Systematic Approach to Optimize Roller-Compacted Concrete Pavements Mixes Through Particle Packing Method

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation R

2023

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Previous studies have indicated that roller compacted concrete pavement may demonstrate significant variations in field behavior compared to laboratory specimens. This discrepancy can be attributed to the dissimilarities in compaction efforts between laboratory and field conditions, wherein the laboratory efforts fail to emulate the field compaction. Thus, in the present study, efforts have been made to optimize the compaction parameters, especially the number of layers of widely employed compaction methods, viz, the vibratory hammer (VH) and vibratory table (VT). A field slab was constructed using a duplex roller to provide a target value for the optimization process. Parameters such as packing density, fresh density, mechanical properties, viz, compressive, split tensile, and flexural strength, and porosity were considered for the tailoring process. Fresh density results showed that VT and VH-compacted specimens with ASTM parameters were loosely (−1.1%) and densely compacted (+5%), respectively, compared with field specimens (FSs). Therefore, to determine the optimal compaction parameters, the number of layers increased to five in the VT method and decreased to one in the VH method. Among different compaction layers, only the specimen fabricated with four layers and one layer in the VT and VH methods, respectively, could closely resemble the fresh, mechanical, and porosity of FSs. In addition, a new compaction procedure for fabricating prismatic specimens is developed for the VH and VT methods based on the compaction energy and packing density approaches.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tailoring of Compaction Parameters of the Vibratory Table and Vibratory Hammer for Roller Compacted Concrete Pavements to Resemble Field Properties

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation R

2023

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“…Further, a linear reduction in porosity and water absorption was observed with an increase in the cement content of RCCP mixes. This behavior could be linked to the lubrication effect offered by the higher paste volume ( 39 ) and a noticeable reduction in the w/c ratio. As far as JPCP mixes are concerned, the dispersed aggregate skeleton and higher w/c ratio increased the water absorption and porosity characteristics.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Analysis of Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement and Roller-Compacted Concrete Pavement

Kumar

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation R

2023

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Jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP) is the widely preferred conventional concrete pavement for highways; however, the higher initial construction cost and extended time for traffic opening limit its applicability. Recent advancements like roller-compacted concrete pavement (RCCP) could address the above concerns of JPCP. Yet, there is a lack of knowledge and comparative studies on the performance assessment, sustainability, and economic analysis of RCCP and JPCP. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the engineering properties (density, compressive and flexural strength, and fluid flow properties), cost analysis (materials and initial construction cost), and sustainability (carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption) of both pavements. The fresh density and mechanical properties of RCCP were 8%–9% and 13%–35% higher than JPCP; thus, 44%–89% and 24%–57% reductions in water absorption and porosity were observed in the considered RCCP mixes against JPCP. The higher strength properties of RCCP significantly reduced the pavement thickness by 10%–25%, thereby lowering the materials and initial construction costs by 52%–78%. Further, sustainability assessment through the cradle-to-gate (from raw material extraction to transportation phase) and gate-to-gate (only concrete production in a ready-mix plant) approaches revealed that employment of RCCP could significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions (9%–30%) and energy consumption (10%–32%) compared with JPCP mixes. The findings show that RCCP can be considered sustainable, economical, and higher-performance pavement than JPCP.

“…Particle packing approach is usually adopted for stiff mixtures to reduce the voids and increase the aggregate interlocking ( 10 ), and the same approach is followed for the present study. The aggregate quantity determined for all the RCCP mixtures based on the particle packing approach is given in Table 4.…”

Section: Experimental Programmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many particle packing approaches are available that could be followed to ensure denser aggregate interlocking in RCCP ( 6 ). Among all, the modified Andreassen, Fuller–Thomson, compressible packing, and solid suspension models produced RCCP mixtures with better performance ( 5 , 7–10 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing the Performance of Roller-Compacted Concrete Pavement by Synergetic Improvement of Packing Density, Lubrication, and Moisture State of Recycled Concrete Aggregate

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation R

Anjana

2023

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Roller-compacted concrete pavement (RCCP) is considered superior to other pavement types with reference to cost, ease of construction, and performance. However, the aggregate demand is significantly higher in RCCP than in the conventional concrete pavement. It is predicted that natural minable limestone sources would be exhausted in India in the next 30 to 40 years. One way to reduce the natural aggregates (NA) requirements in RCCP is through the integration of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA). However, the physical property of RCA is significantly inferior to that of NA owing to the presence of adhered mortar (AM), which increases the water demand by 2.3 to 4.6 times and affects the compactness and hardened-state behavior of RCCP. This study has tried to enhance the compactness and improve the performance of RCCP containing RCA (coarse, fine, and total RCAs) through different synergetic approaches. This, in turn, enhances the interlocking capacity using the particle packing approach, followed by mitigating the negative effects of AM by altering the moisture states, then improving the compactability and lubricating the matrix with superplasticizers. The results depict that altering the moisture states alone could adversely affect the RCCP performance because of the moisture transfer mechanism from the hydraulic gradient. Moreover, the inclusion of superplasticizers in different moisture states could manifest better aggregate rearrangement and compactability. Further, it could improve the tensile behavior of the RCCP compared with the concrete containing NA. These findings favor the complete replacement of NA by RCA for low-volume rural road construction.