with background of right experience.

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COMPRESSION TEST ON THE CONCRETE CUBE: Table 4.6 Compressive strength of cube GRADE OF CONCRETE STRENGTH OF CONCRETE STRENGTH OF CONCRETE ON 7TH DAY in % ON 28TH DAY in %

M20 M20 M25 M30 M35

70.5 74.1 73.0 72.9 75.3

109.4 110.7 108.4 104.9 111.5

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Chapter : 5 CONCLUSION
In this present study with the stipulated time and laboratory set up an afford has been taken to enlighten the use of Ready Mix Concrete like in construction work in accordance to their proficiency. Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions are made:

i) This study has shown that Quality control tests and evaluations are required during the manufacturing process to produce predictable high quality concrete.

ii) Quality of concrete, however, depends not only on the quality of the ingredients from which it is made but also on many more parameters, like batching, mixing, transportation, placement, consolidation, curing, finishing and water cement ratio.

iii) The compressive strength of concrete increases with decrease in water cement ratio.

iv) The concrete remains in wet form by continuously adding water to the ready mix, but the strength decreases by adding more water.

v) Specific Quality control tests and evaluations are required during the manufacturing process to produce predictable high quality concrete.

vi) Speed of construction can be very fast in case RMC is used.

vii) Loss of workability occurs in ready mix concrete preparation. Addition of retarders may delay the setting time substantially which may cause placement problems. In addition, it may also affect the strength of concrete. Therefore, it is necessary that the admixtures i.e. plasticizers and super plasticizers/ retarders used in Ready Mixed Concrete are properly tested for their suitability with the concrete.

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viii) The result shows that the concrete prepared at RMC plant has as much strength as the concrete prepared at the site.

ix) The quality of concrete prepared at the RMC plant is controlled and maintained properly as same as the concrete prepared at the site.

x) The test result shows that the concrete prepared at the RMC plant will have same strength after the transportation at the site.

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Chapter : 6 REFERANCES

(i) M.S. SHETTY, Concrete Technology Theory and Practice, S. Chand Publication.

(ii) J.D. Dewar and R. Anderson, Manual of Ready Mix Concrete, Blakie Academic Professional, an imprint of Chapmen and Hell, UK.

(iii) Bhanja, S. and Sengupta, B., Investigation on the compressive strength of silica fume concrete using statical methods, Cement and Concrete Research-32, 2002.

(iv) IS: 10262-1982, Recommended Guidelines for Concrete Mix Design. IS: 383-1970 (Second Revision), Specifications for Coarse and Fine Aggregates from Natural Resources for Concrete.

(v) Manual of Ready Mix Concrete published by Ready Mix Concrete manufacturers Association (RMCMA), Mumbai.

(vi) IS 4926 : 2003, Ready Mix Concrete, Code of practice

(vii) IS 2383 : 1963 (Part1 to Part 8), Methods of Test for Aggregates for Concrete

(viii) IS 383 : 1970 Specification for Coarse and Fine Aggregate from Natural Sources for Concrete

(vii) SP 23 : 1982, Hand Book on Concrete Mixes.

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