Roller Compacted Concrete Pavement (RCC), is a type of non-reinforced concrete pavement placed with high density paving equipment and then compacted with vibratory rollers. While the finished product is essentially concrete pavement, the engineering and construction of this pavement is very different from conventional concrete pavement. First constructed in the seventies, RCC pavements were needed for the Canadian logging industry. As they switched to environmentally cleaner, land-based log-sorting methods, the industry needed a low-cost, strong pavement to stand up to massive loads and specialized equipment for these large sorting yards (that can span 40 acres or more). RCC met this challenge and has since expanded to other heavy-duty applications.
Low cost continues to draw engineers, owners and construction managers to RCC. Today, RCC owes much of its appeal to performance. RCC can be placed quickly, expediting the construction schedule, and has the strength to withstand heavy and specialized loads. RCC is also durable in a freeze-thaw environment and has the versatility to take on a wide variety of paving applications.
In general, RCC has two major markets: pavements and water resources (dams, spillways, reservoir slope protection, etc.) While there are water resource applications which are placed similar to RCC pavements, the materials, engineering properties, and construction means and methods for pavements are typically different from those for water resources applications. The RCC Pavement Council and website’s focus is on RCC Pavements. The vast majority of this site’s information is not applicable for water resources applications.
Main Benefits Of RCC
- Fast construction
- Cost-effective
- Open to traffic shortly after placement
- Resistance to shoving and pushing
- Long life pavement
- Minimal maintenance required
- No rutting
- No pot holes
- Resistance to hydraulic fluid and fuel spills
- Will not soften under high temperatures
For more information, and the RCC Pavement Council website, please go to: http://rccpavementcouncil.org/what-is-roller-compacted-concrete-pavement/
For a recent video titled “VIDEO: RCC Paving: North Carolina DOT’s First RCC Paving Project“, please go to: https://www.concretepavements.org/2017/11/17/video-rcc-paving-north-carolina-dots-first-rcc-paving-project/