Roller-Compacted Concrete Overlay on Asphalt: A U.S. Case Study on Design, Construction, and Performance

Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) paving has been around for more than four decades and has been effectively used in ports, intermodal yards and industrial applications. More recently RCC paving has transitioned into streets and roads. This report focuses on the design, placement, and performance of an RCC overlay on an existing asphalt surface. Pavement design software that was developed for conventional concrete was employed and adapted to design the unbounded RCC overlay. The final design called for an 8 in. (200 mm) RCC overlay on the existing pavement. Two mix designs with different aggregate gradation were used on the project to compare their reaction to the paver & roller compaction. The RCC was mixed in a continuous pugmill and placed with a high density asphalt paver. High density 97-98% was typically achieved after the paver, and a roller was used to increase the wet density where needed. A curing compound was then sprayed over the wet concrete followed by an early entry saw that was used to create two slab sizes, i.e. 12 ft x 12 ft (3.6 m x 3.6 m) and 12 ft x 15 ft (3.6 m x 4.5 m) in order to investigate their difference. After two years of service, the pavement is performing well and little distress has been observed. Although the pavement has been performing well, there is still room for improvement mainly in three areas. First, it is recommended that a design tool be developed specifically for optimizing RCC, especially RCC overlay, designs. Second, more research is needed on RCC mix design taking into account various aggregate characteristics. Lastly, there is an opportunity to make RCC overlays more economical by investigating the potential of bonding RCC overlay to the existing pavement.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AFH50 Standing Committee on Concrete Pavement Construction and Rehabilitation. Alternate title: Roller Compacted Concrete Overlay on Asphalt: A US Case Study on Design, Construction and Performance.
• Authors:
  • Cervantes, Victor
  • Mu, Feng
  • Zollinger, Corey J
  • Johnston, James
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
• Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 13p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aggregate gradation; Asphalt pavements; Case studies; Concrete overlays; Mix design; Pavement design; Pavement performance; Paving; Roller compacted concrete
• Geographic Terms: Victorville (California)
• Subject Areas: Construction; Design; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Materials; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01659636
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 18-03127
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 8 2018 10:20AM