RCC pavements
An Airport Apron
and a County Road
Presents examples of two uses of
roller-compactedconcrete pavement:
an airport apron and a county road
improvement. The planning, design.
construction. and testing processes are
described, as well as delails of the mix
proportions and curing rnethods.
ecisions made in 1985 and
1986 by t w o Portland. Orc-
g o n , public cntitics-thc
Port of Portland and Mult-
rioriiah County-may revolutionix
materials. tcchniques, cquipment.
and costs i n the pavement arena.
Roller compacted concrcte (RCC)
was uscd as a final surface pavc-
ment for 7.5 acres (3.04 ha ) of
commercial jet aircraft parking
ap ro n a n d for a public r o a d u a y
with a posted spccd of 35 mph (56
kmíhr).
RCC is a concrete with a low wa-
ter-ccment ratio. When it i s used for
pavemcnt. thc dcsign and curing
proccss are similar to that for con-
ventional portland cemcnt concrete.
but the mixing and placing procc-
dures are similar to thosc for cc-
ment-treated base (CTB) or asphal-
tic concrete (AC).
Portland lnternational
Airport
Thc Port of Portland recently in-
stallcd a navigational aid system to
support a noise abatemcnt program
at the Portland lnternational Air-
port. The installation required relo-
cation of the itinerant aircraft park-
ing area away from the new a n -
tenna system. When designing a
new parking apron for the Port. thc
30
engineers CH2h.1 Hill uere asked to
invcstigate the use of RCC as a sur-
facc pavemcnt material and to de-
velop up-to-date criteria for itr lire.
Thc cvaluation indicatcd that thc
state of technology had progrcssed
sufficiently 10 mcrit an RCC altcr-
native to asphaltic concrete pavc-
ment at the airport.
RCC has scvcral advantagcs ovcr
AC for this particular application.
including bettcr resistivity to chem-
¡cal attack from hydraulic oils and
fuels, negligiblc rutting or crecp
problcms undcr long-tcrm heavy
loading, and a reccnt history of
compctitivc cost ovcr asphaltic con-
crete.
Thc asphaltic concrete pavcmcnt
design was based on mct hodology
provided i n t h e Federal Aviation
Administration's (FAA) Advisory
Circular ( 1 50/5320-6C).' The de-
sign aircraft for thc AC' pavement
was a DC-10, using aircraft weights
and operations data from the circu-
lar. In-place CBR tests wcrc con-
ducted o n the subgrade matcrials.
resulting in a dcsign CBR of 5.
The recommended pavement scc-
[ion from this analysis was 5 in.
(127 mm) of asphaltic concrete. 8
in. (203 mm) of bituminous base, 4
in. (102 mm) of aggregatc base, and
19 in. (483 mm) of subbase. giving
a total pavement section thickness
of 36 in. (914 mm) (Fig. 1). The AC
pavement section was verificd using
a computerized. multilayered sys-
tems analysis.
Design procedures uscd to detcr-
mine the RCC pavement thickncss
were also based on the F A A advi-
sory circular and a r e similar to
thosc normally uscd f o r portland
cemcnt concrete pavcments. How-
cver. thc dcsign aircrafi for RCC
was a Boeiiig 727 iiistead of thc DC-
10 used for AC.
The diffcrcnce in dcsign aircraft
for RCC and AC \vas d u i to inhcr-
cnt differenccs i n thc performance
of rigid versus flcsihlc pavcments
whcn subjectcd to aircrafi loadr.
The RCC pavcment thicknc\\ $vas
verified using thc Portland C'cnient
Association's c o m p u t c r i x d con-
crete pavement design program.'
I n accordancc w i t h [he refer-
cnccd advisory circular. a subprade
modulus valuc A' \vas iiscd fnr
subgradc strcngth. A' \vas cstimated
by comparing thc design ficld CRR
value to k n o w n A' valucs f o r silty
sand. A dcsign A' valuc of 100 pci
(2.8 kgícm') was uscd. Thc tlcsural
strcngth for RCC pavcmcnt \vas as-
sumed to be 800 psi (5.5 MPa) at 90
days. Using thcsc critcria. it \vas de-
termincd that an RCC pavement
section thickncss of 13 in. (230 mm)
is requircd to support thc aircraft
loadi ng .
For pavcmcnts supporting air-
craft wcighing ovcr 100.000 Ib
(9,072 M g ) , thc F A A rccomnicnds
the use of a stabilizcd subbacc. For
this design. 4 in. (102 mm) of stabi-
lized subbase would havc reduccd
the RCC pavemcnt thickness to I ?
in. (305 mm). As a cost-saving mca-
Concrete lnternational
 RCC is excavated from over utility,
RCC mix prior to placing. backfilled with grave1 and rolled.

sure, it was decided to recycle the

existing asphaltic concrete and base
rock on the site to provide a work-
ing platform and subbase for the
RCC .
Because this recycled material
does not qualify as a stabilized sub-
base, the total RCC pavement de-
sign section was left at 13 in. (330
mm). The design strength was later
reduced during mix proportioning
lo 700 psi (4.8 MPa) at 90 days,
based on the mix-proportion 28-day
beam tests. This caused the thick-
ness to increase by 1 in. (25 mm), to
14 in. (356 mm) (Fig. 1).
Plans and specifications were
prepared and alternative bids re-
ceived for RCC and AC. After con-
sidering both the potential con-
struction cost savings (the lowest
RCC bid was 32 percent under the
lowest AC bid) and the long-term Author Jory Abrarns walks across freshly placed RCC. Note the lack of footprints.

The first 50 to 100 ft (15 to 30 m) of RCC was removed due

to lack of grade control of paver. The material was reused. lnitial placement of RCC. Note the shoe batter detail.

31
February 1987
 Aiipaitlraad
continued

8" BITUMINOUS BASE

4" A G C R E C A T E BASE
' .I
19" SUBBASE
..
C O M P A C T E D SUBGRADE

Metric Equivalenf 1 in = 25 4 m m

ASPHALT CONCRETE PAVEMENT SECTION

Table 1-Average aggregate gradations
I
Perceni Perceni
passing passing
sicve sizc (airpori apron) (county road)
'/I in. (19.0mm) 100.0 100.0
-4'' AGGAEGATE BASE
% in. (12.7 mm) 91 .O 97.0
'/i in. (9.5 mm) 76.0 78.0 C O M P A C T E O SUBGRAOE
i/. in. (6.4 mm) 56.0 64.0
No. 10 (2.0 mm) 25.0 3W.O
No. 16(1.18 mm) - 27.0
No. 20 (850 pm) 17.0 -
No. 30 (600 pm) - 19.0
Melric Eauivaienc 1 in = 25 4 m m I
No. 40 (425 pm) 11.0 16.0 ROLLER COMPACTED CONCRETE PAVEMENT SECTION
No. 100 (150 pm) 5 .O 8.0
Fig. 1-Pavement sections.
No. 200 (75 pm) 6.6 5.7
.
... ....- -
heavy-load requirements, Port of was placed in November 1985. Materials
Portland officials selected the RCC Traffic was allowed onto the road For both projects, crushed as-
alternat ¡ve. seven days after paving. phaltic concrete aggregate was c h s
The county required that readily sen. The airport project used %-te
Multnomah County roads available aggregates in standard O-in. (19-to-0-mm) material; t h e
The low cost of the RCC pave- gradations be used, that the ce- county road project used a blend of
ment and the end product at the ment-pouolan blend be ready made 38 percent %-to-%-in. (13-10-6.4-
Portland International Airport led (Type IP), and that curing be done mm) crushed aggregate and 62 per-
the Multnomah County engineer to by liquid spray-applied membrane cent %-to-O-in. (6.4-lo-0-mm)
consider the possibility of RCC rather than water. The material and crushed aggregate. The average gra-
pavement for county roads. Mult- construction method could not be dations used in the construction are
nomah County had already de- exotic or difficult to reproduce. given in Table 1.
signed and bid a roadway improve- In addition, the county approved
ments project on Southeast 99th placing one-half of the project Mix proportioning
Avenue for AC pavement. without compactive effort, by em- RCC mix proportions are very
CH2M Hill was retained to pre- ploying a paving machine that uses sensitive to aggregate gradation;
pare plans and specifications for a precompactive mechanism. Fur- thus, the final mix proportions were
RCC application, and to assist the ther use of no-rol1 concrete may be completed o n both projects using
county and the contractor during the next innovative step in the RCC the actual aggregate material se-
construction. A two-block (150 m) process. lected and stockpiled by the con-
section of this project was selected Based on their experience with tractors. The mix proportions were
as a test section of RCC for county this test section, Multnomah prepared by the U.S. Army Corps
staff evaluation and the first public County plans to specify RCC as an of Engineers North Pacific Division
road in the United States to use alternative on several future road Materials Laboratory at Troutdale,
RCC as a final surface pavement projects. Oregon, using CH2M Hill input.
The apron design was based on
achieving 700 psi (4.8 MPa) flex-
ural strength at 90 days. The county
Table 2-Mix proportions per yd3(0.76 m3 of RCC road mix design was based on
l 1 Airport apron Couniy
--
road 1 achieving 600 psi (4.1 MPa) at 21
Maierial Ib days.
Cemenr (Type 1) 488
The airport apron project was
Pouolan (Class F) 119 N/A large enough to allow the contrac.
Cement-pouolan (Type IP) N/A N/A 550 250 tor to economically purchase and
Aggregate 3.250 1,476 3.309 1.502 store cement and pozzolan sepa-
, Water 260 118 242 ratelv. The countv road oroiect was
smaller, so a preblended cement-
pozzolan was less expensive.
The final mix proportions per yd‘
(0.76 m‘) of RCC for each project
are given in Table 2.
Construction Equipment
Both projects uscd a continuous
mixing pug mil1 because of its high
manufacturer’s rated capacity of
600 tons (544 Mp) per hour, its ease
and speed of mobilization, and its
a b i l i t y to produce precise mixed
volumes. The pug mill, developed in
Australia, was manufactured by
Aran Equipment, Inc.
Both projects used an AR’G
Titan 410s paver manufactured by
ABG of Hameln, West Germany.
Equipped with double positive dis-
placement tamping bars and vibrat-
ing screed, the paver has an advan-
lage over conventional asphalt pav-
ers for RCC pavement applications
where grade tolerances are impor-
lant, since the paver itself provides
sufficient density (94 to 95 percent)
lo stabilize the material and keep it
from moving and changing the
grade when rolled.
An 8-ton (71-kN) vibratory steel
wheel front and rubber-tired back
roller was used at the airport and a
10-ton (89-kN) vibratory steel and
rubber-tired roller was used for the
road project. Specifications re-
quired rolling until a density ,of 98
percent was achieved in the field.
Multnomah C o u n t y left a 200-
foot (61-m) section of its roadway
unrolled. T h e paver was able to
achieve densities in the no-rol1 sec-
tion of the county road that aver-
aged 96 percent by using the posi-
tive displacement tamping bars and
vibrating screed paver only.
Construction methods
Field density control
The minimum acceptable field
density for both projects was 98
percent of a specified density. The
February 1987
specified density was determined
during the final mix-proportion pe-
riod by constructing a 24-inch-
square (610x610-mm) by 15-inch
(381-mm) high block of RCC from
the mix and measuring its unit
weight. The project team. in con-
junction with the Corps of Engi-
neers North Pacific Division Mate-
rials Laboratory, decided to use a
large block of RCC as representa-
tive of the maximum density. There
are no ASTM standards o r other
guidelines for the preparation of
such a block.
T o construct the block, RCC was
placed in a steel mold in three lay-
ers and consolidated with a hand-
held pneumatic tamper. The layers
were compacted until no further
consolidation was observed. Densi-
ties obtained in the field were com-
pared against the unit weight of this
RCC block. A nuclear density me-
ter was used to calculate the field
density according to ASTM D2922.1
Past studies show the field densi-
ties determined with the nuclear
density meter are consistent but un-
derestimate the density when com-
pared to actual cores taken from the
pavement. Therefore, use of the
RCC block allows a means to cali-
brate the nuclear density meter field
readings. Daily calibration of the
nuclear density meter on this block
allows reliable and consistent field
density measurements.
Curing
Curing is particularly critica1 with
RCC to prevent a loss of surface
moisture and thereby a loss, o r
dusting, of the surface cement and
aggregates. There is so little water
available for hydration of cement
that any loss of moisture is undesir-
able.
Both water curing and curing
compounds have been used in the
past o n RCC. If water cure is se-
lected, it is important to cure with a
The density of the second lift of the
airport-apron is checked.
~~~ ___._
fog spray for the first 24 hours in
order to prevent washing of the sur-
face cement. An additional six days
of continuous water curing is rec-
ommended. This was the method
used at the airport project.
T h e county road project was
cured using a curing compound
membrane (ASTM C309, Type 2).
A sprinkler system would have re-
quired 24-hour maintenance dur-
ing the seven-day curing period and
was not deemed practica1 for street
applications. The curing compound
was applied in two directions (two
coverages), each direction received
curing compound at the rate of 1
gaIí150 ft’ (3.8 i/14m2), thereby
doubling the quantity that is nor-
mally used for conventional con-
crete.
The need to completely seal the
surface from loss of moisture can-
not be overstressed. T h e curing-
compound method was a satisfac-
tory alternative to water curing on
this particular project.
Paving details
Airport apron
The 14-in. (356-mm) thick RCC
section was placed in two equal
lifts. Specifications required that no
more than 60 min. elapse between
compaction of the first l i f t and
placement of the second. This re-
33

Line and grade are controlled bv an electronic leveling system operating off a
stringline alongcide the pavei
quirement was necessary to bond
the lifts. Actual construction time
was probably closer to 90 min. be-
tween lifts.
A special post-construction treat-
ment was used on the longitudinal
joints and the transverse shrinkage
cracks. Port of Portland mainte-
nance staff felt that the longitudi-
nal joints could cause a mainte-
nance problem due to loosened ag-
gregate along the joint edges; there-
fore, the joints were cleaned with a
high-pressure air gun and painted
with a 6: 1 sandíepoxy slurry.
Hairline cracks were expected at
80-to-100-foot (24-to-31-m) inter-
vals. The shrink cracking occurred
at the transverse construction joints
every 300 f t (92 m). These cracks
were approximately % - i n . (6.4
mm). Epoxy was poured into t w o
cracks at transverse joints to fill the
void, then the surface joint was
painted with the sandíepoxy slurry.
These treatments have proved to be
a satisfactory solution to possible
raveling and breakup of these
joints.
County road
The county road RCC section
was 480 ft (146 m) long by 22 ft (6.7
m) wide. The RCC was 7 in. (178
mm) thick and placed in one lift
34
with a single pass of the paver.
Parking lanes 8 f t (2.4 m) wide
were paved o n each side with as-
phaltic concrete to allow the county
to install utilities at a later d a t e
without cutting the RCC.
Weather
Two very different weather con-
ditions were encountered when the
projects were constructed. The air-
port a p r o n was paved in August
and September. The temperatures
during paving were between 70 and
100 F (21 and 38 C), and a strong
wind was present much of the time.
I t was difficult to keep the pave-
ment surface from drying out.
T h e county road was paved i n
mid-November when temperatures
were between 40 and 50 F (4 and 10
C), w i t h overcast skies and inter-
mittent rain and wind. There was
some loss of surface aggregate from
the a p r o n but n o noticeable loss
from the road. Although this occur-
rence cannot be solely attributed to
curing and the weather, it is impor-
tant to remember that weather is an
important factor in the placement
of RCC because of the very low
water content. Any loss of moisture
from an RCC pavement is signifi-
cant.
Post-construct ion testing
Post-construction testing of the
airport apron to date is limited and
inconclusive and will not be dealt
with in this paper. The county road
project, however, provided suffi-
cient test results for the following
discussion.
Section A , 100 f t (31 m ) long.
This section was accidentaliy placed
with less than the specified amount
of cementípozzolan because of
problems at the mixing plant. I t was
estimated to contain 6 to 8 percent
instead of the specified 13.4 per-
cent. Also, problems with the auto-
matic leveling o n the paver pro-
duced an unsatisfactory surface tol-
erance. Because of the tolerance
problem, the RCC material was
picked up, held in the dump trucks,
then replaced and sufficiently com-
pacted.
Elapsed time from mixing to fi-
nal placement for this section was
approximately 3 hr. Since this was
primarily a test section, it provided
an opportunity to evaluate what ef-
fect a delay in the placement of
RCC would have o n strength and
whether the loss of moisture wouid
affect surface bonding. At the time
this decision was made, the low ce-
ment-pozzolan problem was not
known.
One beam was cut from this sec-
tion to determine flexural strength.
Lab testing found the flexural
strength to be 380 psi (2.6 MPa) at
90 days. Density measured in the
field after rolling was 95.8 percent.
Strength was obviously affected
by the lower cement content and
delays between mixing and com-
pacting. How much each problem
affected the final product cannot be
determined. To date, however,
there is n o visible difference be-
tween this section of pavement and
Concrete lnternational
the other two sections.
Secrion B, 150 f r (46 m) long.
This section was placed with the
specified rnix of RCC and within
the required time limits; i t was
compacted with the 10-ton (89-kN)
vibratory roller. One beam was field
cut to check flexural strength. This
bearn was broken in two places and
the average flexural strength was
595 psi (4.1 MPa) at 90 days. Field
density measured after rolling was
98.4 percent. This section most
closely resembles the placernent
techniques used in the airport proj-
ect .
Section C. 230 f r (70 m) long.
This section was placed by the sarne
method as Section B, except that
there was no compaction rolling.
The density of the pavement was
solely the result of the double posi-
tive displacement tamping bars and
vibrating screed of the paver.
Two beams were cut and tested
and the average flexural strength
was 530 psi (3.7 MPa) at 90 days.
Densities were 95.9 and 96.3 per-
cent as tested in the field behind the
paver. Flexura1 strength was lower
than the design strength, as would
be expected, but county engineers
are pleased with t h e appearance
and, to date, there is no noticeable
difference in performance or ap-
pearance between Sections B and C.
Visual inspection of core sarnples
taken frorn Section B (rolled) and
Section C (no-rolled) shows a visi-
ble increase in voids in both sarn-
ples from the top to the bottorn of
the core. Comparing the cores, the
no-rolled cores contain a higher
amount of voids.
When high flexural strengths are
required, the additional cornpactive
effort of the rollers is valuable in
further densifying the lower portion
of the lift. The flexural bearn test
February 1987
results confirm what the eye can
see, i.e., the flexural strength de-
creases as the density on the lower
face decreases.
When one beam was inverted and
tested, the flexural strength in-
creased by 75 psi (0.5 MPa). Com-
pressive tests on a rolled core and a
no-rolled core yielded results of
3,620 psi (25 MPa) and 3,520 psi
(24.3 MPa), respectively.
Conclusion
RCC technology is moving for-
ward rapidly, with more applica-
tions being tried. Projects include
log-sort yards, interrnodel yards,
rniiitary facilities, airport parking
aprons, and public roads. RCC has
been moving out of the realrn of
glorified cement treated base and
into the realrn of an alternative fi-
nal surface pavement.
Equipment for placement has
progressed from graders to conven-
tional pavers to precompaction
pavers, and possibly to no-rol1 con-
crete in certain applications.
As with al1 new technologies, in-
terest is high and the nurnbers of
actual projects are relatively few,
but each new project contributes to
refinernents in design, specifica-
tions, construction techniques, and
equiprnent.
More owners are considering
RCC as a viable option for major
projects, letting it stand or fall on
its own merits, and evaluating the
drawbacks for each application.
Naturally, the success or failure
of RCC will depend on the many
factors that affect the final prod-
uct. It has been found that RCC is
sensitive to aggregate quality and
gradation, subgrade quality and
density, weather and curing, equip-
rnent, paving patterns, and experi-
An aerial view of the RCC parking
apron during conctruction at the
Portiand lnternational Airport.
ence of the people involved. Each
owner, designer, and contractor
must meet the challenge of balanc-
ing these variables against cost as
they choose RCC for their applica-
tion.
RCC has proved to be an effec-
tive heavy-duty pavernent for high-
load, low-speed applications. Using
RCC in high-speed roadway pave-
ments is still state-of-the-art, and it
rnay prove to be as successful as its
past uses in heavy-duty applica-
tions.
References
l. “Airport Pavement Design and Evalu-
ation,” Advisory Circular No. IS0/532O-K.
Federal Aviation Administration. Washing-
ton, D.C.. Dec. 7. 1987.
2. “Computer Program for Airport Pave-
ment Design.” Portland Cement Associa-
tion. Skokie. 1967.
3. “Test Methods for Density of Soil and
Soil-Aggregate in Place by Nuclear Methods
(Shallow Depth).” (ASTM D 2922-81),
A S T M Standards in Building Codes. 22nd
Edition. ASTM. Philadelphia. 1985, p. 463.
Also. 1985 Annual Book of A S T M Stan-
dards, V. 04.08.
mis paper was preKnted at a Kssion sponsored by
ACI committees 207. Mass Concrete. and 325.
Concrete Pavements. a1 the 1986 annual
convmtion in San Francisco, Calif. Received and
reviewed under Instiiute publicaiion policia.
35
 Portland lnternational Airport:
Design engineers: CH2M Hill. Northwest, Inc.. Portland, Ore.
General Contractor: lntertec Construction Co.. Portland. Ore.
Paving subcontractor: Jack Cewe. Ltd.. Vancouver, B.C., Canada
ACI members, did you
Multnomah County roads: know that there is an in-
Design engineers: ,2H2M Hill, Northwest, Inc.. Portland. Ore. expensive way to gel your
Contractor: Porter W. Yett, Portland, Ore.
advertisement in front of
the top people in the con-
crete field worldwide.
ACI member Jory ACI member
M. Abrams is a Jerry L. Jacksha T h a t ’ s r i g h t . Every
civil engineer at is a geotechnical month in Concrete lnfer-
CH2M Hill. North- engineer and proj- nafional, ads dealing with
west, Inc. in Port- ect manager in
land. Oregon. She CH2M Hill North-
professional cards, used
has served as proj- west, Inc.’s geo- equipment, business op-
ect manager andl technical depart- portunities, education, po-
or design staff on ment. based in sitions wanted, and posi-
roadways and on major industrial cite Portland, Oregon, specializing in de- tions vacant, are accepted
development and layout. She was sign, investigation, and analyses of
project manager for both the eight- land and marine foundations. An ASCE to be placed on the Bulle-
acre aircraft parking apron at Portland member, he has an M S. in civil engi- tin Board page.
lnternational Airport and the Multno- neering from the Univercity of Idaho.
mah County Road. Ms. Abrams is an Jacksha was the lead design engineer ‘Check ouf rafes and re-
ASCE member, and cerves on the for the roller-compacted concrete por- quiremenfs on f h i s
Board of Directors for the Oregon tion of both the aircraft parking apron monfh’s Concrete Inter-
Section. She earned her B.S. in struc- and the county road projects
tural engineering at Portland State national Bullefin Board
University. page.

Guide for Concrete Floor

and Slab Construction
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This guide tells how to produce good quality floors and slabs for
various classes of service, emphasizing such aspects of construction as
site preparation, concreting materials, concrete mixture proportions,
concreting, workmanship, and cunng.
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36 Concrete lnternetional