Process of Manufacturing Concrete:

a. Batching
b. Mixing
c. Transporting
d. Placing
e. Compacting
f. Curing
g. Finishing

a. Batching:

Definition: The measurement of materials for making concrete is

known as Batching. There are two methods of batching.
1. Volume batching
2. Weigh batching
1. Volume batching:
Concrete is batched by volume in volume batching.
The volume of 1 bag of cement (50kg) is taken as 35
litres.
Gauge boxes (Farmas) are used for measuring the fine &
coarse aggregates.
It is made of timber or steel

The volume of the box is made equal of the volume of 1

bag of cement ( i.e 35 litres or multiple thereof)

Why volume batching is not used oftenly?

Volume batching is not a good method for proportioning the material
because of the difficulty it offers to measure granular material in terms of
volume.
2. Weigh batching
Concrete is batched by weight in weigh batching.
It facilitates accuracy, flexibility and simplicity
Weigh batching is the correct method of measuring the
materials.
Large weigh batching plants have automatic weighing
equipment
On large work sites, the weigh bucket types of weighing
equipments are used.

b. Mixing

Thorough mixing of the materials is essential for the production

of uniform concrete.
The mixing should ensure that the mass becomes homogeneous,
uniform in colour and consistency.
There are two methods adopted for mixing concrete:
o Hand mixing
o Machine mixing

Machine mixing:
Mixing of concrete is almost invariably carried out by machine, for
reinforced concrete work and for medium or large scale mass concrete
work.
Machine mixing is not only efficient, but also economical, when the
quantity of concrete to be produced is large.
They can be classified as batch-mixers and continuous mixers.
Batch mixers produce concrete, batch by batch with time interval,
whereas continuous mixers produce concrete continuously without
stoppage till such time the plant is working.
In normal concrete work, batch mixers are used. Batch mixer may be
of pan type or drum type.
The drum type may be further classified as tilting, non-tilting,
reversing or forced action type.
As per STANDARDS concrete mixers are designated by a number
representing its nominal mixed batch capacity in litres.
The following are the standardized sizes of three types:
a. Tilting: 85 T, 100 T, 140 T, 200 T
b. Non-Tilting: 200 NT, 280 NT, 375 NT, 500 NT, 1000 NT
c. Reversing: 200 R, 280 R, 375 R, 500 R and 1000 R

c. Transporting Concrete:
Methods adopted for transporting concrete:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Mortar pan
Wheel barrow, Hand cart
Crane , bucket & Rope way
Truck mixer and Dumpers
Belt conveyors
Chute
Skip & Pipe line
Transit mixer
Pump & Pipe line

Pumpable concrete:
The concrete which can be pushed through a pipe line is called as Pumpable
concrete.

What are the Factors considered for choosing the correct pump?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

Length of horizontal pipe

Length of vertical pipe
Number of bends
Diameter of pipe line
Length of flexible hose
Changes in line diameter
Slump of concrete.

d. Placing:
It is not enough that a concrete mix correctly designed, batched, mixed and
transported, it is of utmost importance that the concrete must be placed in
systematic manner to yield optimum results.

Placing concrete within earth mould. (example: Foundation concrete

for a wall or column).

Placing concrete within large earth mould or timber plank formwork.

(example: Road slab and Airfield slab).

Placing concrete in layers within timber or steel shutters. (example:

Mass concrete in dam construction or construction of concrete
abutment or pier).

Placing concrete within usual from work. (example: Columns, beams

and floors).

Placing concrete under water.

Curb/Curb and Gutter

Concrete deposited into hopper of slip form curb and gutter machine
which then extrudes the concrete into the desired shape

Placing concrete by pump and placing boom.

Underwater Placement Methods

Tremie
Pump
Bottom dump buckets
Grouted preplaced aggregate (specialized)
Toggle bags
Bagwork
Diving bell

Basic Recommendations for Underwater Placement of concrete:

3 m / min.

Water velocity

Water temperature

w/c

Cementing materials content

Slump range 150 to 225 mm

5C

0.45
390 kg/m3

e. Compaction:

Compaction of concrete is the process adopted for expelling the

entrapped air from the concrete.

In the process of mixing, transporting and placing of concrete air

is likely to get entrapped in the concrete.

In other words, stiff concrete mix has high percentage of

entrapped air and, therefore, would need higher compacting
efforts than high workable mixes.

In order to achieve full compaction and maximum density, with

reasonable compacting efforts available at site, it is necessary to
use a mix with adequate workability.

The following methods are adopted for compacting the concrete:

(a) Hand Compaction
(i ) Rodding (ii ) Ramming (iii ) Tamping
(b) Compaction by Vibration
(i ) Internal vibrator (Needle vibrator)
(ii ) Formwork vibrator (External vibrator)
(iii ) Table vibrator
(iv ) Platform vibrator

(v ) Surface vibrator (Screed vibrator)

(vi ) Vibratory Roller.
(c ) Compaction by Pressure and Jolting
(d) Compaction by Spinning.
Hand Compaction:
Hand compaction of concrete is adopted in case of unimportant concrete
work of small magnitude.
Rodding is done continuously over the complete area to effectively pack the
concrete and drive away entrapped air.
Light ramming can be permitted in unreinforced foundation concrete or in
ground floor construction.
Tamping is one of the usual methods adopted in compacting roof or floor
slab or road pavements where the thickness of concrete is comparatively
less and the surface to be finished smooth and level. Tamping consists of
beating the top surface by wooden cross beam
Compaction of Concrete: By Vibration:
Where high strength is required, it is necessary that stiff concrete, with low
water/cement ratio be used. To compact such concrete, mechanically
operated vibratory equipment, must be used.
A concrete with about 4 cm slump can be placed and compacted fully in a
closely spaced reinforced concrete work, whereas, for hand compaction,
much higher consistency say about 12 cm slump may be required.
The action of vibration is to set the particles of fresh concrete in motion,
reducing the friction between them and affecting a temporary liquefaction of
concrete which enables easy settlement.
Internal Vibrator: Of all the vibrators, the internal vibrator is most
commonly used. This is also called, Needle Vibrator, or Poker Vibrator.
This essentially consists of a power unit, a flexible shaft and a needle.

Formwork Vibrator (External Vibrator): Formwork vibrators are used for

concreting columns, thin walls or in the casting of precast units. The
machine is clamped on to the external wall surface of the formwork.
Table Vibrator: This is the special case of formwork vibrator, where the
vibrator is clamped to the table. They are commonly used for vibrating
concrete cubes.
Platform Vibrator: Platform vibrator is nothing but a table vibrator, but it is
larger in size. This is used in the manufacture of large prefabricated concrete
elements such as electric poles, railway sleepers, prefabricated roofing
elements etc.
Surface Vibrator: Surface vibrators are sometimes knows as, Screed
Board Vibrators. A small vibrator placed on the screed board gives an
effective method of compacting and leveling of thin concrete members, such
as floor slabs, roof slabs and road surface.
Vibratory Roller: One of the recent developments of compacting very dry
and lean concrete is the use of Vibratory Roller. Such concrete is known as
Roller Compacted Concrete.

f. Curing:
What is Curing?
Curing is the process of controlling the rate and extent of moisture loss
from concrete during cement hydration. Curing can also be described
as keeping the concrete moist and warm enough so that the hydration
of cement can continue.

Effects of curing:
Concrete derives its strength by the hydration of cement particles. The
hydration of cement is not a momentary action but a process
continuing for long time. The quantity of the product of hydration and
consequently the amount of gel formed depends upon the extent of
hydration.
Cement requires a water/cement ratio about 0.23 for hydration and a
water/cement ratio of 0.15 for filling the voids in the gel pores. In
other words, a water/cement ratio of about 0.38 would be required to
hydrate all the particles of cement and also to occupy the space in the
gel pores.

Methods of Curing:
Curing methods may be divided broadly into four categories:
(a) Water curing
(b) Membrane curing
(c) Application of heat
(d) Miscellaneous

Curing of Concrete: Water curing

Water curing is when the concrete is covered with a layer of water
for a period of time and the evaporation of moisture is from the
surface of the water.
This is by far the best method of curing as it satisfies all the requirements of
curing, namely, promotion of hydration, elimination of shrinkage and
absorption of the heat of hydration.
Methods:
(a) Immersion
(b) Ponding
(c) Spraying or Fogging
(d) Wet covering
Curing of Concrete: Membrane Curing

Sometimes, concrete works are carried out in places where there is

acute shortage of water.

The quantity of water, normally mixed for making concrete is more
than sufficient to hydrate the cement, provided this water is not

allowed to go out from the body of concrete.

Concrete could be covered with membrane which will effectively seal

off the evaporation of water from concrete.

Curing compounds are liquids which are usually sprayed directly onto
concrete surfaces and which then dry to form a relatively impermeable
membrane that retards the loss of moisture from the concrete.

Curing of Concrete: Application of heat

When concrete is subjected to higher temperature it accelerates the
hydration process resulting in faster development of strength.
Therefore, subjecting the concrete to higher temperature and maintaining
the required wetness can be achieved by subjecting the concrete to steam
curing.
The exposure of concrete to higher temperature is done in the following
manner:
(a) Steam curing at ordinary pressure.
(b) Steam curing at high pressure.
(c) Curing by Infra-red radiation.
(d) Electrical curing.
A faster attainment of strength will contribute to many other advantages
mentioned below.
(a ) Concrete is vulnerable to damage only for short time.
(b) Concrete member can be handled very quickly.
(d ) A smaller curing tank will be sufficient.
(e) The work can be put on to service at a much early time,
(f) Prestressing bed can be released early for further casting.
(g) A fewer number of formwork will be sufficient or alternatively with the
given number of formwork more outturn will be achieved.

Steam curing at ordinary pressure

Application of steam curing to in situ construction will be a little difficult task.
However, at some places it has been tried for in situ construction by forming
a steam jacket with the help of tarpaulin or thick polyethylene sheets.
High Pressure Steam Curing

The high pressure steam curing is something different from ordinary

steam curing, in that the curing is carried out in a closed chamber.

High pressure steam cured concrete develops in one day, or less the
strength as much as the 28 days strength of normally cured concrete.

The strength developed does not show retrogression.

High pressure steam cured concrete exhibits higher resistance to
sulphate attack, freezing and thawing action and chemical action. It

also shows less efflorescence.

High pressure steam cured concrete exhibits lower drying shrinkage,

and moisture movement.

In high pressure steam curing, concrete is subjected to a maximum
temperature of about 175C which corresponds to a steam pressure of
about 8.5 kg/sq.cm.

Curing by Infra-red Radiation

Curing of concrete by Infra-red Radiation has been practiced in very

cold climatic regions in Russia.

It is claimed that much more rapid gain of strength can be obtained
than with steam curing and that rapid initial temperature does not
cause a decrease in the ultimate strength as in the case of steam

curing at ordinary pressure.

The system is very often adopted for the curing of hollow concrete
products. The normal operative temperature is kept at about 90C.

Electrical Curing

Concrete can be cured electrically by passing an alternating current

(Electrolysis trouble will be encountered if direct current is used)
through the concrete itself between two electrodes either buried in or

applied to the surface of the concrete.

Care must be taken to prevent the moisture from going out leaving the
concrete completely dry.

g. Finishing:

It is the last operation in making concrete. It is applicable & not

applicable the following:
Applicable
Concrete road pavement
Airfield pavement
Flooring of a domestic building

Not Applicable
beam concreting finishing

Surface finishes can be classified as:

Formwork finishes
Surface treatment
Applied finishes
Exposed Aggregate finish:
This is one of the methods of giving good look to the concrete surface. The
beauty can be further enhanced by the use of colored pebbles or quartz. One
or two days after casting, the matrix is removed by washing the surface with
water or by slight brushing and washing. One face will adhere to the matrix
and the other face is exposed. The exposed surface will give a pleasing look.

Applied finishes
1.
2.
3.
4.

Combed finish
Sand facing
Rough cast finish
Pebble dash

5. Fair Crete

Miscellaneous finishes:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Pigment admixtures
Chemical stains
Paints
White cement
Colored concrete