How a Self Loading Concrete Mixer Works?

Since the introduction of concrete in construction, various methods have been used to make concrete from cement, sand, gravel and water. Tradition method of mixing concrete is doing it by hand. This is the earliest method of making concrete and is still being used in many developing and developed countries for making concrete in small batches. Increase in size of construction projects has forced to replace the manual mixing with machine mixing. These machines typically consist of huge revolving drums and are known as concrete mixers. They are known for their fast, effective and bulk production of concrete. As the construction at uneven terrain construction site evolved, need for mobile concrete mixer arose. Self loading concrete mixer was developed to fulfill this need. It is known for its compact size and low maintenance and can be controlled by a single operator. Working of self loading concrete mixer can be explained in the following manner:

Physical Properties of Self Loading Concrete Mixture:

• Loading the raw materials: Initially, the raw materials are loaded into a shovel. This shovel is self-articulated and hydraulically controlled. The operator uses a joystick to control this shovel and feed it into the drum. This is the feature that makes this machine different from the rest others.
• Mixing of concrete materials: In self loading concrete mixer, the function of the drum is to mix the raw materials homogenously. A continuous supply of water makes sure that the machine is working normally and the level of water is maintained in the concrete. These drums are usually fitted with spiral blades. The drums are designed to rotate at high speed. For mixing, rotation of the drum is fixed in one direction. During mixing, the spiral blade pushes the concrete materials deep into the drum. This high-speed rotation makes sure for homogenous mixing of materials in concrete.
• Collecting the mixed concrete materials: Once the concrete is mixed, the collection of the mixed material is the next step. This can be done in two ways. One way is by changing the direction of rotation of spiral blades fitted inside the drum. The change in direction will force the concrete out of the drum. Another method is, by tilting the drum. In this method, the drum is lifted from the back with the use of hydraulic pumps. This pushes the concrete out of the drum into the collector bin.

This easy operation of self loading concrete materials has made it available for use in:

• Construction of mine and tunnel, where concrete batching plants are not an option
• Construction of piling, foundations and ground consolidations.
• Railway and Road constructions.