ROLLER COMPACTED CONCRETE: A

NEW MATERIAL FOR FASTER HIGHWAY

CONSTRUCTION

BY

J.B.Sengupta

Rigid Pavements Division,

Central Road Research Institute

New Delhi
 INTRODUCTION
ROLLER COMPACTED CONCRETE (RCC)

RCC as an innovative material is defined as a

relatively stiff or no slump cement concrete mixture
of aggregates, Portland cement/ Pozzolanic
additives/admixtures and water to be compacted by
vibratory/static roller.

ROLLER COMPACTED CONCRETE PAVEMENT

(RCCP)
RCCP consists of RCC laid with conventional
asphaltic concrete paver, compacted with vibratory
road or static roller and finished with power trowel
machine or laid with slip-form paver machine.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
RCC IN DAM CONSTRUCTION

 The technology of RCC has evolved

rapidly during the past two to three
decades and has been accepted
worldwide as a fast and economical means
of constructing dams.

 A total of 96 RCC dams have been built in

17 countries showing its testimony of its
popularity and techno-economic
superiority of this technology.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (contd.)
RCC IN PAVEMENT CONSTRUCTION IN
THE DEVELOPED WORLD
 RCC Pavement is an offshoot of the traditional cement
treated aggregate base as used in road construction, but it
differs from conventional concrete principally in its required
consistency. The use of RCC for pavement is, however, a
relatively recent development and the technology is still
growing.

 During the past decade, several RCCPs have been

constructed in the developed world in the area of heavy duty
pavements, military vehicles roads, log sorting yards,
parking lots, dock yards, taxi tracks etc. since 1976.

 In view of the rough surface of RCCP, it has not been used

so far in highway construction.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (Contd.)

RCC IN PAVEMENT CONSTRUCTION IN INDIA

 RCC represents innovative concept, developed and
introduced for the first time in India by Central
Road Research Institute, for road construction.
 Application of RCC has been made at several
construction sites in India, since 1984.
 The application of RCC technology in pavements
is in early stages of development and very little
information is available in respect of its design
and construction aspects
for highway construction.
 WHY RCCP ?

 Based on the satisfactory performance of roller

compacted concrete pavement as wearing course
and as base course, large-scale adoption of this
technology is to be promoted for highway paving
projects.

 Capable of providing concrete with relatively equal

in-situ strength and durability as compared to
conventionally compacted concrete, and its
engineering behaviour is also similar to that of
conventional concrete.
 MIX DESIGN

 Mix design of RCC is totally different from Plain

Cement Concrete (PCC) as Abraham's
water/cement (W/C) ratio law does not hold in
case of RCC, which is no slump concrete.
 W/C ratio law holds in case of workable mixes
only.
 In RCC mix design, water is selected from
optimum moisture content (OMC) at maximum
dry density (MDD) by the soil compaction test or
concrete consistency test.
 The maximum size of aggregate is often 20 mm
to avoid segregation of the mix.
 MIX DESIGN (Contd.)

 Mix proportions may be designed alternatively

based on ACI 207 Guidelines or IRC-68.

 Chemical reaction of water with cement is

secondary effect. In conventional PCC
pavements, W/C ratio is the only main controlling
factor on which strength of concrete depends.

 By replacing cement with fly ash and other

mineral admixture, RCC mix can be designed
and made economical.
 MIX DESIGN (Contd.)
 To permit comparison of dry density in the field at
different times, a correction factor must be applied
for bound water.

 Correction factor for bound water (Rc), owing to

cement reaction, is given as :
Rc = 0.25 C  x 100/ddc
Where C = cement content
 = degree of cement hydration at time
of testing (0.1 to 1.0)
ddc = dry density of core sample (kg/m3)
 MIX DESIGN (Contd.)

According to Anderson, degree of compaction of

RCC is defined as :
Rd = (ddc)f x 100/(ddc)l

Where (ddc)f = dry density of concrete

measured in the fresh state
in the field
(ddc)l = dry density of concrete after
heavy tamping
in the laboratory
 PAVEM ENT DESIGN

 The thickness design procedures for

RCCP are similar to those for conventional
concrete pavement, in that it is based on
keeping the flexural stresses and fatigue
damage in pavement caused by wheel
loads within allowable limits.

 The design procedures developed by the

Portland Cement Association and the U .S.
Army Corps of Engineers are used for
designing RCC pavements.
 PAVEMENT DESIGN (Contd.)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rigid pavement

design method is essentially, a fatigue analysis
based on stresses calculated from Westergaard’s
free edge load analytical method. Fatigue relation
for concrete pavement using the Westergaard’s
free edge model is :
DF = 0.50 + 0.25 log C,
Where, DF = Design Factor
= Concrete flexural strength/
Westergaard’s calculated stress
C = Coverage of Traffic (Maximum No. of Stress
Repetitions at any point in the pavement)
 RCC OVERLAY DESIGN AS
COMPOSITE PAVEMENT

 RCC overlay on existing rigid pavement. For partially bonded

overlay for composite pavements design, U.S. Army Corps
of Engineer’s equation can be used for RCC overlay on
existing rigid pavement :

ht = (ho 1.4 - hb 1.4 )1/1.4

ht = required thickness of the top lift
ho = original monolithic thickness of the pavement
hb = thickness of the bottom lift

 RCC overlay on existing flexible pavement. The existing

flexible pavement can be used as a base course under RCC
overlay.
 RCC COMPOSITE PAVEMENT

Roller Compacted Concrete Overlay

Thickness = h t
Existing Flexible Pavement
Thickness = h b

Subgrade - Sub base

Cross-section of RCC Pavement as an Overlay

Over Existing Flexible Pavement
 RCCP CONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE

 RCCP was constructed at several paving sites

using 190mm lifts for a thickness more than
381 mm section, within an initial setting time
of 30 minutes between lifts.

 Dry Lean Concrete (DLC), when used as base

under RCCP was jointed at longer spacing
(10 m to 30 m ) and a plastic microfilm
(125 micron) was used at the interface of DLC
and RCCP for free sliding of pavement slab.

 Sawed contraction joints were provided within

48 to 72 hours.
 RCCP CONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE
(Contd.)

 Use of pneumatic tyre vibro-max roller was found to

be helpful to get more evenness and compactness
of the surface.

 Compaction of freshly placed RCC mix was

carried out in an experimental stretch for a single
lane width.

 Rolling sequence was started for RCC compaction

with vibratory steel wheel roller followed by rubber-
tyred roller and finished finally with static steel
roller starting from the edges.
 RCCP CONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE
(Contd.)

 Contraction joint spacing in RCCP was kept

between 10 m to 30 m, whereas the spacing
between contraction joints was at 4.5 m in plain
cement concrete pavement.

 In the design of RCCP, load transfer at joints was

taken as 25%.

 The amount of water was taken in the range of

4.5 to 6 % by weight of total aggregates
depending upon fineness of aggregates.
 RCCP CONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE
(Contd.)

 Moist curing of RCC was carried out minimum for

7 days.

 Membrane curing compounds were not used as

the RCCP surface was rough and dry.

 0.5% sugar by weight of cement was used as a

good retarder.

 The performance of RCC pavements has been

observed satisfactory.
 SUCCESSFUL CONSTRUCTION &
SATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE OF
ROLLER COMPACTED CONCRETE
PAVEMENTS AT VARIOUS PAVING
SITES IN INDIA

 At District Karnal, village Ramgarh, Haryana as

wearing surface

 At Village Raichur, Karnataka as wearing surface

 At Dhandharikalan for container yard, Ludhiana,

Punjab as DLC for base course
 SUCCESSFUL CONSTRUCTION &
SATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE OF
ROLLER COMPACTED CONCRETE
PAVEMENTS AT VARIOUS PAVING SITES IN
INDIA (Contd.)

 ADB project – Ballabhgarh-Mathura section as DLC

base course

 Mumbai- Pune Expressway as DLC base course

 Indore-Bypass as DLC base course

 Leh-Chalunka road, Border Roads Organization, as

wearing course
 SURFACE SMOOTHNESS AND
TEXTURE
 Size of aggregates and type of roller play an
important role for better surface
smoothness and texture. An aggregate
gradation closer to dense asphaltic
gradation is appropriate. Fines passing 75
micron sieve should be in the range of 5 to
10%.

 To improve the rideability for high speed

traffic, RCC should be overlaid with a thin
layer of fully bonded PCC or bituminous
concrete layer of 4 to 6 cm thick.
 SURFACE SMOOTHNESS AND
TEXTURE (Contd.)

 Power trowel machine should preferably be used

just before the initial setting time after laying of
RCC for greater evenness .

 RCC should be laid with conventional bituminous

concrete pavers or slip form paver machines to
achieve better riding quality for highway pavement
construction.
 QUALITY CONTROL AND QUALITY
ASSURANCE (Contd.)

 Before compaction is done, the

dressing of the loosely spread
concrete surface layer must be
carried out carefully by using paver
or straight edge to avoid the
occurrence of undulation or
unevenness of the riding surface.
QUALITY CONTROL AND QUALITY
ASSURANCE (Contd.)

 The final compaction shall be carried out by

rubber tyred roller or smooth tyred static
roller, the tyre marks shall be carefully
removed from the surface by re-rolling.

Power trowel machine must be used after

compaction to avoid undulation or
unevenness of the surface where paver has
not been used .
 QUALITY CONTROL AND QUALITY
ASSURANCE (Contd,)

 Initial
curing shall be done by covering
with wet gunny bags or polythene
sheets for first twenty four hours, and
thereafter, by pond curing. Liquid membrane
curing compound shall not be used for curing
of RCC as the mix of RCC is already very dry.

 Itis emphasized that for major highway &

expressway projects, the Ready Mixed
Concrete (RMC) should be used for obtaining
quality rolled concrete.
 ECONOMICS OF RCC Vs PCC

 Total thickness of RCC is generally less than

that of flexible pavement for the same load.

 Analysis shows that RCC is 20% cheaper

than the plain cement concrete in material
cost for same loading conditions.
ECONOMICS OF RCC Vs PCC (Contd.)

 30% cement can be saved by using

RCC as a partial replacement of
cement with fly ash.

 Economics of RCC Vs PCC as per

1994 rates as per Delhi region are as
follows.
 Quantity of Material per cubic meter of
RCC v/s Conventional PCC of
Equivalent Strength
S.No. Item RCC PCC
Quantity (kg) Cost (Rs) Quantity(kg) Cost(Rs)

1. Cement 280 690 400 992

2. Sand 639 120 698 134
3. Fly ash 82 7 Nil Nil
4. Coarse 1198 230 1054 210
Aggregate

Total cost of materials of roller compacted concrete per cu.m = Rs 1047.00.

Total cost of materials of conventional concrete per cu.m = Rs 1336.00

Percentage saving in cost of materials alone = 20 %

TECHNO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF
RCC

 Speedy construction.

 Early removal of form work.

 Equivalent strength in comparison to
plain cement concrete for the same
slab thickness.
 The pavement can be opened to traffic
after a week’s time in case of urgency.
 TECHNO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF
RCC (Contd.)

 Since the construction of Roller Compacted

Concrete Pavement is similar to that of asphaltic
concrete pavement, so the same machinery could
be used for its construction also.

 Less hydraulic shrinkage occurs due to lower

cement and water contents per cu.m in the RCC mix
as compared to PCC mix. This allows joints to be
set further apart.

 Good skid resistance and abrasion resistance.

 TECHNO-ECONOMIIC BENEFITS OF
RCC (Contd.)

 Energy consumption is reduced to the tune of

30 % when the concrete has a high content of
additional binders such as fly-ash.

 Overall saving of the order of 25 % has been

achieved by using RCCP technique versus
conventional PCC pavement.
 CONCLUSIONS

A 10 tonne dual- drum vibratory roller can be

successfully used for compaction of zero-
slump RCC pavement slabs up to 250 mm
compacted-thickness in a single lift.

 Use of power trowel machine for finishing the

top surface, helps to improve surface texture..
 CONCLUSIONS (Contd.)

 Itis essential that strict quality control and

quality assurance must be executed when
actually laying the pavement.
 For high-speed traffic, the riding quality can
be still improved on highways by using
conventional bituminous concrete paver or
slip-form paver machine.
RCCP is overall 25% economical as
compared to conventional PCC pavement in
construction cost.
 COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE
PROPERTIES OF RCC AND PCC

Sl.
Sl.No.
No. PROPERTY RCC PCC

1. COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH, kg/cm2 250 243

2. FLEXURAL STRENGTH, kg/cm2 32 35

3. MODULUS OF ELASTICITY, kg/cm2 2.0 x 105 2.8 x 105

4. SPLIT TENSILE STRENGTH, kg/cm2 30 28

5. POISSON’
POISSON’S RATIO 0.25 0.22

6. SHEAR STRENGTH , kg/cm2 28 17

7. ABRASION LOSS, % 0.35 0.19

8. SKID RESISTANCE, BPN 92 94

 ROLLER COMPACTED CONCRETE ( RCC ) FOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION
 

•RCC has made with a low water content zero slump mixture
 

•RCC contains a small amount of cement compare to conventional rich structural

concrete
 
•The only way to compact RCC of this consistency is by roller compactor only
 
•Zero-slump RCC mixture is laying and compacting by the similar machines and
plants which have used in conventional dam construction and road construction
 
•RCC construction method for the dams and road constructions gained popularity
since 1980 due to its less expensive and fast construction method.
 Basic Considerations for RCC Mixture Proportions will include the
following performance requirements :

•Durability - depends on Strength , Cement content, aggregate quality and perfect

compaction

•Strength – Required RCC strength is determined by the design of the structure in

conventional concrete structures. RCC is different than conventional concrete in that
the properties of the material are effected by the workability level of the mixture, the
fines content and the relation of the moisture content to the optimum moisture content

•Workability – of RCC is the property that determines the RCC’s capacity to be

placed and compacted successfully without harmful segregation. As RCC is zero-
slump concrete mix, the workability of RCC mix cannot be measured by the
conventional slump test method. The workability for RCC can be measured by
modified Vebe apparatus.

•Generation of heat – in RCC depends on the cement contents in the mixture. Low
water contents associated with mass RCC make possible use of very low cement
contents. By adding the maximum amount of pozzolan or ground slag will minimize the
Portland Cement Content. Placement temperatures is also one of the main factor to be
considered to lower the Heat Generation in RCC after placing and compacting.
•Cementitious Materials – To determine the suitability and availability of the types of
cement, pozzolan and Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace slag for the structures to be
constructed. The selection of one or several suitable cementitious materials for a
concrete structures depends on the exposure conditions, the type of structures, the
properties of the aggregates, the availability of the cementitious material and the
method of construction.

•Aggregate – The largest practical Nominal Size Aggregate should be used in mass
RCC. However, RCC mixture designed with the largest aggregate size.

•Water Content - Quantity of water content may be vary on Nominal Size of the
Aggregates and the type of the aggregates. From the laboratory test results show the
approximate ranges of modified Vebe times corresponding to ranges of water contents
and approximate mortar contents for RCC mixtures having varying Nominal Maximum
Aggregate sizes.

•Admixtures - RCC mixtures do not normally have intentionally entrained air and
consequently will not have a resistance to freezing and thawing in a critically
saturated moisture condition. But in some Projects, air entrained agent have been
used successfully.
 Quality Control Procedure for the construction of RCC Pavement.
The basic Quality Control Tests are almost same compare to the Quality Control Tests for
the RCC Pavement construction except some additional tests has to be done for the safety
to the structure. The Quality Control Tests procedure for the RCC Dam construction
is as follows:

1.Checking all materials to be used in RCC mixtures

2.Checking the Plant Calibration regularly

3.Measuring the in-place density of the compacted RCC with Nuclear Density Gauge

4.The modified Vebe Test is used frequently to determine the Consistency and Workability of
the RCC mixture which will affect to the Stability and the water tightness of the of an RCC
Dam structure.

5.Determining consistency for the required compaction.

6.Core sampling from the compacted RCC for measurement of Density and Strength.

7.Fabricating of RCC cylinders or cubes for the Strength Test.

Beni Haroun RCC Dam in Algeria
Platanovryssi RCC Dam in Greece
New Victoria RCC Dam in Australia
Upstream face view of New Victoria RCC
Dam in Australia
Downstream face view of New Victoria
RCC Dam in Australia
RCC Batching Plant and Conveyor Belt System for
transporting RCC material to the RCC placing site
RCC placing and compacting at New Victoria Dam
during construction in Australia
Placement of RCC in non spillway section
Slip forming of upstream facing element at Platanovryssi
RCC Dam in Greece during the construction
 Vibratory Roller compacting RCC directly against a
downstream face of Platanovryssi RCC Dam in Greece
during the construction
View of Platanovryssi RCC Dam in one third of the
dam height completion during construction
 Construction Method for RCC Road Pavement -
•Batching, Transporting, Placing and Compaction.

•Twin shaft Pugmill has been best achieved for RCC batching.

•RCC is dumped into the paver for paving.

•vibratory screed and tamping bar.

•Compacted with a dual drum (10 ton static weight) vibratory roller.

•Combination of Moist Curing and Membrane Curing is recommended

•The RCCP surface should be kept moist for at least 24 hours

•After 24 hours, the RCCP should be cured at least 7 days by either Water-spray
Curing or covering with wet Hessian cloth  

•All vehicular traffic should be kept off the RCCP surface for at least 14 days.
Quality Control / Assurance of RCC at construction site and in laboratory

 
In general, Quality Control and Quality Assurance Program for the construction
of RCC Dams and RCC Pavements are almost same. But Designer has more
cautious in safety to the construction of the RCC Dams and some more control
tests are conducted in the RCC Dams construction.
 
Basically, the following steps of Quality Control should be taken in the RCC
Pavement constructions:
 
1.      Checking all materials to be used in RCC mixtures
2.      Checking the Plant Calibration regularly
3.      Measuring the in-place density of the compacted RCC with Nuclear
Density
Gauge
4.      Checking the smoothness of the finished RCC surface with a straight
edge
5.      Core sampling from the compacted RCC for measurement of Density,
Strength and Thickness
6.      Fabricating RCC cylinders or cubes and beams for Strength Tests.
 Advantages of using Roller Compacted Concrete in
Road Pavement Constructions

1. RCC mixture has a lower water content and the water cement ratio is typically
around 0.35. Due to its low water content ratio, RCC mixture typically has high
strengths similar to or even greater than conventional concrete.

2. Low water content and Low Water / Cement ratio increases Strength, Reduces
Permeability, Enhances Durability and Resistance to Chemical Attack.

3. Aggregate interlock feature of RCC provides High Shear Strength at joints and un-
controlled cracks to prevent vertical displacement or faulting.
4. Low water content allows RCC mix to be compacted by using 8 Ton vibratory
rollers.
5. RCC Pavements do not need either formworks or surface finishing.

6. It does not use either dowel bars or steel reinforcing.

7. Typically RCC Pavement is constructed without joints.

8. Commonly available Machines and Equipments used for conventional asphalt

concrete pavement construction. 

9. Due to its advantage as a comparatively low cost, durable paving material, RCC
Pavement Technology has becoming popular in Road Constructions.
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