RCC/Soil-Cement: What’s the Difference?
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 17, Issue 4
Abstract
Roller-compacted concrete (RCC) and soil-cement are similar materials, in that they both are of zero-slump consistency and are placed and compacted with earth-moving or paving equipment. The construction methods used to produce RCC and soil-cement are also quite similar. Yet, in spite of these similarities, there are some fundamental differences between RCC and soil-cement. The following aspects of these two materials are discussed and compared: historical applications with an emphasis on water resources, mixture ingredients, testing procedures, design procedures, properties, construction methods, and costs. This paper identifies the limitations of each material based on properties and performance so that each material is properly applied to a project. Some recommendations and suggestions are introduced to better understand the practical differences and to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of using these two similar materials.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgment
The writers wish to thank Mr. Randy Bass of Schnabel Engineering for reviewing this paper. His constructive comments are gratefully acknowledged.
References
American Concrete Institute (ACI). (1990). State-of-the-art report on soil-cement, Committee 230, Detroit.
American Concrete Institute (ACI). (1999). Roller compacted mass concrete, Committee 207, Detroit.
Choi, Y. K., and Groom, J. L. (2001). “RCC mix design—Soils approach.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 13(1), 71–76.
Choi, Y. K., Neighbors, J. D. , and Reichler, J. D. (2003). “Cold weather placement of RCC.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 15(2), 118–124.
Dolen, T. P. (1998). “Mixture proportioning procedures for RCC using consistency tests.” Proc., Roller Compacted Concrete Dam and Dam Rehabilitation, Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill.
Hansen, K. D. (2002). “Erosion and abrasion resistance of soil-cement and roller-compacted concrete.” Research and Development Bulletin No. RD126, Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill.
Hansen, K. D. , and Lynch, J. B. (1995). “Controlling floods in the desert with soil-cement.” Proc., 2nd CANMET/ACI Int. Symp. on Advances in Concrete Technology, American Concrete Institute, Detroit.
Hansen, K. D. , Mclean, F. G. , and Forbes, B. A. (1999). “Shear strength of roller concrete dams.” Proc., Int. Symp. on RCC Dams, Chengdu, China.
Hansen, K. D. , and Reinhardt, W. G. (1991). Roller compacted concrete dams, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Japanese Ministry of Construction. (1981). Technical guide to RCD construction method, Technical Center for National Land Development, Tokyo.
Nussbaum, P. J. , and Colley, B. E. (1971). “Dam construction and facing with soil-cement.” Research and Development Bulletin RD010.01W, Portland Cement Association Skokie, Ill.
Portland Cement Association (PCA). (1976). “Soil-cement for water control: Laboratory tests.” Publication IS166.02W, Skokie, Ill.
Portland Cement Association (PCA). (1984). “Soil-cement for facing slopes and lining channels, reservoir, and lagoons.” Publication IS126.05W, Skokie, Ill.
Portland Cement Association (PCA). (1992). “Soil-cement laboratory handbook.” Publication EB052.07S, Skokie, Ill.
Portland Cement Association (PCA). (2001). “Laboratory tests and field studies on erosion and abrasion resistance of soil-cement and roller-compacted concrete—Results of a literature review.” Research and Development Serial No. 2436, Skokie, Ill.
Reeves, G. N. , and Yates, L. B. (1985). “Simplified design and construction control for roller compacted concrete.” Proc., Roller Compacted Concrete, ASCE, New York, 48–65.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). (1985). “Engineering and design, roller compacted concrete.” Engineering Manual No. 1110-1-2408, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). (1990). “Chapter 17: Soil-cement slope protection.” Design Standards No. 13: Embankment Dam, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Denver.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 5, 2004
Accepted: Aug 3, 2004
Published online: Aug 1, 2005
Published in print: Aug 2005
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Manoochehr Zoghi
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.