Superpave Gyratory Compactor as an Alternative Design Method for Roller Compacted Concrete in the Laboratory
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33, Issue 6
Abstract
The introduction of the Superpave gyratory compactor (SGC) to pavement laboratories was a large step for the design process of hot mix asphalt (HMA). Considering the similarities between HMA and roller compacted concrete (RCC), the use of SGC in the design work of RCC pavement can offer many advantages. This study covers a wide range of RCC mixtures that can help to set the limits of using SGC for RCC mixture design. Therefore, a detailed experimental matrix was developed by taking various mixture parameters and gyration levels into account. Moreover, four different RCC mixtures determined on the basis of optimum mix designs were also produced by vibratory hand roller in order to simulate the field compaction conditions in the laboratory. The SGC results showed that for the same gyration level, the compaction ratio changes when the mixture is changed. The results also concluded that the gyration level for the same mixtures was the least significant factor affecting the mechanical performance. Hence, SGC is more effective in predicting the behavior of the fresh RCC. On the other hand, the mixtures with similar compaction ratios compacted by SGC and hand roller resulted in a similar strength level. Therefore, for RCC specimens produced by the SGC method, targeting the sample density (i.e., compaction ratio) is recommended due to its ease of applicability under field conditions rather than making a design based on the number of gyrations as used in conventional SGC applications.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This study is conducted under a research project on RCC pavement (Project No. 116M523) funded by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. The authors acknowledge the graduate student Mehmet Ali Aykutlu.
References
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 1995. Report on roller-compacted mass concrete. ACI 207.5R-11. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 2000. Compaction of roller-compacted concrete. ACI 309.5R-00. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 2015. Guide to roller-compacted concrete pavements. ACI 327R-14. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
ACPA (American Concrete Pavement Association). 2014. “ACPA guide specifications ver. 1.2: Roller-Compacted concrete pavements as exposed wearing surface.” Accessed May 26, 2020. http://www.acpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ACPA-Roller-Compacted-Concrete-Guide-Specification-Version-1.2.pdf.
Amer, N., N. Delatte, and C. Storey. 2003. “Using gyratory compaction to investigate density and mechanical properties of roller-compacted concrete.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1834 (1): 77–84. https://doi.org/10.3141/1834-10.
Amer, N., C. Storey, and N. Delatte. 2004. “Roller-compacted concrete mix design procedure with gyratory compactor.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1893 (1): 46–52. https://doi.org/10.3141/1893-06.
ASTM. 2012. Standard test methods for laboratory compaction characteristics of soil using modified effort [ ()]. ASTM D1557-12e1. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2013. Standard practice for making roller-compacted concrete in cylinder molds using a vibrating table. ASTM C1176. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2014. Standard test method for determining consistency and density of roller-compacted concrete using a vibrating table. ASTM C1170. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2015a. Standard test method for relative density (specific gravity) and absorption of coarse aggregate. ASTM C127. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2015b. Standard test method for relative density (specific gravity) and absorption of fine aggregate. ASTM C128. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2016. Standard test method for determining density of roller-compacted concrete specimens using the gyratory compactor. ASTM C1800. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2018. Standard specification for concrete aggregates. ASTM C33. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2020a. Standard specification for portland cement. ASTM C150. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2020b. Standard test method for resistance to degradation of small-size coarse aggregate by abrasion and impact in the Los Angeles machine. ASTM C131. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Browne, M. J. 2006. Feasibility of using a gyratory compactor to determine compaction characteristics of soil. Bozeman, MT: Montana State Univ.-Bozeman, College of Engineering.
CEN (European Committee for Standardization). 2011. Cement-Part 1: Composition, specifications, and conformity criteria for common cements. EN 197-1. Brussels, Belgium: CEN.
Cerni, G., and S. Camilli. 2011. “Comparative analysis of gyratory and proctor compaction processes of unbound granular materials.” Road Mater. Pavement Des. 12 (2): 397–421. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680629.2011.9695251.
Choi, Y.-K., and J. L. Groom. 2001. “RCC mix design-soils approach.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 13 (1): 71–76. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0899-1561(2001)13:1(71).
Collins, R., D. Watson, A. Johnson, and Y. Wu. 1997. “Effect of aggregate degradation on specimens compacted by Superpave gyratory compactor.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1590 (1): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3141/1590-01.
De Abreu, J. V., and A. D. Figueiredo. 2007. “High-strength roller compacted concrete for paving.” In Proc., Int. Workshop on Best Practices for Concrete Pavements. São Paulo, Brazil: Brazilian Concrete Institute.
Filho, J. M., V. A. Paulon, P. J. M. Monteiro, W. P. de Andrade, and D. Dal Molin. 2008. “Development of laboratory device to simulate roller-compacted concrete placement.” ACI Mater. J. 105 (2): 125–130.
Harrington, D., F. Abdo, W. Adaska, C. V. Hazaree, H. Ceylan, and F. Bektas. 2010. Guide for roller-compacted concrete pavements. Ames, IA: Iowa State Univ.
Khayat, K. H., and N. A. Libre. 2014. Roller compacted concrete: Field evaluation and mixture optimization. St. Rolla, MO: Missouri Univ. of Science and Technology, Center for Transportation Infrastructure and Safety.
LaHucik, J., S. Dahal, J. Roesler, and A. N. Amirkhanian. 2017. “Mechanical properties of roller-compacted concrete with macro-fibers.” Constr. Build. Mater. 135 (Mar): 440–446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.12.212.
LaHucik, J., and J. Roesler. 2015. “Low fines content roller-compacted concrete.” In Proc., Int. Airfield and Highway Pavements Conf. 2015. Reston, VA: Transportation and Development Institute of ASCE.
LaHucik, J., and J. Roesler. 2017. “Field and laboratory properties of roller-compacted concrete pavements.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2630 (1): 33–40. https://doi.org/10.3141/2630-05.
LaHucik, J. R. 2016. “Selecting material constituents and proportions for specific roller-compacted concrete mechanical properties.” M.S. thesis, Dept. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Li, C., D. J. White, and P. Vennapusa. 2015. “Moisture-density-strength-energy relationships for gyratory compacted geomaterials.” Geotech. Test. J. 38 (4): 461–473. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ20140159.
Masad, E., B. Muhunthan, N. Shashidhar, and T. Harman. 1999. “Quantifying laboratory compaction effects on the internal structure of asphalt concrete.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1681 (1): 179–185. https://doi.org/10.3141/1681-21.
Mehta, P. K., and P. J. M. Monteiro. 2006. Concrete: Microstructure, properties, and materials. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Mokwa, R., E. Cuelho, and M. Browne. 2008. “Laboratory testing of soil using Superpave gyratory compactor.” In Proc., 87th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board.
Neocleous, K., H. Angelakopoulos, K. Pilakoutas, and M. Guadagnini. 2011. “Fibre-Reinforced roller-compacted concrete transport pavements.” In Vol. 164 of Proc., ICE-Transport, Institution of Civil Engineers, 97–109. London: Thomas Telford.
Pasetto, M., and N. Baldo. 2014. “Comparative analysis of compaction procedures of unbound traditional and non-conventional materials.” In Pavements unbound, 53–61. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Peterson, R., K. Mahboub, R. Anderson, E. Masad, and L. Tashman. 2003. “Superpave laboratory compaction versus field compaction.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1832 (1): 201–208. https://doi.org/10.3141/1832-24.
Ribeiro, A. B., and I. R. De Almeida. 2000. “Study on high performance roller compacted concrete.” Mater. Struct. 33 (6): 398–402. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02479649.
Sengun, E. 2019. “Effects of mixture design parameters and compaction methods on the properties of roller compacted concrete pavements.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Middle East Technical Univ.
Sengun, E., B. Alam, R. Shabani, and I. O. Yaman. 2019. “The effects of compaction methods and mix parameters on the properties of roller compacted concrete mixtures.” Constr. Build. Mater. 228 (Dec): 116807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.116807.
Wang, X., S. Shen, H. Huang, and L. C. Almeida. 2018. “Characterization of particle movement in Superpave gyratory compactor at meso-scale using SmartRock sensors.” Constr. Build. Mater. 175 (Jun): 206–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.04.146.
Williams, S. 2013. “Comparison of the Superpave gyratory and proctor compaction methods for the design of roller-compacted concrete pavements.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2342 (1): 106–112. https://doi.org/10.3141/2342-13.
Zollinger, J. C. 2018. “Recent advances and uses of roller compacted concrete for pavement construction in the United States.” In Proc., 13th Int. Symp. on Concrete Roads. Berlin: European Concrete Paving Association.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33 • Issue 6 • June 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 11, 2019
Accepted: Oct 19, 2020
Published online: Mar 23, 2021
Published in print: Jun 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Aug 23, 2021
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.