Ready mix concrete is concrete that is produced or “batched” in a local batch plant and delivered to a work site by a concrete mixer truck. Concrete is perhaps the most widely used building material on the planet. Its uses vary from the simplest applications such as the sidewalks in your neighborhood to specialized applications like the Hoover Dam that withstand nature’s test of time.
Concrete is typically made from four major components: aggregates, cement, water, and chemical admixtures. Aggregates make up the largest portion of material in a concrete mix, generally a coarse gravel or crushed rocks such as limestone or granite, along with finer materials such as sand. Cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and ground blast furnace slag serve as a binder for the aggregate. Water is mixed with this dry composite of aggregates and cement which produces a semi-liquid that can be poured into shape typically through the use of forms. The concrete solidifies and hardens to gain strength through a chemical process called hydration. The water reacts with the cement, which bonds the other components together, creating a hardened stone-like material. Chemical admixtures are added to achieve varied properties. These ingredients may speed or slow down the rate at which the concrete hardens, and impart many other useful properties.
Concrete Admixtures & Liquid Color provided by BASF
