Construction and Building Materials 96 (2015) 567–575

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Experimental study on real-time control of roller compacted concrete

dam compaction quality using unit compaction energy indices
Donghai Liu ⇑, Zilong Li, Jinlong Liu
State Key Laboratory of Hydraulic Engineering Simulation and Safety, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China

h i g h l i g h t s

The UCE indices can be used to evaluate compaction quality of RCC dams.

Quantitative relation between UCE and RCC compaction quality is established.

A real-time UCE monitoring system is presented in RCC compaction quality control.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Vibrating compaction is a marked feature distinguishing roller compacted concrete (RCC) from conven-
Received 18 March 2015 tional concrete and is the key factor influencing RCC construction quality. The compaction of RCC results
Received in revised form 26 July 2015 from the comprehensive effect of all compaction parameters. Considering every construction parameter
Accepted 9 August 2015
separately would increase the difficulty of construction control and not guarantee construction quality.
Therefore, real-time monitoring quality indices—namely, unit compaction energy (UCE), including unit
volume compaction energy (UVCE) and unit area compaction energy (UACE), which reflect the compre-
Keywords:
hensive effect of compaction parameters—were proposed to evaluate the compaction quality of RCC
Roller compacted concrete (RCC) dam
Compaction parameters
matrix and interface, respectively. To investigate the UCE for predicting the compaction quality of an
Construction quality RCC dam, a three-part laboratory compaction experiment was conducted using a hand vibratory roller.
Unit compaction energy Data on compaction parameters, UVCE/UACE and in situ measurements (e.g., nuclear moisture density,
Quality control shear strength) were collected to perform statistical regression analyses. A density regression model of
Real-time monitoring RCC matrix and a shear strength regression model of RCC interface were established to determine the
control criteria of UVCE and UACE, respectively. Furthermore, a UCE-based real-time monitoring system
was developed for field quality control, which is the subsequent practical application of the laboratory
experimental study and will result in RCC construction quality assurance.
Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction conventionally placed concrete dams is the number of horizontal

More than 350 roller compacted concrete (RCC) dams have been
built or are waiting to be built around the world since the RCC
technique was applied to dam construction in the 1980s [1].
Three key properties of RCC make it uniquely suited for dams:
economy, performance and high-speed construction [2]. For a
properly proportioned RCC mixture, the hardened performance
primarily relies on the degree of compaction. For example, five per-
cent air voids due to incomplete compaction can result in a 30%
loss of strength, whereas 20% air voids can result in a strength loss
of 80% [3]. A significant difference between RCC dams and
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: liudh@tju.edu.cn (D. Liu), zilonglibaifoshan@163.com (Z. Li),
1242013036@qq.com (J. Liu).
construction joints, which is determined by the unique construc-
tion technology of successive thin lifts. To ensure the bonding
strength of lift joints, the presently used measures are strictly to
control the interval time between two RCC layers within the initial
setting time and impose sufficient vibrating energy to ensure that
the RCC aggregates overcome their mutual friction to reach a
monolithic structure. In fact, most of the RCC pouring is completed
within the initial setting time. Thus, the vibrating compaction
becomes not only a marked feature distinguishing RCC from con-
ventional concrete but also the key factor influencing RCC dam
construction quality.
The compaction of RCC materials involves the comprehensive
effects of various compaction parameters (including the com-
paction passes, roller velocity, vibration frequency, and compacted
thickness), which are strictly monitored on dam construction

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.08.048
0950-0618/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
568 D. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 96 (2015) 567–575
projects in China [4]. However, controlling every construction
parameter within a reasonable interval will increase the difficulty
of control and cost of management, which may not guarantee
construction quality. In fact, even when certain compaction param-
eters were substandard in construction, the compaction quality of
RCC dams was usually satisfactory if the rollers imposed sufficient
vibrating compaction energy. Therefore, the objective of this paper
is to propose a comprehensive real-time monitoring index—i.e., the
unit compaction energy (UCE, including the unit volume
compaction energy, UVCE, and the unit area compaction energy,
UACE)—and conduct laboratory compaction experiments to inves-
tigate UCE for predicting the compaction quality of an RCC dam.
Thus, based on the statistical regression analyses of the experimen-
tal data, the compaction quality evaluation models of RCC matrix
and interface will be established using UCE as an independent vari-
able. Moreover, the UCE-based real-time compaction quality mon-
itoring system will be developed to control RCC dam construction
quality in the field. The abovementioned study will improve the
conventional RCC compaction quality control methods and provide
a new way to assure RCC dam construction quality in China.
2. Bibliographic research
The bonding quality between two layers is the key to RCC dam
construction. Previous studies have shown that certain important
construction factors can positively affect the interface bonding
quality. Forbes [5] demonstrated that the sloped layer construction
method used in RCC dams enabled each layer of RCC to be placed
within the initial setting time. Thus, the method improved
horizontal joint strength and impermeability and significantly
enhanced the safety of the dam. Based on the summary of RCC
development and studies in the early stage, Hansen et al. [6] noted
that the interface bonding strength was associated with the
concrete consistency and the compactness of upper RCC layers in
addition to the interface situation (dry or moist) and the interval
construction time. Schrader’s experimental results [7,8] indicated
that the difference in interface ‘‘maturity” (i.e., the product of
exposure time and average surface temperature) influenced the
interface bonding strength. High lifts have been commonly used
in Japanese RCC dam construction to reduce the number of
horizontal lifts; meanwhile, thin layer spreading was noted as
the key to ensuring compaction quality [9]. The above studies were
beneficial explorations to guarantee the interface bonding quality
from different angles. However, the published research regarding
quantitative effects of construction parameters on interface
bonding quality are limited. More studies have been performed
to focus on the correlation between construction parameters and
compaction quality of RCC matrix. Ou [10,11] discussed the rela-
tionship between vibrating compaction energy and compaction
quality indices of RCC matrix through laboratory experiments.
Liang and Feng [12] further proposed ‘‘unit volume compaction
energy” to characterize the comprehensive effect of compaction
parameters and established the assessment model between ‘‘unit
volume compaction energy” and compaction quality of RCC matrix.
However, the correlation between vibrating compaction energy
and bonding strength at the horizontal lifts was not involved.
Choi et al. [13] provided several remedial measures for RCC con-
struction in cold weather; however, the quantitative relationship
between remedial measures and compaction quality was still defi-
cient. In summary, a complex issue presented in the RCC successive
construction was the quantitative relationship between
compaction parameters and compaction quality of an RCC dam
(including matrix and interface).
In recent years, the real-time monitoring of compaction param-
eters has been gradually introduced into the quality control of RCC
dams. Typically, the real-time dam compaction quality monitoring
system proposed by Zhong et al. [14,15] could monitor the com-
paction passes, roller velocity, compacted thickness, compacted
elevation and exciting force state in real time during dam construc-
tion, which has been successfully applied to the construction qual-
ity control of the Ludila, Longkaikou, and Fengman RCC dams in
China. Based on the real-time monitoring system, Liu et al. [16]
established the compactness model for the core wall dam using
real-time monitored compaction parameters and material grada-
tion as independent variables. Liu’s work provided the possibility
of assessing compaction quality using real-time compaction
parameters, but the assessment method was not completely trans-
planted to the construction quality control of RCC dams because of
the difference between the RCC material and the earth rock dam
material, especially the RCC hydration and interface bonding prob-
lems. In addition, RCC compaction was the comprehensive result of
all compaction parameters, and the current control of every com-
paction parameter within the specified range would increase the
difficulty of construction management and obtaining satisfactory
compaction quality. A real-time monitoring quality index that
can reflect the comprehensive compaction effect of various
compaction parameters is lacking in the present RCC construction
quality management system. Therefore, it is necessary to study
real-time monitoring UCE to predict the compaction quality of an
RCC dam.
3. Experimental testing
This section first defines the comprehensive monitoring index of RCC com-
paction quality—namely, UCE—which includes the unit volume compaction energy
(UVCE) used for the matrix compaction quality assessment and the unit area com-
paction energy (UACE) used for the interface compaction quality assessment. Next,
a three-part laboratory compaction experiment was set up to evaluate UCE (UVCE
and UACE) for predicting the compaction quality of the RCC dam. The results of
experimental testing will provide a dataset for the subsequent modeling analysis
in Section 4.
3.1. Unit compaction energy (UCE)
According to the engineering vibration theory [17], the total vibration force (P)
transmitted to the compacted material can be expressed as Eq. (1).
P ¼ W þ F sin xt ð1Þ
where W refers to the radial load of the vibrating wheels (N), x refers to the eccen-
tric excitation frequency (rad/s), and F refers to the vertical excitation force ampli-
tude due to the rotating eccentric (N).
Considering the influence of RCC damping, a phase difference (u) between the
vertical exciting force and drum displacement exists, and the compaction energy
performed in a vibration cycle has been documented by the RCC Dam
Popularizing Committee of the China National Energy Ministry and Water
Resource Ministry [17], which is expressed as Eq. (2).
1 h
p i
E ¼ WAð1 þ sin uÞ þ FA cos u þ u þ sin u ð2Þ
2 2
where E refers to the compaction energy in a vibrating cycle (J) and A refers to the
vertical displacement amplitude (m).
Early experimental results showed that the value of u was close to p/2 if the
roller’s vibration frequency was equal to the resonant frequency of the drum–RCC
system [11,17,18]. Wu and Yu demonstrated that the resonant frequency for RCC
compaction was approximately 50 Hz [19]. Considering that the vibrating fre-
quency of the roller used in this experiment was also approximately 50 Hz, E can
be simplified to Eq. (3).
 
1
E ¼ 2A W þ pF ð3Þ
4
Considering the different quality control requirements of the RCC matrix and
interface, the UVCE and UACE were presented in this paper to control the com-
paction quality of RCC matrix and interface, respectively.
 D. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 96 (2015) 567–575 569

3.1.1. Unit volume compaction energy (UVCE) 0.43 m in diameter and 0.6 m in width and provides an eccentric force with a fre-
Suppose that all vibrating energy acts on the compaction of RCC matrix. The quency range of 0–70 Hz. The RCC mix proportion of the experiments is shown in
UVCE—that is, the compaction energy transmitted to the unit volume of RCC after Table 1.
N passes of compaction—is proposed to reflect the comprehensive effect of com- The experiments include three parts: part 1 was used to evaluate the
paction parameters. The UVCE would be determined as Eq. (4). relationship between UVCE and the compaction quality of the matrix; part 2 was
  targeted at evaluating the attenuation of vibrating energy along the layer depth;
t 1 L 1 pF Nf and part 3 evaluated the relationship between UACE and the bonding quality of
E0;1 ¼ E  N   ¼EN f  ¼ 2A W þ ð4Þ
T BHL v BHL 4 BHv the interface.
where E0,1 refers to the value of UVCE (J/m3), N refers to the compaction passes, B
refers to the drum width (m), H refers to the lift thickness (m), v refers to the roller 3.2.1. Experimental method of part 1
velocity (m/s), L refers to the compacted length (m), t refers to the duration of com- A test trough with a length of approximately 3.0 m and a width of 1.0 m was
pacting the length of L (s), T refers to the duration of a vibration cycle (s), and f refers fabricated for the experiment of part 1. The details of the experimental setup are
to the vibrating frequency (Hz). described as follows:

1. The fresh RCC was placed in the trough to achieve a relatively homogeneous lift
3.1.2. Unit area compaction energy (UACE) with an average thickness of 0.20 m.
The compaction energy transmitted to the interface is crucial to the bonding 2. The hand vibratory roller was passed over the RCC lift twice without vibration
quality of joints. The value of E0,2 (n) is used to express the compaction energy to achieve a smooth surface followed by several more passes with a vibrating
transmitted to the lift depth of h at the nth compaction pass, the definition of which frequency of approximately 50 Hz until the RCC bled adequately.
is shown as Eq. (5). 3. As shown in Fig. 1, the compaction parameters covering the compaction pass,
  the roller speed, the vibrating frequency and the vibrating amplitude were mea-
t 1 L 1 1 f
E0;2 ðnÞ ¼ E    dðhÞ ¼ E   f   dðhÞ ¼ 2A W þ F p   dðhÞ ð5Þ sured. The compaction pass (N) was counted manually; the roller velocity (v)
T BL v BL 4 Bv
was recorded as the average speed along the RCC lift; the vibrating frequency
where E0,2 (n) refers to the value of UACE at the nth compaction pass (J/m2), h refers (f) and amplitude (A) were gathered from an acceleration sensor installed on
to the lift thickness (m), d(h) refers to the attenuation of the vibrational energy along the axle of the drum; the radial load of the vibrating wheels (W) and the drum
the RCC layer, which is a function of h, and other variables are the same as those in width (B) were taken as the factory calibration values because the roller was a
Eq. (4). When the RCC layer is compacted for N passes, the total UACE reached at the newly purchased piece of equipment. Moreover, the compacted density (q) was
depth of h would be determined as Eq. (6). determined using a calibrated nuclear densimeter device.

X
N
E0;2 ¼ E0;2 ðnÞ ð6Þ 3.2.2. Experimental method of part 2
n¼1 Fig. 2 shows the experimental layout of part 2, and the setup is described as
follows:
where E0,2 refers to the value of UACE after N passes of compaction (J/m2).
1. A similar RCC lift with a length of 3.0 m, a width of 1.0 m and a depth of approx-
3.1.3. Attenuation of vibrational energy in RCC layer imately 0.45 m was paved. Four YD-188 accelerometers were embedded into
Previous studies [10,11,17] have shown that the transmission of vibrating the lift at depths of 0.08 m, 0.16 m, 0.26 m and 0.36 m (see Fig. 2).
energy in the RCC layer generally decreases exponentially, and the attenuation 2. The same compaction method as in part 1—that is, two passes without vibration
can be expressed as Eq. (7). and several passes with vibration—was performed.
3. During the compaction, the acceleration RMS values were captured via a data
E0;2;h ðnÞ ¼ E0;2;h¼0 ðnÞ  dðhÞ ¼ E0;2;h¼0  ebh ð7Þ acquisition system, which was manufactured by WuHan uTekL Analysis soft-
ware, Co. Ltd. (China, http://www.utekl.cn).
where E0,2;h (n) refers to the value of UACE obtained at the depth of h, E0,2;h=0 (n)
refers to the value of UACE obtained at the surface of the RCC layer, and b refers
to the non-dimensional attenuation coefficient. The RMS values were calculated automatically in the system by Eq. (8).
vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
The RCC aggregate’s acceleration root mean square (RMS) value is a symbol of u n
u1 X
random vibration, the square of which reflects the vibration energy per unit time. RMS ¼ t x2 ð8Þ
Therefore, the acceleration attenuation law of RCC aggregates is also that of the n i¼1 i
vibrating energy along the RCC layer depth [17]. The feasible acquirement method
of the acceleration attenuation law of aggregates is to embed the accelerometers where xi is a random acceleration measurement, and n is the number of collected
into the RCC layer and collect the acceleration RMS values using a data acquisition samples within the duration of one roller pass on the RCC above the accelerometers,
instrument. By the subsequent regression analysis of the acceleration RMS values, which is equal to approximately 2.55  104.
the exponential attenuation coefficient of vibration energy could be acquired.
Note that the vibration energy in the RCC layer was proportional to the square of 3.2.3. Experimental method of part 3
the acceleration RMS value, so the b of vibrating energy is twice that of the aggre- A longer trough was fabricated for the placement of two RCC lifts with a length
gate acceleration RMS value. As a result, the UACE at the depth of h can be calcu- of 7.0 m and a width of 1.0 m in part 3 of the experiment. The details of the exper-
lated using Eq. (7). imental setup are described as follows:

3.2. Laboratory experiment setup
Huangdeng RCC dam, which is located in Yunnan province, China, is taken as
the background project of the study. The dam has a maximum height of 203 m
and a crest length of 464 m with a dam-body concrete volume of 4.89 million m3.
Because the RCC construction of this project is not widely performed, there are
no conditions for large-scale compaction experiments at the jobsite. In the local
region, small-scale laboratory compaction experiments were performed to study
the quantitative relationship between UCE and compaction quality of RCC matrix
or interface.
A double smooth-drum hand vibratory roller (DC25-C) was used in the labora-
tory experiments. The total weight of the roller is 550 kg with the static weight
under the front and rear drums equally distributed at 225 kg. Each drum is
1. The lower RCC lift was paved homogeneously with an average thickness of
0.2 m. Following several passes of the hand vibratory roller with a vibrating fre-
quency of 50 Hz, the lower RCC lift became stiff to the designed density
(2465 kg/m3).
2. The upper RCC lift was paved after the compaction of the lower lift to simulate
the successive construction of the RCC interface. Two passes without
vibration were conducted on the upper RCC lift to achieve a smooth surface.
Then, each of the subsequent five compaction passes—that is, the passes from
1st to 5th, 6th to 10th, 11th to 15th, 16th to 20th, 21st to 25th, and 26th to
30th—were conducted from the start position to positions 1–6, respectively
(see Fig. 3).
3. The measurements of the compaction parameters were taken during the com-
paction of RCC using the same methods as in part 1.

Table 1
Experimental mix proportion of RCC.

Water (kg/m3) Cement (kg/m3) Fly ash (kg/m3) Sand (kg/m3) Water reducing Air entraining Coarse aggregate (kg/m3)
agent (kg/m3) agent (kg/m3)
5–20 mm 20–40 mm
105 94 151 748 1.470 0.315 588 718
570 D. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 96 (2015) 567–575

Fig. 1. Compaction parameters measured in experiment part 1.

Hand Vibratory Roller Statistical Values

Acceleration RMS

1.0 1#
m
Time-history Curve of Acceleration
2# Accelerometer Time

3#

4#

RCC Layer
3.0m
Data Acquisition System
Arrangement of Accelerometers

Fig. 2. Experimental layout of experiment part 2.

Compacting Direction

Core
0.2m

Compacting the Upper Layer after

Side Upper RCC Lift the Lower Layer
View
0.2m

Lower RCC Lift

Interface (joint)

7.0m
0.24m 0.24m 0.24m 0.24m 0.24m 0.24m

0.8m 0.8m 0.8m 0.8m 0.8m 0.8m 1.0m

Cores
1.0m

Top View Position 1 Position 2 Position 3 Position 4 Position 5 Position 6 Start and End
of Lift Position

：
Samples： Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6

Fig. 3. Experimental layout of experiment part 3.

 D. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 96 (2015) 567–575 571

4. A total of 18 cores (diameter: £ = 0.15 m), which contained the horizontal con-
struction joints, were taken after curing for 28 days in a moist environment.
According to the above 6 compaction conditions, the cores were divided into
6 groups (denoted as Groups 1–6), and every group contained three samples
to minimize errors. The interface shear strength was obtained by the shearing
tests at the positions of the construction joints.

4. Results analysis

This section focuses on developing the quantitative relations

between UCE and RCC construction quality according to the data-
set from the three-part experiment described above. First, based
on the results of laboratory compaction experiments, the regres-
sive compaction quality model of RCC matrix and the regressive
bonding strength model of RCC interface will be established,
respectively. In addition, the UCE control criteria (including the
UVCE control criterion and the UACE control criterion) will be
determined according to the established models and the designed
quality standards.
Fig. 4. Relationship between UVCE and density.
4.1. Matrix compaction quality model and UVCE control criterion

Eight samples of matrix density (q) and compaction parameters
(including compaction passes N, roller velocity v, vibrating ampli-
tude A, vibrating frequency f, radial load W and drum width B),
as shown in Table 2, were obtained from the compaction experi-
ments in part 1. Note that the UVCE was calculated using Eq. (4)
and the exciting force (F) was calculated from the vibrating fre-
quency using Eq. (9).
2
F ¼ M e  x2 ¼ M e  ð2pf Þ
where F refers to the actual exciting force (N); Me refers to the
eccentric mass moment (kgm), which herein is a constant provided
by the roller manufacturer; x refers to the eccentric excitation
frequency (rad/s); and f refers to the actual vibrating frequency
(Hz).
According to the RCC construction specification in China [20],
the density (or compactness) is usually used as the compaction
quality index of RCC matrix. Data correlation analysis indicated
that the Pearson’s R between UVCE and matrix density was
0.848, a significant correlation, so the UVCE could be used to estab-
lish the density model. The relationship between UVCE and density
is demonstrated with the scatter plot shown in Fig. 4, which was
fitted with a hyperbolic function with a high determination coeffi-
cient (R2) of 0.854. The function was expressed as
1:926  107
q¼ þ 2502:674
E0;1
where q is the compacted density (kg/m3) and E0,1 is the measured
value of UVCE (J/m3). The significant R2 made it possible to use
UVCE to assess the compacted density of the RCC matrix.
The designed density ([q]) of the experimental RCC matrix was
2465 kg/m3. According to Eq. (10), the UVCE control criterion
([E0,1])—namely, the control value of UVCE to guarantee sufficient
RCC matrix density—was inversely calculated as 5.11  105 J/m3.
Furthermore, when the compaction parameters were taken as
the average values of 28 total passes (i.e., the roller velocity of
0.26 m/s, the vibrating frequency of 48.1 Hz, the vibrating ampli-
tude of 0.00044 m, the exciting force of 6734 N and the layer depth
ð9Þ of 0.2 m), the control criterion of compaction pass ([N]) was
back-calculated to be approximately 23 according to Eq. (4). The
compaction quality managers can flexibly select any above men-
tioned UVCE or pass control criterion to guarantee the compaction
quality of the RCC matrix. Regardless of the control criterion, once
the field values reach the expected values, the construction can be
completed. Additional compacting would not be conducive to high
performance of the RCC material at this time.
Because RCC construction in the field was not conducted at a
large scale, only four verification samples were obtained to verify
the established model. The compaction parameters in the verifica-
tion samples were collected by the real-time compaction quality
monitoring system [14,15], which has been popularly applied in
the quality control of RCC dams. The compacted density was mea-
sured using a nuclear densimeter device, and the vibratory roller
used in the project was BOMAG 202AD-4, the technical data of
which are shown on the BOMAG website [21]. A density compar-
ð10Þ ison between measured values and calculated values is shown in
Table 3. Similarly, increasing E0,1 corresponds to increasing density
resulting from the compaction operation. However, the errors of
the model were relatively large; for example, when N = 4, the lar-
gest error was up to 35.629 kg/m3. The reason may be that

Table 2
Experimental data of part 1.

Sample N va (m/s) W (N) Fa (N) H (m) B (m) fa (Hz) Aa (m) E0,1b (J/m3) q (kg/m3)
1 4 0.22 3120 6664 0.2 0.6 47.6 4.6E4 110858.695 2352
2 6 0.36 3120 7000 0.2 0.6 50.0 4.0E4 142776.425 2323
3 8 0.25 3120 6748 0.2 0.6 48.2 4.3E4 189312.467 2421
4 12 0.24 3120 6790 0.2 0.6 48.5 3.9E4 278137.869 2425
5 16 0.29 3120 6720 0.2 0.6 48.0 4.2E4 355977.488 2459
6 20 0.26 3120 6762 0.2 0.6 48.3 4.4E4 447860.916 2458
7 24 0.25 3120 6860 0.2 0.6 49.0 3.6E4 527902.593 2473
8 28 0.26 3120 6734 0.2 0.6 48.1 4.4E4 619166.875 2466
a
Average value of measurements from compaction pass one to N.
b
Twice the vibration energy of each drum because the hand vibratory roller has two drums.
572 D. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 96 (2015) 567–575

Table 3 where s is the value of shear strength (MPa) and E0,2 is the value of
Density comparison between measured values and calculated values. UACE transmitted to the interface (J/m2).
Sample N E0,1 Calculated Measured Error absolute The RCC matrix in part 1 of the experiment, whose density was
(J/m3) q (kg/m3) q (kg/m3) value of q (kg/m3) greater than the designed value, had three cores drilled after curing
1 4 184233.9 2398.129 2362.5 35.629 for 28 days in a moist environment. The average shear strength of
2 6 360542.4 2449.250 2430.3 18.951 7.03 MPa was measured by the shearing tests. There was no doubt
3 8 396084.5 2454.044 2466.9 12.856 that the shear strength of interface was smaller than that of
4 10 583157.6 2469.643 2490.4 20.757
matrix; therefore, s in Eq. (11) was not more than 7.03 MPa.
Previous research [22] indicated that the interface shear strength
was lower by approximately 10% of the matrix shear strength
insufficient modeling samples were used. In addition, the BOMAG when the upper lift was consolidated within the initial setting
202AD-4 vibratory roller used in this project had some repairs, and time. Considering that 90% of the matrix shear strength was
the real technical data were slightly discrepant with the factory observed as the control standard of interface bonding quality, the
calibration values, which may be another reason for large errors. control standard of shear strength should be more than
6.327 MPa. Based on this assumption, the control criterion of
4.2. Interface bonding quality model and UACE control criterion UACE ([E0,2]) was calculated to be 1.18  105 J/m2 using Eq. (11).
When the compaction parameters were taken as the average val-
The exponential attenuation curves of acceleration RMS values ues of 30 compaction passes in part 3 of the experiment (i.e., roller
for different compaction passes were obtained in part 2 of the velocity of 0.25 m/s, vibrating frequency of 49.1 Hz, vibrating
experiments, as shown in Fig. 5. Although the attenuation coeffi- amplitude of 0.00038 m, attenuation coefficient of 0.042 and layer
cients are different, the accelerations along the compacted layer depth of 0.2 m), the control criterion of compaction pass ([N]) was
decrease exponentially with an R2 greater than 0.97 for any mea- back-calculated to be approximately 28 using Eq. (6). As discussed
sured compaction pass. As noted earlier, the b of vibrating energy in Section 4.1, more than 23 compaction passes are needed to guar-
is twice that of the aggregate acceleration RMS value. According antee the construction density of RCC matrix, whereas more than
to these bs of vibrational energy, the UACE values transmitted to 28 compaction passes are needed to guarantee the shear strength
RCC interface (E0,2 in Table 4) were calculated using Eq. (7). of RCC interface. In summary, a pass number of 28 in this experi-
The shear strength values of three cores were averaged as the mental condition could guarantee both the matrix density and
interface shear strength value of this condition, and six groups of the interface shear strength.
measurements, including interface shear strength values, com- Four groups of cores (three cores per group) were drilled in local
paction parameters and UACE, were collected from part 3 of the construction regions to verify the established interface model. The
experiment, as shown in Table 4. Correlation analysis between average shear strength of the joint was obtained by shearing tests.
the calculated UACE and the measured shear strength showed a A comparison of shear strength between measured values and cal-
significant correlation with Pearson’s R of 0.948. The relationship culated values is shown in Table 5. Although satisfactory calcula-
between UACE and shear strength is demonstrated by the scatter tion results were obtained for some samples (sample 4) using the
plot shown in Fig. 6. A hyperbolic function with a higher R2 of built model, the overall margin of error was relatively high. For
0.896 is used to fit the data, which conforms well to the empirical example, the maximum error of four samples was 0.942 MPa,
relationship between compaction parameters and shear strength. and its corresponding relative error was 19.9%. Thus, the accuracy
The function is expressed as of the established shear strength model should be further
8:56  105 improved. The reasons for this result were twofold: on the one
s¼ þ 7:05 ð11Þ hand, relatively few samples were used to establish the model;
E0;2
on the other hand, there may be other factors that were not
reflected by the UACE influence on the interface bonding quality.
This will be the direction of study in the future.
Moreover, the sensitivity analysis of u for density and strength
prediction was also conducted, and the results are shown in
Table 6. As for density prediction, even if the u varied by 13.5° from
p/2, the values of R2 for the newly established density models are
0.895, the values of RE1 for regression samples and verification
samples are not more than 2.41%, and the maximum Rq for verifi-
cation samples is 0.00162%. Meanwhile, a similar result is shown in
the prediction of shear strength that the maximum RE2 for verifica-
tion samples is merely 2.83% and the maximum Rs for verification
samples is not more than 0.0873%. Therefore, supposing that the
true value of u is a particular value near p/2, the simplifying
assumption of u = p/2 introduces negligible differences into the
later predictions to density and shear strength.

5. Field application

5.1. Similarity ratio between the conditions of the laboratory and the
field

For different construction conditions, as long as the compaction

parameters are reasonable, the same UCE should result in basically
Fig. 5. Attenuation curves of acceleration RMS values. the same RCC compaction quality. Therefore, the control criteria
 D. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 96 (2015) 567–575 573

Table 4
Experimental data of part 3.

Sample N va (m/s) W (N) Fa (N) h (m) B (m) fa (Hz) Aa (m) ba E0,2b (J/m2) s (MPa)
1 5 0.25 3120 6762 0.2 0.6 48.3 3.8E04 0.052 20675.38 3.23
2 10 0.25 3120 6888 0.2 0.6 49.2 3.9E04 0.046 42298.18 4.22
3 15 0.24 3120 6818 0.2 0.6 48.7 4.1E04 0.040 65613.26 5.51
4 20 0.29 3120 6790 0.2 0.6 48.5 4.3E04 0.040 85714.32 6.33
5 25 0.26 3120 6930 0.2 0.6 49.5 3.6E04 0.040 105121.10 6.50
6 30 0.25 3120 6874 0.2 0.6 49.1 3.8E04 0.042 126136.71 6.55
a
Average value of measurements from compaction pass one to N.
b
Twice the vibration energy of each drum because the hand vibratory roller has two drums.

4W l þpF l
where, kF ¼ 4W a þpF a
, kf ¼ ff l , kA ¼ AAal , kB ¼ BBal , kv ¼ vval , kH ¼ HHal .
a

As described in Section 4.1, the UVCE control criterion is

5.11  105 J/m3 and the compaction pass number criterion is 22.
Based on the real-time measured compaction parameters and the
above similarity rate, the required number of compaction passes
is calculated to be approximately 8 for the BOMAG 202AD-4, which
is used in the actual project. Further, the site engineers can flexibly
monitor any control criterion (UCE, compaction pass) in real time
to guarantee the compaction quality of RCC dams.

5.2. UCE-based real-time RCC quality monitoring system

The compaction quality monitoring system [14,15] provides a

practical solution for monitoring and collecting compaction
parameters. Normally, a GPS antenna is installed on top of the
cab to collect the dynamic coordinates of rollers, and the
real-time monitoring system subsequently uses the coordinates
to calculate and display the compaction pass, roller velocity, and
Fig. 6. Relationship between UACE and shear strength. compacted layer thickness in real time; an accelerometer is fixed
on the axle of the drum to measure the real-time drum accelera-
tion during the compaction process [23], and the vibrating
from the laboratory experiments can be applied to field
frequency and vibrating amplitude are automatically read there-
compaction quality control. By making the UCE control criteria in
after from the spectral analysis program in the controller. The
laboratory experiments equal to that in the actual project, the
mechanical parameters of rollers can be measured by a profes-
actual compaction parameters can be predicted according to the
sional firm every three months, and the attenuation coefficient of
similarity rate [12].
vibrating energy can be determined by compaction experiments
Take the compaction quality control of RCC matrix as an
prior to large-scale construction.
example. The UVCE criterion in laboratory experiments ([E0,l]) is
By collecting real-time compaction parameters, the real-time
expressed as Eq. (12).
compaction quality monitoring system can calculate and display
 
1 f l Nl the UVCE and the UACE in real time according to Eqs. (4) and (6),
½E0;l  ¼ 2Al W l þ pF l ð12Þ
4 Bl Hl v l respectively. Furthermore, a real-time comparison between the
calculated values of UCE (UACE and UVCE) and the control criterion
The UVCE criterion in the actual project ([E0,a]) can be expressed is carried out in the monitoring system. Once the UCE calculated
as Eq. (13). value exceeds the control value, the RCC compaction can be
 
1 f a Na stopped. A similar real-time control method is performed if the
½E0;a  ¼ 2Aa W a þ pF a ð13Þ
4 Ba Ha v a compaction pass criterion is used. This timely feedback control
procedure is shown in Fig. 7.
Make [E0,l] equal to [E0,a], namely Eq. (14), the connection
between the laboratory experiment and the actual construction
6. Conclusions
is established to estimate the compaction parameters in the field.
kF kf kA The real-time monitoring of UVCE and UACE indices, which
Na ¼  Nl ð14Þ
kv kh kB reflect the comprehensive effect of compaction parameters, was
proposed to evaluate the compaction quality of RCC matrix and
interface, respectively. To investigate the two indices for predicting
the compaction quality of an RCC dam, a three-part laboratory
Table 5 compaction experiment was performed using a hand vibratory
Comparison of shear strength between measured values and calculated values. roller. Experimental results including compaction parameters,
Sample N E0,2 (J/ Calculated s Measured s Error absolute value UVCE/UACE and nuclear moisture density/shear strength were
m2) (MPa) (MPa) of s (MPa) collected to perform quantitative relation analyses. A density
1 4 62,137 5.67 4.73 0.942 regression model of RCC matrix and a shear strength regression
2 6 98,806 6.18 5.86 0.324 model of RCC interface were established with a significant R2.
3 8 128,730 6.38 6.75 0.365 Based on the established models and the designed quality stan-
4 10 161,997 6.52 6.54 0.019
dards, the control criteria of UVCE and UACE were determined
574 D. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 96 (2015) 567–575

Table 6
Sensitivity analysis of u for density and strength prediction.

u 76.5° 81° 85.6° 90° 94.5° 99° 103.5°

RE1 For regression samples 2.17% 0.98% 0.20% 0 0.25% 1.03% 2.34%
For verification samples 2.23% 1.00% 0.21% 0 0.26% 1.10% 2.41%
RE2 For regression samples 2.17% 1.47% 0.70% 0 0.75 1.06% 2.41%
For verification samples 2.40% 1.00% 0.20% 0 0.91% 1.52% 2.83%
R2 For density model 0.854 0.854 0.854 0.854 0.854 0.854 0.854
For strength model 0.895 0.895 0.895 0.896 0.895 0.895 0.895
Rq for verification samples 0.00090% 0.00031% 0.00031% 0 0.00010% 0.00035% 0.00162%
Rs for verification samples 0.0292% 0.0177% 0.00513% 0 0.0873% 0.0013% 0.0044%
P
 E0;1 
 P
 E0;2 
 P
 
 P
 s 

Note: RE1 ¼ 1n ni¼1 E0;1;0:5p
 1 , RE2 ¼ 1n ni¼1 E0;2;0:5 p
 1 , Rq ¼ 1n ni¼1 q q  1 , Rs ¼ 1n ni¼1 s0:5 p
 1 .
0:5p

UVCE Criterion

Real-time
Feedback Control
Comparison
UVCE

GPS
Satellite
Dynamic
Coordinates
Compaction Pass
t
dcas Roller Velocity Equ.(4)
Broa Compacted Thickness
io
Rad Vibrating Frequency
ta
Da
Vibrating Amplitude Equ.(6)
K Application + Database
RT
Sever
Client Display
GPS B ase Vibrating
Station Acceleration
Vibrating Roller Accelerometer

UACE
Real-time
Feedback Control Comparison

UACE Criterion

Fig. 7. UCE-based real-time RCC quality monitoring system.

for RCC compaction quality control. Furthermore, a real-time UCE References

monitoring system was presented with the aim to apply the
laboratory experimental results to field RCC compaction quality
control. This would play an important role in guaranteeing the
construction quality of RCC dams.
This study demonstrated that UVCE and UACE can be used as
real-time monitoring indices to evaluate the compaction quality
of RCC matrix and interface, but more samples are still needed to
modify the established models and improve the prediction accu-
racy. Other future research directions include studying the effects
of other factors on interface bonding quality that were not
reflected by UACE and incorporating these factors into the bonding
quality model to improve the prediction accuracy.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Basic Research
Program of China (973 Program) (No. 2013CB035902), the
Foundation for Innovative Research Groups of the National
Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51021004), the
National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51479132),
[10] Zhuguang Ou, Futian Jiang, Mingkuan Mao, Vibratory compaction mechanism
and the Tianjin Municipal Science & Technology Pillar Program
(No. 13ZCZDSF01800).
[1] B. Forbes, RCC – new developments and innovations, in: Brazilian International
Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) Symposium, Salvador, Brazil, 7 Sept, 2008.
<http://www.ibracon.org.br/eventos/50cbc/CCR-apresentacoes/Forbes.pdf>.
[2] M.U. Rashed, Roller Compacted Concrete, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, 2000. <http://
keu92.org/uploads/Search%20engineering/ROLLER%20COMPACTED%
20CONCRETE.pdf>.
[3] U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Engineering and design of roller-
compacted concrete, Engineer Manual (EM) 1110-2-2006, Washington, DC, 15
January, 2000. <http://www.setxce.com/courses/COURSE%20179%20ROLLER-
COMPACTED%20CONCRETE/COURSE%20179%20ROLLER-COMPACTED%
20CONCRETE.pdf>.
[4] National Energy Administration of People’s Republic of ChinaConstruction
Specifications for Hydraulic RCC (DL/T 5112-2009), Water Power Press, Beijing,
2009 (in Chinese).
[5] B.A. Forbes, Using sloped layers to improve RCC dam construction. Civil
structures, Hydro Rev. Worldwide (HRW) (2003) 1–5.
[6] K.D. Hansen, W.G. Reinhardt, Roller Compacted Concrete Dams, McGraw-Hill,
1991 (pp. 1–83).
[7] E.K. Schrader, Fracture and materials properties of roller compacted concrete,
ACI Spl. Publ. 144 (1994) 325–348.
[8] E.K. Schrader, Shear strength and lift joint quality of RCC, Int. J. Hydropower
Dams 6 (l) (1999) 46–55.
[9] I. Nagayama, S. Jikan, 30 years’ history of roller compacted dam concrete in
Japan, in: Key Note Paper, 4th International Symposium on Roller Compacted
Concrete (RCC) Dams, vol. 11, Madrid, Spain, 2003.
research of RCC in Yantan Hydropower Station Cofferdam, Water Power 09
(1989) 38–42 (in Chinese).
 D. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 96 (2015) 567–575
[11] Zhuguang Ou, The comprehensive report of RCC vibrating compaction theory
in Yantan Hydropower Station, Water Power 01 (1990) 16–23 (in Chinese).
[12] Liang Run, Feng Lisheng, The parameters of vibratory compaction for roll
compacted concrete, J. Hydroelectric Eng. 19 (4) (1987) 56–70 (in Chinese).
[13] Y.K. Choi, J.D. Neighbors, J.D. Reichler, Cold weather placement of RCC, J. Mater.
Civil Eng. 15 (2) (2003) 118–124.
[14] Denghua Zhong, Donghai Liu, Cui Bo, Real-time compaction quality
monitoring of high core rockfill dam, Sci. Chin. – Technol. Sci. 54 (7) (2011)
1906–1913.
[15] Yuxi Liu, Denghua Zhong, Cui Bo, et al., Study on real-time construction quality
monitoring of storehouse surfaces for RCC dams, Autom. Constr. 49 (2015)
100–112.
[16] Donghai Liu, Jing Sun, Denghua Zhong, et al., Compaction quality control of
earth–rock dam construction using real-time field operation data, J. Constr.
Eng. Manage – ASCE 138 (9) (2012) 1085–1094.
[17] RCC Dam Popularizing Committee of China National Energy Ministry and
Water Resource MinistryDesign and Construction of RCC Dam, Publishing
House of Electronics Industry, Beijing, China, 1990 (in Chinese).
575
[18] M.A. Mooney, R.V. Rinehart, Field monitoring of roller vibration during
compaction of subgrade soil, J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 133 (3) (2007)
257–265.
[19] Shijing Wu, Hengmu Yu, Study of optimal vibrating frequency for RCC
compacting, Refrig. Air Cond. Electr. Power Mach. 04 (1987) 17–21 (in
Chinese).
[20] China National Energy Ministry, DL/T5112-2009 – Construction Specification
for Hydraulic Roller Compacted Concrete, China Electric Power Press, Beijing,
China, 2009 (in Chinese).
[21] BOMAG, Performance Data-tandem Vibratory Rollers BW 202 AD-4. <http://
www.bomag.com/cn/zh/homepage.htm>.
[22] Huaquan Yang, Shouxian Zhou, Study on RCC interface bonding, Yangtze River
08 (1997) 16–18 (in Chinese).
[23] Donghai Liu, Zilong Li, Zhenhong Lian, Compaction quality assessment of
earth–rock dam materials using roller-integrated compaction monitoring
technology, Autom. Constr. 2014 (44) (2014) 234–246.