Ready Mix Concrete (RMC): A Detailed Guide

ready mix concrete, also known as RMC, is a special kind of concrete that is produced in a cement factory, also known as a batching plant, in accordance with a predetermined formula for the mixture’s proportions and is then transported to the construction site in a truck that is equipped with mixers.

RMC Concrete

Because of this, the mixture is accurate, which paves the way for the creation of specialised concrete mixes and their subsequent use on building sites. In spite of the fact that the first plant to produce ready-mix concrete was built in the 1930s, the industry did not see considerable expansion until the late 1980s. Since then, it has maintained a high rate of expansion.

Because of the amount, it can generate an accuracy of the proportion of mixes and also because of the decreased work site confusion, ready mix concrete is often chosen over on-site concrete mixing. This is because of the volume it can produce. When a pre-determined concrete mixture is used, there is less room for flexibility in the supply chain as well as in the components that make up the concrete itself.

Concrete materials that have been modified specifically for use in commercial settings are often referred to as ready Mix Concrete. ready mix concrete, often known as RMC, is concrete that has been prepared with the sole purpose of being transported to a customer’s building site in a condition that is either newly mixed or unhardened.

In conventional construction settings, each of concrete components is sourced independently before being brought together on-site in the appropriate quantities to produce concrete. The amount of Ready Mix Concrete that is purchased and sold is determined by volume, which is often stated in cubic metres.

ready mix concrete that is already mixed is produced in carefully regulated processes, and then it is carried to the construction site and set there using sophisticated machinery and techniques.

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“Concrete that is manufactured for delivery to a purchaser in a plastic and unhardened state”.

American Concrete Institute’s Committee 116R-90

The procedure for making Ready Mix Concrete

Ready Mix Concrete consists of cement, aggregates, sand, water, and other chemicals, all of which are weigh-batched at a factory at a centralised location to provide the highest possible level of quality. The concrete is then transported in transit mixers to the location of the construction project, where it is ready for use immediately and does not need any more processing. For the purpose of producing high-quality concrete, the automated plant performs precise monitoring of the weigh-batching, water-cement ratio, amount of additive, and moisture content.

In order to ensure that the ready mix concrete produced by the plant complies with the applicable international standard codes, each and every component that goes into its production is subjected to in-depth analysis in a laboratory that is an integral part of the facility and is fully equipped. The moisture probe is used to calculate the amount of water that is present in the aggregates and sand.

As a result, this is helpful in determining the appropriate amount of water to include in the mixture throughout the preparation process. Various trial mixes are produced and put through their paces in order to guarantee that each and every batch of concrete that is produced at the plant complies with the various mix designs that are required by the customer for the various grades of concrete.

“Concrete mixed in a stationary mixer in a central batching and mixing plant or in a truck-mixer and supplied in fresh condition to the purchaser either at the site or into the purchaser’s vehicles”.

Indian Standard Specification IS 4926:2003

Ready Mix Concrete has a number of advantages

The following are some of the benefits that Ready Mix Concrete offers:

• Construction may be completed more quickly using Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) because of controlled delivery to the job site, motorized operation, and the resulting economy.
• RMC helps cut down on the costs associated with labour as well as site supervision.
• Because of RMC’s precise and automated control of the sand, aggregates, and water used in each mix design, the product’s quality is guaranteed to be consistent.
• The production of RMC contributes to a reduction in the amount of cement that is wasted as a result of bulk handling.
• The production of RMC generates a little amount of pollutants.
• Shortened duration of the project, resulting in cost reductions across the board.
• The prudent management and frugal use of raw materials should lead to the preservation of natural resources.
• Investing in Ready mix concrete is definitely a good investment.

The drawbacks of using Ready Mix Concrete

• A central facility is used for the batching of the components, and the mixing process also starts at that plant.
  Therefore, the amount of time it takes to get from the plant to the location is quite important when covering greater distances.
  There are certain locations that are just too far away, which increases the possibility that the ready mix concrete may harden and become unworkable.
• It will result in an increase in the amount of traffic on the roads.
  Ready Mix Trucks are often rather huge, and as a result, they may block a significant portion of the road and impede the movement of other vehicles.
  In addition, the access roads and the site access need to be able to support the increased weight of the ready mix truck when it is loaded with its cargo.
  (The weight of green concrete is about 2.5 tonnes per cubic metre.)
  The solution to this issue is to hire so-called “mini mix” companies, who operate with mixers that have a capacity of just 4 m3 and are thus able to access locations with higher access restrictions.
• Due to the short amount of time that passes between the mixing and curing processes of concrete, ready-mix should be put within 210 minutes of the plant’s batching process.
  However, the quantity and kind of admixture that is put into the mixture are extremely significant factors to consider. Modern admixtures have the ability to accurately alter the time span.

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Volumetric mobile mixer

A volumetric mobile mixer is one option that can serve as a viable replacement for ready mix concrete. This method combines the use of ready mix concrete with the more conventional mixing that takes place on-site. The volumetric mobile mixer is a kind of vehicle that is used to create and distribute concrete according to the quantity that is required. It is equipped with a mixing system that allows the concrete ingredients and water to be combined on-site at the construction site. The difficulties that are associated with ready mix concrete, such as delays that might result in the pre-mixed concrete being useless, are eliminated when on-truck mixing at the project site is performed.

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In India, the production of concrete has historically taken place on-site, using rudimentary equipment and requiring the participation of a huge labour force. The production of ready mix concrete is a cutting-edge technology that requires a significant amount of mechanisation and automation. It also has the weigh batchers for proportioning the various components of concrete, a high-efficiency mixer for thoroughly mixing the components, and a computerised system for controlling the production process as a whole. When compared to concrete that was mixed on-site, the quality of the concrete that was produced by this method is much higher.