MISR UNIVERSITY FOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

Concrete Construction and Technology

[CE 504]
Fall 2012
Dr. ABDELRAOUF KASSEM
Lecture (3)
[CONCRETE PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY]
Concrete construction and technology [CE504] Dr. ABDELRAOUF KASSEM
Lecture (3) Concrete Production Technology

List of Contents

MIXING CONCRETE ................................................................................................................................... 3

MIXING OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................................................. 3
TYPES OF PATCH MIXERS ............................................................................................................................. 3
TILTING DRUM MIXER ................................................................................................................................ 3
NON-TILTING DRUM MIXER ......................................................................................................................... 3
PAN MIXER............................................................................................................................................ 4
DUAL-DRUM MIXER .................................................................................................................................. 5
SIZES OF MIXERS ...................................................................................................................................... 5
MIXING TIME ......................................................................................................................................... 5
READY-MIXED CONCRETE ............................................................................................................................ 5
PLACING CONCRETE .................................................................................................................................. 7
1-PUMPED CONCRETE ............................................................................................................................... 7
2-SLIP FORMS ......................................................................................................................................... 9
3-TREMIE POURED CONCRETE ..................................................................................................................... 10
4-BUCKET POURED CONCRETE ..................................................................................................................... 11
5-SHOTCRETE ....................................................................................................................................... 12
CONCRETE COMPACTION ......................................................................................................................... 13
CONCRETE CURING ................................................................................................................................. 13
1-WATER SOAKING ................................................................................................................................. 13
2-COVER SHEETS .................................................................................................................................... 13
3-CURING COMPOUNDS ............................................................................................................................ 14
4-STEAM CURING ................................................................................................................................... 14

[email protected] 2/14 October 2011

Concrete construction and technology [CE504] Dr. ABDELRAOUF KASSEM
Lecture (3) Concrete Production Technology

Mixing Concrete
The mixing operation refers to rotating concrete mix ingredients.
Mixing Objectives
Mixing aims to coat all aggregate particles with cement paste, and to blend
concrete ingredients into a uniform mass.
Types of Patch Mixers
There are four main types of patch mixers.

Tilting Drum Mixer

In this type the mixing drum could be tilted for either charging concrete ingredients
or discharging mixed concrete. Tilting drum mixers could discharge concrete at a
high rate, which prohibits segregation. This type of mixers could be used in case of
low workability or large aggregate nominal maximum size aggregate.

Non-tilting Drum Mixer

In this type of mixers the axis of the mixer is always horizontal. Discharging could be
performed by reversing the direction of rotation of the drum. Rate of discharging in
this type is relatively slow and so some segregation may take place, because
aggregate of small sizes will be discharged first, while larger sizes will be discharged
later.

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Concrete construction and technology [CE504] Dr. ABDELRAOUF KASSEM
Lecture (3) Concrete Production Technology

Pan Mixer
It consists of a circular pan rotating about its axis, with one or two stars of paddles
rotating about another vertical axis. The shift between the two axes and rotation of
both paddles and pan enforces mixing of concrete ingredients. Scraper paddles are
used to prevent the formation of mortar coating on either sides or bottom of the pan.
Pan mixers are practically efficient with dry mixes and small quantities. They are
usually discharged by tilting the mixing pan.

[email protected] 4/14 October 2011

Concrete construction and technology [CE504] Dr. ABDELRAOUF KASSEM
Lecture (3) Concrete Production Technology

Dual-drum Mixer
It consists of a combination of two drum mixers. Incomplete mixing is performed in
the first drum, then concrete is transferred to the second drum to complete the mixing
process, meanwhile another patch is placed in the first drum. This methodology
increases the yield of the mixer. Dual-drum mixers are usually used in highway
construction, due to the need for producing large concrete masses in a continuous
placing manner.

Generally the first patch in any mixer differs from identical patches, because in the
first patch some cement mortar sticks to the mixer inner surface, which lead to the
production of poor first patch. Dealing with such a problem could be performed by
decreasing the amount of coarse aggregate in the first patch to accommodate the
effect of loosing the stuck cement mortar, in what is called buttering.

Sizes of Mixers
The size of a mixer is described by the volume of compacted concrete. Actual sizes
of mixers vary from 0.04m3 (for laboratory practice) up to 13m3 (for mass
production). Charging the mixer with significantly less than its size is uneconomic,
and leads to improper mixing as loading with significantly higher than its size.

Mixing Time
Mixing time is the time after loading all dry ingredients till discharging fresh
concrete. Water should be loaded not later than quarter the mixing time. Mixing time
is forwardly proportioned to the mixer size. Conventionally two minutes could be
considered an average mixing time for most practically used mixers.

Ready-mixed Concrete
Concrete is mixed in a central batch plant.

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Concrete construction and technology [CE504] Dr. ABDELRAOUF KASSEM
Lecture (3) Concrete Production Technology

and transported to construction site via truck mixers. Concrete may be mixed in the
central plant and then transmitted to the site via an agitator (2-6 rpm) or just batched
in the central plant and mixed in the truck mixer (4-16 rpm).

[email protected] 6/14 October 2011

Concrete construction and technology [CE504] Dr. ABDELRAOUF KASSEM
Lecture (3) Concrete Production Technology

Ready-mixed concrete has many advantages:

1- High level of quality control.
2- Facilitates concreting in sites of limited maneuvering area.
3- Convenient in cases of large or small concrete quantities.

Over-mixing concrete leads to:

1- Water evaporation and consequently less lubrication
2- Grinding aggregate (especially if soft) and consequently larger surface area.
And these factors lead to a decrease in workability, so the ASTM limits mixing to
300 revolutions.

Placing Concrete
Placing concrete is the process through which fresh concrete is poured in formwork
(moulds) to take the form of the structures and spend the supported un-stressed time
till it gains enough strength. This could be performed via many techniques

1- Pumped Concrete
Pumping of concrete facilitates placing concrete in inaccessible regions or it makes it
easier to place concrete without the need of a route passing over the formwork.
Concrete is pumped via a direct acting pump (up to 60m3/hr) or a squeeze-type pump
(up to 20m3/hr). The following precautions should be considered for pumped
concrete.
1- Pipe diameter should be at least three times the nominal maximum size.
2- Slump should be between 40 and 100 mm.
3- Consistency of the flowing concrete is highly essential.

[email protected] 7/14 October 2011

Concrete construction and technology [CE504] Dr. ABDELRAOUF KASSEM
Lecture (3) Concrete Production Technology

a) Pumping

b) filling
Direct acting pump

Squeeze type pump

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Concrete construction and technology [CE504] Dr. ABDELRAOUF KASSEM
Lecture (3) Concrete Production Technology

2- Slip forms
It is the technique by which concrete is placed in a moving form. This form moves
from a location once concrete begins to set. This technique could be performed
horizontally, as in earth channels lining, or vertically, as in cores, silos, and
chimneys. Prismatic elements with minimum intrusions are the most appropriate to
be poured by slip forms, especially if they are long. Slip forms usually consist of
three levels, upper for storage of reinforcement, middle for installation of
reinforcement and concrete placing, and lower for immediate concrete curing.

a) vertical slip form b) horizontal lining machine

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Concrete construction and technology [CE504] Dr. ABDELRAOUF KASSEM
Lecture (3) Concrete Production Technology

Slip form moving rate ranges from 15 to 30 cm/hr. If this rate increases, this leads to
concrete failure; while if it decreases concrete may stick to form surface.

3- Tremie poured concrete

Tremie poured concrete is a way by which concrete is poured deeply in formwork or
in piles, underground or offshore. Tremie diameter is dependent on aggregate
nominal maximum size (>3N.M.S.) to avoid both segregation and jamming.
Flowing concrete (slump > 150mm) should be used in tremie poured concrete
because it could not be compacted. Admixtures should be used in such a concreting
technique to increase workability and retard setting.

[email protected] 10/14 October 2011

Concrete construction and technology [CE504] Dr. ABDELRAOUF KASSEM
Lecture (3) Concrete Production Technology

4- Bucket poured concrete

Buckets are used in placing concrete in case of high elevations, that a pump could not
be used (very high and impractical pumping requirements). Concrete is first place in
the bucket in a way that inhibits segregation.

Concrete is then transported via a tower crane to the level of pouring to complete the
placing process.

[email protected] 11/14 October 2011

Concrete construction and technology [CE504] Dr. ABDELRAOUF KASSEM
Lecture (3) Concrete Production Technology

5- Shotcrete
Shotcrete is usually used in tunnels or strengthening work especially in returning
concrete cover.

High pressure pumps are used to shot concrete out of a nozzle, where water is mixed
with ingredients or added soon before shooting. Coarse aggregate used in shotcrete
should have N.M.S. < 10 mm. Low water cement ratios are used to produce sticky
mix. Set accelerating admixtures should be used with shotcrete to enhance rapid
sticking to surfaces and allow adding multiple layers.

[email protected] 12/14 October 2011

Concrete construction and technology [CE504] Dr. ABDELRAOUF KASSEM
Lecture (3) Concrete Production Technology

Concrete compaction
Compaction is the process by which large entrained air bubbles are released out of
concrete. This process increase concrete strength significantly, because it ensures the
concrete section is completely solid. Compaction is performed by vibrators that
should be kept in a vertical position to ensure concrete uniformity. Even compaction
is essential for concrete strength, but over-compaction results in concrete segregation.

Concrete curing
Curing is the process by which concrete water content is conserved to ensure the
completion of chemical reactions. Curing could be performed by several techniques:
1- Water soaking
Where water covers the concrete surface frequently to compensate loss of concrete
water through evaporation. This process is effective for horizontal surfaces.
2- Cover sheets
Where wet sheets are used to cover concrete elements for the same purpose as water
soaking but this technique could be applied to vertical surfaces.

[email protected] 13/14 October 2011

Concrete construction and technology [CE504] Dr. ABDELRAOUF KASSEM
Lecture (3) Concrete Production Technology

3- Curing compounds
Curing compounds are made by dissolving resins, wax, or rubber in volatile solvents;
or by making water emulsions. Once the solvent is evaporated the curing compound
forms a thin membrane that retains water in concrete. Curing compounds should be
colored to facilitate inspection; to be sure the all elements have been covered. Main
disadvantage of curing compounds is their price in addition they should be removed
before painting.

4- Steam curing
Steam curing is based on the same concept as water soaking or wet cover sheets. In
addition temperature factor is considered. Temperature increases the rate of gaining
strength as it plays the role of a catalyst. Steam curing could not be performed in site
due to lack of practical portable equipment, so it is applied in pre-cast concrete.
Steam curing could reach concrete 28 days strength after 3 days.

[email protected] 14/14 October 2011