A parking lot demonstration of RCC went on for four afternoons and and included test strip placement, curing, saw cutting and testing at World of Concrete 2013.Field demonstrations of roller-compacted concrete (RCC) have become a big part of spreading the “gospel” of roller-compacted concrete. For example, RCC was an attraction in itself during a four-day continuing demonstration of placement at World of Concrete 2014 in February in Las Vegas.
There, a Eurostyle heavy paver with compaction at the screed placed RCC, which was compacted by a heavy tandem smooth-drum roller.
The parking lot demo was held four afternoons in a row and included test strip placement, curing, saw cutting and testing, and it drew throngs of individuals. The event was sponsored by the American Concrete Pavement Association and the Portland Cement Association, with support of contractor A.G. Peltz Co. and suppliers Aggregate Industries USA, CalPortland Co., Cemex and Wirtgen America Inc.
In January 2012, Cemex held a public demonstration in New Braunfels, Texas, for the construction of a half-mile segment of Solms Road. The demo attracted more than 100 public agency personnel from cities, counties and Texas DOT, as well as engineers and construction professionals.
This road is the main truck access road off of I-35 for the Cemex plant and other industrial facilities nearby. Large numbers of fully loaded 18-wheelers run across the pavement each day, and the existing asphalt road was a veritable “roller-coaster/mine field” for those needing to travel across it, says sponsor Cement Council of Texas.
The pavement section consisted of a cement/lime-modified subgrade layer, with cement-treated base on top, and 9-inCH RCC pavement as the driving course. The RCC was mixed in a pug mill at the Cemex plant, placed with a high-density Eurostyle paver, and compacted with vibratory steel-wheeled rollers.
The RCC pavement was diamond-ground by Penhall Co., the technique allowing RCC to be used for higher speed-limit roads where ride quality is more sensitive.
According to the council, another recent example of RCC pavement being placed in Texas is a 3/4-mile section of Grape Creek Road in San Angelo, where the RCC placement was so successful that the city is looking at other RCC projects.
“RCC pavement is a great alternative for roads and pavement applications that have traditionally used asphalt,” the Cement Council of Texas says. “It can be placed fast, opened to traffic quickly and can be less expensive than an equivalent asphalt pavement reconstruction. And it lasts a lot longer than an asphalt alternative.”
To read more about roller-compacted concrete, check out the December Road Science article.
