Roller compacted concrete
The perfect pavement to boost sustainable construction, reduce disruption or to meet challenging budgets and short build programmes.
Tarmac Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) is a durable and fast construction solution for heavy duty pavements.
Roller Compacted Concrete gets its name from the method of construction used to place the material. Just like asphalt, it is laid by paver and then roller compacted.
RCC is designed to a target grading and low water content. This means RCC can be installed like traditional asphalt and cement bound materials at high outputs without the need for long curing time or embedded rebar.
RCC is constructed in a similar fashion to Cement Bound Granular Mixtures (CBGM). The in-performance attributes are like those of a rigid concrete pavement.
With the need for 24/7 operations, reduced maintenance and durability in extreme working conditions - ports, harbours, airports and the industrial sectors can all benefit from the buildability of RCC.
Tarmac's Roller Compacted Concrete is manufactured on or close to site providing supply assurance on small footprint, rapidly deployed, mobile plants. The product is fully recyclable as there is no steel rebar. The finished surface can be natural, power floated, or brushed according to application.
Our team offer UK wide supply and capability. Proven expertise and an end-to-end solution with pavement design, specification, materials and installation.
Tarmac have a fleet of six mobile mixing plants capable of outputs between 150 to 900 tonnes per hour which allows the flexibility to adapt to any size of contract small and large. To complement the mixing capability our team have a resource of state of the art pavers, specifically for the instillation of hydraulically bound materials which together with the mixing capability offers a complete package from the contact start to completion and includes, pavement design, specification and materials.
The flexual strength of roller compacted concrete is greater than conventional concrete gaining 5.5Nmm2 and above, FAST!
Why use Roller compacted concrete?
Economic
Eliminates early life rutting during overlay, reduces the risk of degradation at construction joints.
Efficient
Circa 50% reduction in the speed of construction.
Choice of finish
The finished surface can be natural, power floated or brushed according to application.
Sustainable
Reduced C02.
Hard Wearing
'excellent surface toughness and point load resistance.
Cost Effective
Long term durability and reduced installation cost.
Mobile location
Manufactured on or close to the installation site by mobile plant.
Reductions
RCC speeds up and simplifies construction, reducing costs and programme time.
Fast
Offers quick installation and early trafficking.
Durable
Minimal maintenance and proven performance even in freezethaw conditions. Offers resistance to chemical attack.
The history of Roller Compacted Concrete
The use of RCC can be traced back to the 1930’s and ‘40’s with the most recognisable material to today’s pavements being that from the 1970’s logging industry where hard wearing, fast construct and frost resistant road building utilized RCC to great effect.
Since then it has been used widely for ports, harbour and container handling facilities, service roads, HGV parking, hardstanding and hard shoulders.
More recently RCC has been utilized in conjunction with asphalt overlay to reduce the cost of new build pavement construction on UK roads and has recently been included on the Specification for Highway Works.
Roller Compacted Concrete design
RCC has similar material constituents to that of conventional concrete. They are mixed in different ratios and increasingly incorporate fly ash or other Portland cement substitutes. The material is a mix of cement or cement substitute, water, sand and aggregates.
Other additives can be used to deliver enhanced performance attributes if deemed necessary. The mix contains much less water than a conventional concrete which means the concrete is drier and it has no slump. RCC is transported in uninsulated trucks or mixed onsite using mobile plant.
It is typically laid by pavers and is compacted by vibratory rollers and/or pneumatic tyred rollers. The strength of the finished material is reliant on the constituents of the mix and the level of compaction that can be achieved.
Where can Roller compacted concrete be used?
Concrete pavement for roads, loading or storage areas, service roads and hardstandings.
When compared with asphalt pavements, RCC ones present many of the advantages of coventional bayed concrete construction.
- Roller compacted concrete can be designed to have high flexural, compressive, and shear strengths, which allow it to support heavy, repetitive loads without failure—such as in heavy industrial, mining and military applications—and to withstand highly concentrated loads and impacts.
- With specially adapted mixes, a low permeability of the Roller compacted concrete can be achieved, providing it excellent durability, even under freeze-thaw conditions
- Roller compacted concrete eliminates rutting and subsequent repairs
- Roller compacted concrete resists abrasion, even under heavy loads and high traffic volumes
- Roller compacted concrete mixtures can use both natural and manufactured fine aggregates
- Fine aggregates not suitable for asphalt pavements can be used in Roller compacted concrete
- Due to the light surface colour of Roller compacted concrete pavements, lighting requirements are reduced
- Roller compacted concrete pavements have a high solar reflectance index, which reduces the temperature of the pavement and associated problems like the Heat Island Effect.
- Roller compacted concrete provides chemical and rut resistance in industrial areas where point loading from containers and trailers is a concern
National Highways A11 Fiveways to Thetford
RCC overlayed by varying thicknesses of asphalt was used on the A11 Fiveways to Thetford Improvement scheme by Balfour Beatty and Tarmac. Opened in December 2014 it has been regularly monitored and shows no visual or pavement defects to date.
Wirtgen, Newark UK
In 2018, RCC pavement was used for the new £9.2m Wirtgen UK, head office and plant depot near Newark, Nottinghamshire. 14,000m2 of roller compacted concrete was laid in just two weeks. Tarmac RCC provided cost savings, low risk and whole life performance, as well as a short construction period.
For more information about our roller compacted concrete contact the team.
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