Concrete Transport Trucks
Concrete transport trucks are also known as in-transit mixers. They are loaded with dry materials and water, which are mixed during transport from a plant to the intended construction area. In other common instances, “ready-mixed” concrete may also be loaded, and the agitation is maintained on the way to delivery to keep the mix in a liquid state.
Heady for Concrete
Many construction project contractors require the concrete to be in place within 90 minutes after loading, thus concrete mixer trucks typically are intended to travel only short distances from their plant. Otherwise, should the truck suffer a delay or breakdown and the mix turns into hard concrete right in the truck, workers will have to break down the hardened concrete in the barrel with jackhammers or explosives.
Under Construction
The interior of the mixing tank in a concrete transport truck features a spiral blade that pushes or “charges” the mix deeper into the tank as the drum rotates in one direction during transport. At the site, the drum or tank rotates in the opposite direction, and the Archimedes-screw pump effect discharges the mixed concrete out of the drum and into a chute. A separate concrete pump will then force the concrete through a flexible hose to precise destination sections of the structure being built.
Colorful cement truck
Most concrete transport trucks have a rear-discharge chute, requiring both a driver and a chute operator to position the truck and the chute to specific positions according to the construction contractor’s instructions. Many newer concrete transport trucks, however, already have the discharge chute right in front so that the driver himself can position not only the truck but the chute as well in any direction.