Influence of Compaction Methods on the Optimum Moisture Content and Performance of Roller Compacted Concrete Pavements
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 35, Issue 7
Abstract
Despite numerous advantages, there are a few challenges associated with the designing and fabrication of roller compacted concrete pavement (RCCP) specimens—compaction mechanisms employed in the RCCP mix proportioning, specimen fabrication, and actual pavement construction are different in principle, leading to significant disparity between the field and laboratory performance. To reconcile this discrepancy, an effort has been made to study the effect of compaction on the performance of RCCP. Initially, the effect of different compaction types, namely vibrating table, vibrating hammer, modified Proctor, and gyratory compactor (GY) on the optimum moisture content of RCCP was investigated, then the roles of moisture content and compaction type on dry density, mechanical aspects (compressive strength, indirect tensile strength, and flexural strength), rideability, and transport properties (porosity and absorption) of RCCP were elucidated. Also, alternative methods for quantifying the workability and compactability of GY compacted specimens are proposed. The findings from this study suggest employing a particular compaction mechanism both for the mix proportioning as well as specimen fabrication to avoid the under- or overestimation of RCCP performance.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the Research Initiative grant on Technologies for Low-Carbon and Lean Construction (Project No. SB20210809CEMHRD008100), received from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India, for conducting this research work. Also, the authors acknowledge the research grant received from IITM, Chennai (Project No. CE1920656NFSC008952) for the purchase of the dedicated concrete gyratory compactor used for this study. The first author also thanks the PMRF scholarship received from the Ministry of Education, Government of India, for carrying out this research work.
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Received: Sep 24, 2022
Accepted: Nov 10, 2022
Published online: Apr 24, 2023
Published in print: Jul 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Sep 24, 2023
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