WHAT IS READY MIXED CONCRETE?

Concrete is an important construction material, initially in plastic consistency but gradually hardens, stiffens and gains resistance, obtained by mixing aggregate (fine and coarse), cement and water, by adding chemical and mineral additives or without these additives but homogenously in conformity with the production technology.

Ready mixed concrete is the concrete prepared and freshly delivered by a non-user person or establishment. Concrete that has been prepared by the user outside the construction site or that, which has been prepared within the construction site, but by a non-user person or establishment are as well referred to as "ready mixed concrete". Concrete that is produced in the construction site by the user for his own usage is defined as "concrete produced in the construction site". 

Ready mixed concrete designed by scientific methods should be produced at the facilities where the components are automatically weighed and controls are made according to standards.  

There are 5 basic stages that determine the quality of ready mixed concrete.  

• Design
• Production
• Transportation
• Fitting
• Maintenance and Cure

The first three of these are fulfilled by the ready mixed concrete producer while the last two by the consumer. Today, there is not another construction material that is so widely used as ready mixed concrete.   

BENEFITS AND PRIORITIES OF READY MIXED CONCRETE  

• Quick
• Continuous attainability
• Possibility to control at every stage
• Optimum material usage
• Saving from time and cost
• Environment friendly

WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF READY MIXED CONCRETE?
The raw materials that compose concrete are aggregate, cement, water, chemical and mineral additives.  

TS EN 206-Ready mixed concrete standard requires that the conformity of each component with its own standard must be displayed.

AGGREGATE
The most used component of concrete from the point of mass is aggregate. The product that has been produced according to the standards of that related product should be stored in the ready mixed concrete in a suitable way. Aggregates that have the least water absorption value and which do not produce substances that gradually dilate in cement and those that rather have a cubic grain shapes are the aggregates of high quality. The grain size of aggregates can be calibrated in production facilities.  
                                             
CEMENT
It is an inorganic and fine ground hydraulic binder that constitutes a paste which hardens when diluted with water and once it gets solid it preserves its resistance and stability.  
The most convenient cement type for the ready mixed concrete producer, provided that concrete classifications are abided, is the one that requires the least cement usage, the one that is the most harmonious with aggregate and chemical additives and the one that best meets the expectations of customers.
 
MIXING WATER
Except the water that is added to concrete during production stage, adding water should not be allowed at the place of usage.  

CONCRETE ADDITIVES
Chemicals that affect so many features of concrete are widely used today; additives that decreases the water requirement and thus provide more durability and economy, the resistance impetus, air content, impermeability, capillary cracks etc. With the help of chemical additives now concrete that does not form capillary cracks, self settling, that does not get affected by the reactivity of aggregate, whose reinforcement corrosion can be averted and those with superior resistance can be produced.