CONCRETING PLANTS

They include

1. Concrete mixers
2. Concrete pumps
3. Concrete compacting plants

CONCRETE MIXERS

A concrete mixer mixes cement, aggregates and water and produce concrete mechanically. There are
various types of concrete mixers available which makes concrete production quick and economical.

Types of Concrete Mixers

There are two broad types of concrete mixers:

A. Batch mixers

Drum Types Mixer

 Tilting drum mixers
 Non-tilting drum mixer
 Reversing drum mixer
Pan Type Mixer

B. Continuous mixers

(i). Batch Concrete Mixers

Batch mixers are widely used machines for concrete mixing. Concrete mix obtained by this mixer is
collected batch by batch and time by time. So, it is called as batch mixer. After pouring all the materials
into pan or drum, it mixes all of those for some time and finally discharges. This process is repeated until
required amount of concrete mix is obtained.

In general Batch mixers are two types.

Drum type mixers

Pan type mixers

A. Drum Type Mixers

In case Drum type mixers concrete ingredients are mixed in a drum which is actually in double conical
frustum shape. Drum types mixers are classified into three types:

Tilting drum mixers

Non-tilting drum mixers

Reversing drum mixers

1.Tilting Drum Mixers

Tilting drum mixer means the drum will discharge concrete by tilting downwards. It is rapid discharge
process and used for larger projects. Rapid means it delivers concrete by gravity that is tilting the drum
downwards because of this the concrete mix obtained will be not subjected to segregation. Low workable
concretes which contains large sized aggregates of size greater than 7.5cm are also mixed efficiently with
this tilting type mixers. But the mixing efficiency depends on some of the factors as follows:

Shape of the drum

Angle of the drum

Size of blades

Angle of blades

The only disadvantage of this mixer is sticking of concrete to bottom of drum. To overcome this a method
called buttering of mixer is applied in which some amount of cement mortar is mixed in the mixer before
mixing first batch of concrete.
2.Non-Tilting Drum Mixers

Non- tilting drum mixers are not allowed to tilt and the drum rotates about its horizontal axis. For the
discharge of concrete a chute is arranged in inclined position which will receives the concrete mix from
drum and discharges out. In this case, the drum is opened at two ends and consists blades insides when
materials are poured through one end and mix is collected through another end. Rapid discharge of
concrete is not possible in this case. Due to this delay, the concrete may be vulnerable to segregation.

The larger size aggregate is not discharged easily with the mix. So, size of aggregate mot more than
7.5cm is preferable for this type of mixers. So, this type of mixers are generally used for small projects.

3.Reversing Drum Mixers

Reversing drum mixers are similar to non-tilting type mixers but in this case reversal of rotation takes
place for different action. The drum has two openings, one end is for pouring materials and other end is
for discharge of mix. The drum rotates about its horizontal axis. The rotation of drum takes place in one
direction for mixing and in opposite direction for discharging. Two different set of blades are arranged for
mixing and discharging. They are suitable for dry concrete mixes.

4. truck mixers
Special concrete transport trucks (in-transit mixers) are made to mix concrete and transport it to the
construction site. They can be charged with dry materials and water, with the mixing occurring during
transport. They can also be loaded from a "central mix" plant; with this process the material has already
been mixed prior to loading. The concrete mixing transport truck maintains the material's liquid state
through agitation, or turning of the drum, until delivery. The interior of the drum on a concrete mixing
truck is fitted with a spiral blade. In one rotational direction, the concrete is pushed deeper into the drum.
This is the direction the drum is rotated while the concrete is being transported to the building site. This is
known as "charging" the mixer.

When the drum rotates in the other direction, the Archimedes' screwtype arrangement "discharges", or
forces the concrete out of the drum. From there it may go onto chutes to guide the viscous concrete
directly to the job site. If the truck cannot get close enough to the site to use the chutes, the concrete may
be discharged into a concrete pump, connected to a flexible hose, or onto a conveyor belt which can be
extended some distance (typically ten or more metres). A pump provides the means to move the material
to precise locations, multi-floor buildings, and other distance prohibitive locations.

The drum is traditionally made of steel but on some newer trucks, fibreglass has been used as a weight
reduction measure.
 B. Pan Type Concrete Mixers

Pan type mixers consists a circular pan in which concrete is mixed. The mixing is done by blades which
are arranged in star shape inside the pan. There are two types of pan mixers are available. In one case, the
circular pan is constant and only star blades rotate about vertical axis of pan. In the other case, circular
pan rotates while the blades are at static position. But in both cases, the mixing is efficient and concrete
mixture is collected through central hole provided in the pan. The rotating star blades contains special
blades called scrapper blades which will make concrete not to stick to the pan. The blades can also be
adjusted in height so, there is no room for concrete to store in the pan. We can say among the all types of
batch mixers pan type mixer are more efficient.

(ii). Continuous Concrete Mixers

Continuous mixer, the name itself telling its duty that the loading, mixing and discharging of mix is
continuously done until the work is complete or work break occurs. The loading of materials is done
continuously by screw feeders. Continuous mixtures are used for very large projects such as dams,
bridges, construction of high rise buildings, etc.
This involves a large plant used to mix concrete at high volumes. It has a silo where the cement is stored
and released through a screw conveyor when needed for mixing. Aggregates are fed in hoppers where
they are weighed and transported by conveyor belts to the pan mixer but before undergoing drying. In the
mixer, the aggregates, cement, water and admixtures are mixing using paddle blades until the right mix is
obtained. The concrete is then fed to truck mixers for transportation to site.

CONCRETE PUMPS
A concrete pump is a machine used for transferring liquid concrete by pumping. There are two types of
concrete pumps. The first type of concrete pump is attached to a truck or longer units are on semi-trailers.
It is known as a boom concrete pump because it uses a remote-controlled articulating robotic arm (called
a boom) to place concrete accurately.

Boom pumps are used on most of the larger construction projects as they are capable of pumping at very
high volumes and because of the labour saving nature of the placing boom. They are a revolutionary
alternative to line-concrete pumps.

The second main type of concrete pump is either mounted on a truck or placed on a trailer, and it is
commonly referred to as a line pump or trailer-mounted concrete pump. This pump requires steel or
flexible concrete placing hoses to be manually attached to the outlet of the machine. Those hoses are
linked together and lead to wherever the concrete needs to be placed.

The length of the hoses varies depending on the diameter of the hose. Line pumps normally pump
concrete at lower volumes than boom pumps and are used for smaller volume concrete placing
applications such as swimming pools, sidewalks, and single family home concrete slabs and most ground
slabs.

There are also skid mounted and rail mounted concrete pumps, but these are uncommon and only used on
specialized jobsites such as mines and tunnels.

BENEFITS OF CONCRETE PUMPING.

1. Concrete pumping is a faster and easier method to complete a project

2. Concrete pumping can reduce labour costs

3. It reduces site congestion as there are less construction workers

4. You can get concrete to high rising and far reaching places

5. Pumping of concrete is done before the concrete starts to set, improving concrete strength

6. Pipelines can travel wherever you want them to go

7. It provides a steady work pace, increasing productivity

8. Several pumps can pour simultaneously for larger projects

9. It is effective and economical for various sized projects, including residential and commercial

10. Concrete pumping has a large application, including foundations, slabs, columns, bridges and dams

CONCRETE COMPACTING PLANTS

Different types of concrete vibrators are used in concrete compaction for different construction and
structural requirements. Since concrete contains particles of different sizes, the most effective compaction
of concrete can be achieved by using vibrators with different speeds of vibration. Poly-frequency concrete
vibrators used for compacting concrete of stiff consistency are being developed. The vibrators for
compacting concrete are manufactured with frequencies of vibration from 2800 to 15000 rpm.

Types of Concrete Vibrators

1. Immersion or needle vibrator

2. Extended or shutter vibrator

3. Surface Vibrator

4. Vibrating table

1. Immersion or Needle Vibrators

Immersion or Needle Vibrators are most commonly used vibrator for concrete. It consists of a steel tube
(with one end closed and rounded) having an eccentric vibrating element inside it. This steel tube called
poker is connected to an electric motor or a diesel engine through a flexible tube. They are available in
size varying from 40 to 100 mm diameter. The diameter of the poker is decided from the consideration of
the spacing between the reinforcing bars in the form-work. The frequency of vibration varies up to 15000
rpm. The period of vibration required may be of the order of 30 seconds to 2 minute. The concrete should
be placed in layers not more than 600mm high.

2. External or Shutter Vibrators

These vibrators are clamped rigidly to the form work at the predetermined points so that the form and
concrete are vibrated. They consume more power for a given compaction effect than internal vibrators.

These vibrators can compact up to 450mm from the face but have to be moved from one place to another
as concrete progresses. These vibrators operate at a frequency of 3000 to 9000 rpm at an acceleration of
4g. The external vibrators are more often used for pre-casting of thin in-situ sections of such shape and
thickness as cannot be compacted by internal vibrators.
 4. Surface Vibrators for Concrete

These are placed directly on the concrete mass. These best suited for compaction of shallow elements and
should not be used when the depth of concrete to be vibrated is more than 250 mm.Very dry mixes can be
most effectively compacted with surface vibrators. The surface vibrators commonly used are pan
vibrators and vibrating screeds. The main application of this type of vibrator is in the compaction of small
slabs, not exceeding 150 mm in thickness, and patching and repair work of pavement slabs. The operating
frequency is about 4000 rpm at an acceleration of 4g to 9g.

5. Concrete Vibrating Table

The vibrating table consists of a rigidly built steel platform mounted on flexible springs and is driven by
an electric motor. The normal frequency of vibration is 4000 rpm at an acceleration of 4g to 7g.