Rollcrete Usage at Tarbela Dam by Horace A. Johnson and Paul C. Chao Rollerete, dry lean concrete placed by earthfill methods was used as thass fill at Tarbela for rapid repairs of the damages in the intake area of Tunnel 2 and the plunge ‘pool of the Service Spillway. Plant designs and properties Of the rollerete are described. Mix proportions, moisture Control, mixing and handling, field density, and com pressive strength results are presented. This type of con- Struetion material has been designated as Roller Com: acted Concrete by ACI Committee 207. Portions of the Tunnel 2 repair rolierete data were presented at the ACI Pall Convention in Vancouver, B.C, November, 1976. Keywords: compacting; compaction tests; compressive strength: Concrete contruction, conerete dams; density (mass/ volume’: ‘nase concrete; mix proportioning: Pant layout; repairs Introduction ‘Two repair efforts at Tarbela Dam on the Indus River in Pakistan required the rapid production and placement of large quantities of low strength lean conerete.'? To meet this demand methods were de- veloped to rapidly mix Portland cement with pit run sand and gravel and to place it by earthfill methods. The resulting product was called rollerete. This pa per describes the plant and methods developed to meet quality and production requirements. Two ap- plications are described: the first, “Tunnel 2 Intake ‘Area Repairs” and the second, "Service Spillway and Plunge Pool Repairs.” The tunnel repairs were done first (1974-75) and required a greater rate of produe- tion with less time to design and construct the plant. Preparations for the spillway repairs (1977-present) had the experience of the tunnel repairs and a longer time for plant design and construction, there: fore a more sophisticated plant was used. General deseription of project ‘Tarbela Dam is an earthfill dam about 470 ft (143 1m) high constructed across the Indus River where it debouches from the foothills onto the plains about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of Islamabad in Pakistan. The outlet works consist of four 45 ft (13.7 m) inside diameter tunnels and two spillways. The one closer to the main embankment is the Service Spillway with design capacity 650,000 cu ft/sec (18,400 m’/ sec). The other is the Auxiliary Spillway with design capacity 840,000 eu ft/sec (23,800 m’/sec). Each spillway has a flip bucket at the end of a concrete paved chute.'*** In August 1974 during the first filling of the reser- voir, Tunnel 2 collapsed for a distance of approx- imately 260 ft (76 m) just downstream from the tran- sition monolith from the intake gate structure. The broken tunnel concrete, together with some of the reinforcement and supporting ribs and approx- imately 1,000,000 cu yd (765,000 m*) of overlying bed rock and fill, were swept out through the tunnel. It was not only necessary to rebuild Tunnel 2, but it was necessary to rebuild the area surrounding Tun- nel 2 and extend this to provide side support. for CONCRETE INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1979Fig. 1A — Plan of Tunnel 2 intake repairs. ‘Tunnels 1 and 3. All reconstruction had to be com- pleted before the next flood season. This gave a con- struction period of 6 months. The material placed around Tunnel 2 had to replace rock eroded away and also have the ability to support itself before Tunnel 2 reconstruction was completed. In addition, the material had to have adequate and higher modu- lus of elasticity, compressive and shear strength, than earth or rock fill to support the sides of Tun: nels 1 and 3. It, therefore, had to have the proper- ties of low strength concrete. (B) Design of repairs ‘The original design concept was to remove the re- maining segment of the failed tunnel section and place sand in the volume to be occupied by the new tunnel section simultaneously with the surrounding. rollerete. The sand would be excavated later and the tunnel constructed in that space. It soon became evi- dent that time precluded this procedure. It was then decided that the remaining tunnel segment would be left in place and forming for the rollerete provided ‘on the right side of the segment to form a cavity for reconstructing the tunnel at a reduced diameter of 36 ft (11 m) inside the remaining segment which had 45 ft (13.7 m) diameter. The diameter could be re duced to 36 ft (11 m) because the larger diameter ‘was no longer required for diversion. ‘The conventional concrete production plant on site did not have the capacity to produce the amount of concrete required for repair in the time available. Extent of the damage was not clearly defined in the design state, but it was estimated that approx- imately 500,000 cu yd (382,000 m’) of suitable mate- rial must be produced in about 1/ months. It was then decided that the rollerete should be used. A rough test fill made by mixing cement with rounded boulder gravel (RBG) from the Indus River bed by dozer confirmed that satisfactory results could be ‘obtained. Repair operations were then planned on ‘hat basis. Fig. 1A and 1B show the damage and re- pairs. ‘CONCRETE INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1979 EEEg ener conencre ‘secon &- SERED {GROSS SECTIONS OF TUNNEL 2 INTAKE REPAIRS Fig. 1B — Cross sections of Tunnel 2 intake repairs. a "TUNNEL INTAKE REPAIRS Fig. 2 — Mixing plant flow sheet-tunnel intake re airs. a(© Plant design Because of the short time available and the long time required to import equipment, it was necessary to design and construct the mixing plant from the materials and equipment available at site. Mr. P. Cassano of Tarbela Joint Venture, the dam construe tors, contributed to the realization and rapid assem: bly of the rollerete plant. The flow sheet of the plant is shown in Fig, 2. The RBG was passed through a 9 beet Fig. 4 — Mixing tower plan and elevation. 2 in, (229 mm) stationary grizaly into a hopper. The grizaly was originally set at 12 in. (305 mm) spacing but this proved to produce material large enough to cause excessive wear on the plant, From the hopper the RBG was elevated by conveyor belt to the top of the mixing tower. Cement was hauled to the plant from the railhead about 2 miles (3 km) downstream from the dam by bottom dump 110 ton (100,000 kg) trucks that had been fitted with special gates. The cement was dumped into a hopper which fed onto a conveyor belt which ribboned cement onto the RBG fon the elevating conveyor belt. At the top of the mixing tower water was added by spray as required In general, the material had sufficient natural mois ture. The mixing was done by having the materials fall through a modified rock ladder which was com- pletely enclosed on all sides. The mixture fell into a hopper and was loaded into trucks for hauling to the tunnel. A picture of the plant is shown in Fig. 3. De tails of the mixing tower are shown in Fig. 4. Nota- tions such as HEB 140 indieate rolled steel members of Italian manufacture with principal dimension 140 mm (6.5 in.). The important feature is the slope of the ladder planes which is about 30 deg from verti- cal, Although a crude plant, the mixing appeared to be satisfactory, Some segregation occurred in dump- ing into the trucks and in dumping on the fill. The material was spread by dozer in place and the segre- gation was generally corrected by this operation. Rock pockets did occur especially when gravel deficient in minus No. 4 material was arriving from the borrow area. The big deficiency in the plant was in controlling the amount of cement added. The RBG conveyor belt had cumulative weighing scales and the usual feed was 1800 to 2000 metric tons/hr. The cement conveyor belt did not have cumulative ‘CONCRETE INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1979Fig, 5 — Rollerete fill progress between Tunnels, 1 ‘and 3 (fill on right elevation 1160+, January 22, 1975). weighing and the amounts were obtained from the speed of the belt and the weight of cement on a length of the belt. The amount of cement added var- ied from about. one-half to twice the desired amount, which was 80 metric ton/hr, with a stan- dard deviation of 26 ton/hr; a coefficient of variation of 83 percent. The capacity of the plant was adequate and the average production (2 10-hr shifts), when there was sufficient placement area, was 17,000 cu yd/day (13,000 m*/day). Maximum placement was 24,000 cu ydiday (18,000 m/day). A total of 460,000 eu yd (350,000 m*) were placed in 42. working days, re- sulting in an average of 10,950 cu yd/day (8400 m*/ day). In the beginning production was limited by the restricted placement areas available (See Fig. 5). A- ter fill reached the level of the top of Tunnel 2 the restriction on placement, was eased. Fig. 6 shows rollerete fill close to the finish grade. (D) Placement The lean concrete mix was dumped from the plant hopper into trucks for the short haul, about 1000 ft (300 mi, to the placement area around the tunnels. ‘The material was spread by bulldozer on the place: ment area in 18 in, (457 mm) lifts. Originally, it was intended to compact the material with a vibratory roller, but because of the very steep and unstable surrounding rock slopes, about 350 ft (107 m) high (See Fig. 6), it was considered inadvisable to use this, type of roller. Thus, the material was compacted with a 56,000 Ib truck loaded with concrete weighing 22,400 Ib, making a total weight of 78,000 Ib (35,000, ig). Compaction was satisfactory. Results are given in the following section, In restricted areas conventional conerete was used and a5 ft (1.5 m) thick layer of conventional con- crete was placed adjacent to the location of the new concrete tunnel lining. When placement of the next CONCRETE INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1979 Fig. 6 — Rollerete fill close to final grade, elevation 1230 (February 17, 1975) course of rollerete was delayed the rollerete surface was kept moist with hand held hoses. (b) Properties of rollerete 1. Aggregate. The rollerete aggregate was bor- rowed from the Indus River bed. This material had been tested and mined for the project conerete. It is hard, sound, rounded river gravel (rock types: gran- Je, gneisses, quartz, schist, quartzite and limestone) with an average speeifie gravity of 2.82. The portion passing the No. 4 sieve is skip graded as shown in Fig. 7 with most of the material passing a No. 20 sieve. For this reason, the sand for conventional con- crete on the project was manufactured. The concrete e Bei i Lp Fig. 7 — RBG feed gradation. OnFig. 8 — Rollerete material gradation, aggregate plant, especially its sand manufacturing equipment, could not supply the quantities required for the rollerete portion of the tunnel repairs, Thus it was necessary to use pit run material even though not well graded and with varied sand content, There was means to add sand at the plant (Fig. 3) but that component was not used 2 Cement and temperatures. The coment used was Type I as this was the only type available in the quantities required. This cement developed 3-day strength of 47 percent of 28-day strength and 7-day strength of 70 percent. Because of time restrictions nothing could be done about temperature control in the rollerete and temperature rise was very close to adiabatic. Only one thermometer was embedded in the rollerete. This showed a temperature rise of 40 F (22 C) in 7 days. This reading is not regarded as significant. because of the great variation in cement content. Adiabatic temperature rise for a 2-bag mix, with cement having a 7-day heat of hydration of 80 calories, is about 30 F (17 C). Only one test of heat of hydration of the cement used was available and gave a value of 79 calories for 7 days. As placement was in January and February 1975, air temperature ranged from 44 F to 67 F (8 C to 19 C). The RBG was cool because it was excavated near river ground water level and the water temperature was about 45 F.(7 C), Temperature of the rollcrete mixture on the fill varied from 47 F to 65 F (8 C to 18 C). The aver age annual river water temperature is 56 F (13 C), varying from 45 F (7 C) in January to 64 F (17 C) in July and August. The final stable temperature of the rollerete will probably be around 50 F (16 C) sinee it is near the bottom of the reservoir. This would pre- cipitate a drop of 37 F to 5 F (4 C to 24 C) for a rise of 40 F (22 C) from the placement temperature. Cracking would undoubtedly have occurred with this temperature drop in conventional conerete. Whether cracking has occurred in the rollerete is not. known. There is no way to inspect as the rollerete is cov. ered by concrete or fill. 3. Laboratory tests and field test fill. Preliminary 6 in. (452 mm) diameter standard test eylinders, of 4 ee Ut in. (38 mm) maximum size sand and gravel mate rial from the Indus River bed and nearby terraces with varying moisture and cement contents, were tested at Tarbela as early as 1962, These tests in dicated a 28-day compressive strength of about 1500 {0 2000 psi (10.4 to 13.8 MPa) with 2 to 8 bags of ce- ment per eu yd (110 to 170 kg/m’). These checked with the 28-day strength obtained from the rollerete Placed in 1960 in the cofferdam (eventually in. corporated as part of main embankment dam of the Shihmen Reservoir Project as part of the core. It eas @ 9 in. (76 mm) MSA mix with about 1% bags (84 kg/m?) of cement and 1 bag (58 kg/m’) of fly ash, batched in a regular conerete plant and placed in 12 in, (805 mm) layers. It was a prototype test.” AA field test fill was made in November 1974, using Pit run minus 12 in, rounded boulder gravel from the Indus River bed containing about 22 percent sand, ‘Material was placed in 3 lifts measuring 30 ft x 20 ft x2 ft (9 mx 6 m x 0.6 m) with about 1% bags (176 1b) of cement per eu yd with 2.4 percent, 2.9 percent, and 3.8 percent of moisture content in bottom middle, and top lifts. Material for each lift was Placed in a 24 in. (610 mm) loose layer, then % of the required amount of water was applied, then bagged cement was spread and mixed by 2 Cater. pillar loaders (988) and the remaining water added. ‘The lift was then leveled with a Cat D8 dozer and compacted with 4 passes of a 10 ton Dingler vibra tory roller. Diamond drilled cores with 4¥/: in, (114 mm) diameter lifted from the fill had a bulk density of 163 pef (2610 kg/m’), and 9 and 14-day com. Pressive strengths as high as 1800 psi (12.4 MPa) and 2400 psi (16.6 MPa) respectively. Field and labo- ratory tests thus indicated the feasibility of pro. ducing satisfactory lean mass concrete with pit run materials and cement placed and compacted by earthwork methods. 4. Moisture content. The moisture content of the rollerete was very difficult to ascertain, because the only way it could be determined was from samples taken in place. Since the mixture contained cement, by the time moisture determinations were completed an unknown amount of water was locked into hy: drated cement. The average moisture content of the minus % in. (19 mm) material taken from the rol crete in place was 6.6 percent, with a minimum of 4.6 percent, a maximum of 10.3 percent and a stan- dard deviation of 1.3 percent for 63 samples; a coefficient of variation of 20 percent. Since the grad- ing of the rollerete material varied widely the mois. ture content of the total mixture varied from 1.1 Percent to 8.9 percent. Approximately 90 percent of the moisture was contained in the minus % in. (19 mm) material. For the average grading, with 35 per- cent passing the % in. (19 mm) sieve, the average total moisture content: would be 0.066 X 0.35 x 4100/ 0.90 = 105 Ib (48 kg) per cu yd. For the 2 bag mix this gives a water-cement ratio of 0.56; a low ratio for lean concrete. CONCRETE INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1979‘Tionasical Mal Number of Results. 1 Min. Compressive Strength (®51) f¢ (min.) Matz, Comproseive Strength (2S1, fe (max) verage Compressive Strength (PSI), X ‘s 3 Days on, % Number of Results. 8 we Strength (PSH), fe (min.) 7 Days Max, Compressive Strength (PSI) f¢ (max) Average Compressive Strength (PSI), X Stangard Deviation. S (Coclfictent of Variation, % Number of Results. Min, Compressive Stongth (PSI), f¢ (min.) Max. Compressive Stenath (PSD, f6 (max. vorage Compressive Strength (PSD), X Standard Devi Coelfictont of Vai 26 Daye je o[ “ROLLGRETE™ Dat aa ae 2 sacks/Ou. v4 2.5 Sacke/Cu. v8 wae, aga, Walecil, Saltecake | 9 6 1s 4 278 180 a5 198 2302730, 1590 995, 308 we 784 37 468 636 407 ne 32 7 se “ 6 23 1s a 400 sso ns ais 2580 3200 2738 1080 iso 108 1292 662 51 oo 638 266 si se «0 96 26 1s a 650 745 730 sis aaao 3855, caus, ms 171687 1695 351 728 78 980 393 a 6 se a 5, Gradings. The grading of the rollcrete mix sam- pled from the fill is given in Fig. 8. It will be noted that the average percentage passing the No. 200 sieve is 6 percent. This compares with the grading of the RBG feed (Fig. 7) which has an average of 2 pereent passing the No. 200 sieve. The difference of 4 percent would represent the cement added. This would indicate a cement content of 165 pey (98 ke/ ‘m), a satisfactory check with the average 2 bags added. 6, Field densities. Field densities were taken with 48 in, (1219 mm) ring using the method developed at Oroville Dam. The dry densities averaged 160.5 pef (2570 kg/m’) with a standard deviation of 4.7 pef (75 ke/m*); a coefficient of variation of 2.9 percent. Wet densities averaged 164.8 pef (2640 kg/m’) with a standard deviation of 4.6 pef (74.7 kg/m’) a cient of variation of 2.8 percent. These den- ‘ities appear high and later experiments indicated that the densities should have been decreased 2.6 percent because of the use of a double plastic layer to line the excavated sample holes. The plus 3 in. (76 mm) material had a very high specific gravity rang ing from 2.84 to 3.10 which would account for the high densities. In any event the compaction was highly satisfactory. 7. Compressive strengths. Standard 8 in. x 16 in. (203 mm x 1016 mm) cylinders were made with the rollerete material sereening out all material larger than 24 in, (63.5 mm). Some 6 in. x 12 in. (152 mm x 305 mm) cylinders were made with the minus 8/8 in (95 mm) material. The mix was compacted in the cylinders with a Kango hammer. The Kango hammer is a vibratory hammer with a 5% in. (140 mm) plate on the end. The plate is placed on top of each 5 to 6 in, (127 to 152 mm) layer in the cylinder and the ma- terial thoroughly vibrated until downward move- ‘CONCRETE INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1979 iment ceased. These cylinders were cured and broken following standard concrete practice. Compressive strengths for 3, 7, and 28 days are shown in Fig. 9. ‘The wide seattering of results can be attributed to variations in cement content, moisture content, and aggregate grading. ‘Thirteen 6 in, (152 mm) cores were taken from the rollerete about 70 days after placement. These cores had a minimum compressive strength of 1260 psi (8.7 MPa) and a maximum of 4950 psi (34.2 MPa) with an average strength of 2530 psi (17.5 MPa) with a stan dard deviation of 900 psi (6.2 MPak; a coefficient of variation of 36 percent. This average is consistent with the strengths obtained from the cylinders. The density of the cores averaged 159.5 pef (2555 kg/m’) with a standard deviation of 5 pef (80 kg/m’) a coefficient of variation of 3.1 percent which com pares favorably with the average wet field density If the wet density is decreased 2.6 percent to make the previously mentioned correction it becomes 160.5, pef (2570 kg/m’). 8, Permeability. Four permeability tests were per- formed on the rollerete in place. The tests were per formed by the procedure in the USBR Barth Manual Designation E-36. Three of these tests, in holes which required excavation by hammer and chisel, give consistent permeabilities of 0.63 ft/day (2.2 x {0-em/s) to 1.4 fU/day (5.0 x 10“em/s). The fourth hole was in rollerete which was more easily exca- vated below a depth of 1 ft (0.3m) and give a value of 19 ft/day (6.10 x 10%em/s). (F) Performance of repairs ‘After the completion of repairs the reservoir was filled and has remained filled, with seasonal varia- tions, since. No distress has been noted in the re- 25GENERAL PLAN OF SERVICE SPILLWAY REPAIRS Fig. 10A — General plan of Service Spillway re airs, paired tunnel. In spite of the great variations in strength and possible cracking, the rollerete has sat isfactorily performed its assigned role, Spillway repairs (A) Damage In the summer of 1977, after only 26 days of oper- ation, erosion in the Service Spillway Phinge Pool threatened to undermine the spillway flip bucket.** This erosion was caused by back eddies and periph- eral flows at the right induced by a ridge of hard rock at the exit (downstream edge) of the plunge Pool which did not erode as expected. To remedy this situation, it was decided to shatter the rock ridge by drilling and blasting to a low level and to Provide barriers on the sides of the spillway jet that would intercept the back eddies and stop the periph eral flows in order to minimize and eventually stop the erosion. The shattered rock was not excavated with the expectation that the high velocity spillway flow would erode and carry it away. The general de- sign is shown in Fig. 10A and 10B. 0 rt GENERAL SECTIONS OF SERVICE SPILLWAY REPAIRS Fig. 108 — General sections of Service Spillway re- airs. In addition to the damage at the Service Spillway, minor erosion had occurred downstream from the Auxiliary Spillway and it was decided to construct two minor barriers to stop back eddies on the left side of the plunge pool. Preliminary designs and construction scheduling indicated that at least 700,000 eu yd (535,000 m') of a concrete-like material for the barriers would have to be produced and placed in about 4 months from mid- February to mid-June, 1978, The construction sched- ule indicated that this period would be the time left after required excavation and plant design, erection, and testing were completed. This would require an average daily placement of about 6000 eu yd (4600 m’) a day; a little more than half the rate required for tunnel repairs, (B) Design of repairs As with the tunnel repairs, conventional concrete could not be produced at the rate required. This again led to the decision to utilize rollerete with a facing of 5 ft (1.5 m) normal thickness of con: ventional conerete. The facing was provided because there were doubts about the ability of the rollerete to withstand abrasion and erosion with relatively high debris-laden velocities occurring along some boundaries of the proposed barriers. Hydraulic model studies indicated velocities up to 30 ft/s (9 m/ s) in a few boundary locations (© Plant design Because of the longer time available for plant de. sign and erection as compared with the tunnel re. CONCRETE INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1979ssedos Seasypdg ‘ued Fupetur syasoqos oays Mojy ~ 11 By ove sy seen, roteneg sou seme ‘CONCRETE INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1979pairs, {rom September 1977 to February 1978, a more elaborate plant was designed. The flow sheet for the plant is shown in Fig. 11. Improvements over the tunnel mixing plant included separation of the riverbed borrow material into 2 sizes, minus % in. (19 mm) and % in. - 6 in, (19 mm - 152 mm) and re- combination; revolving drum type continuous mix. ers; and weighing equipment and bateh counters for cement. The borrow material was transported from the Indus River bed by truck to a stationary grizzly which removed the plus 10 in. (254 mm) material mixer nua PLAN AND OETAI Fig. 13 — Mixer drum, plan and sections. ‘The minus 10 in. (254 mm) material fed onto a con- veyor belt and was carried to a vibratory screening plant which removed the 6 to 10 in, (152 to 254 mm) material. The minus 6 in. (152 mm) material fed onto conveyor belt system to be conveyed to a screen- ing plant which separated the material into minus % in, (19 mm) and % to 6 in. (19 to 152 mm) material. These two materials were then fed onto a single con- veyor belt for each revolving drum mixer. Feed onto the belts was controlled by movable gates from the storage hoppers. At the revolving drum mixers ce- ment and water were added. Addition of cement was controlled by varying the speed of a screw-feed con veyor from the bottom of a cement. hopper which was filled by serew-feed conveyor from a cement silo. The cement hopper was kept filled by an auto matic weighing device which weighed out a preset weight of cement whenever the hopper was drawn down. A counter recorded the number of batches of cement weighed out. In addition, the amount of ce ment used was checked each day by the weight of cement hauled by truck to the silos. This check con- firmed that the average cement content was 240 pey (142 kg/m’), Addition of water was controlled by calibrated flows from a water tank. The mixed roll- crete was continuously fed by mixing drums onto a conveyor to be elevated to a truck loading hopper. ‘Trucks received the material from this hopper and transported it to the site. The plant began with only ‘two mixers, with a third installed later. The unique feature of the plant was the mixing drums. The first two drums were manufactured by Edili, Lavatrice A. Tamburo, Milan. They were 23 ft (7 m) long with 4 conical discharge opening which originally had a 51 in, (1295 mm) diameter. This was subsequently modi- fied to 64 in. (1626 mm) diameter to improve produe- tion, Inside the first two drums, 28 spiral (24 in 3rd drum manufactured in Pakistan) fins projected 12 in, (805 mm) and made 3-4 turns in the length of the drum. Drums revolved at 6 rpm. An overall view of the plant is shown in Fig. 12. Details of the drum are shown on Fig. 13. The capacity of each drum CONCRETE INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1979was designed to be 130 cu yd/h (100 m*/h). The ea pacity of the plant was adequate and the actual max- imum production was 14,210 cu yd (10,870 m’) in one day (20 hours) or 710 cu yd/hr (540 m’/hr). Total production was 677,000 eu yd (518,000 min approx mately 100 working days or 6770 cu yd/day (6180 m'/day). Based on a 2 L0-hr shift workday this is @ production of 340 cu yd/hr (260 m'/hr. Actually, onsiderable production time was lost in the begin ning of operations to make minor plant modifications such as the change in discharge opening. Also the third drum did not go into operation until February 25, 1978, 30 days after the plant went into operation. {D) Placement ‘The rollerete was dumped from the truck loading hopper into 70-ton (64,000 kg) Terex trucks for the approximately ‘Js mile (0.8 km) haul to the Service Spillway repair area or the 1% mile (2 km) haul to the Auxiliary Spillway repair area. The rollerete was spread at the placement areas in 13 in. (330 mm) Toose lifts by bulldozer. As with the tunnel rollerete some segregation occurred both in the truck loading hopper and when the mixture was dumped on the i This occurred especially when the percentage of minus No. 4 material was low. An attempt was made to rework the material with the dozer and, at the boundary slopes, loose material over 1 in. (38 mm) in size was manually thrown onto the horizontal sur- face of the lift to be incorporated by rolling. Oper- ational experience indicated that, if the truck loading. hopper could be kept nearly full, the mixture would drop with less fall and segregation would be min mized. As the truck loading hopper was con- structed, the principal cause for the segregation was that the hopper was placed too close to the end of er CONCRETE INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1979 a Fig. 14. — Progress on Service Spillway groin (March 29, 1978). the conveyor belt and the material was thrown against the end walls of the hopper. Relocating the hopper so that there would have been free fall into it would have greatly reduced segregation. Rolling was by four passes of a 10-ton (9000 kg) vibratory roller which compacted the 13 in, (380 mm) lift to ap- proximately 12 in. (305 mm) depth. Compaction on Slopes was attempted with hand tampers, the vibra- tory roller, and loaded trucks, but none proved very suctessful. Because of concern about bond between the rollerete and concrete facing, eventually it was decided to provide sufficient rebars across the boundary to resist 10 ft (3 m) of differential water pressure. Because of the large maximum-sized ag” fregate in the rollerete, hooks of twice the standard Fadius were used in the portion embedded in the rollerete, Also the length of embedded No. 8 rebar was projected 5 ft (1.5 m) normal distance from the onerete boundary into the rollerete to reach a fully Fig, 15 — Progress of Service Spillway LHS dike, buttress, and groin (April 17, 1978).I ges nteens ener Bronce muon uns anne oes (Saremct sem scesomen ate Gheactorrmnsauente acer nant RIVERBED MATERIAL GRADING Fig. 16 — Riverbed material grading. compacted area. Fig. 14 and 15 show placement and progress. There was some question about the bond stress that would develop between rebars and rollerete. Crude pullout tests were performed on No. 6 bars with standard U.S. deformations, the type being used on the project, by placing the bars in the cen ter of 8 x 16 in. (203 x 1016 mm) cylinders and com. acting rollerete around the bars. In two eylinders the ‘rollerete was compacted by the AASHTO method, and in two cylinders by the Kango hammer. The cylinders were put in the testing machine at 7 days and tension applied to the bars. For the first {wo cylinders failure occurred by vertical spitting of the cylinders at total loads of 20,200 Ib (9160 kg) and 28,700 Ib (13,020 kg) respectively. This gave bond stresses of 540 psi (3.7 MPa) and 760 psi (5.2 MPa) For the second two cylinders failure was at 26,500 psi (183 MPa) and 28,400 psi (196 MPa) when yield Point of the rebars was reached. This gave bond stresses of 700 psi (4.8 MPa) and 750 psi (5.2 MPa), The rollerete and concrete, insofar as practicable, were kept within 1 ft (0.3 m) difference in elevation, with the rollrete placed first. The conerete facing which has a slope varying from 1 on Ye to 1 on 2 was placed in steps with 1 ft (0.3 m) vertical faces, This allowed the forming to be supported outside the con. erete. It also allowed the form setters to work on the steps leaving the interior free for conerete place- ment, The rollerete and concrete surfaces were kept moist by hand-held hoses for 14 days or until cov. ered by the next lift. () Properties of rollerete 1. Aggregate. The rollerete aggregate was bor- rowed from the Indus River bed. The aggregate grading (Fig. 16) was considerably different from the RBG grading for the tunnel repairs because it was borrowed from a riverbed location just upstream from the juncture of the spillway channel with the river channel. Millions of cubic yards of material had been eroded from the spillway plunge pools and the spillway channel. This material was carried out and deposited in the riverbed thus changing the charac- ter of the material. It will be noted that grading of the minus No. 4 material has been improved. How: ever, the particle shape was worsened. Also 6 to 6 Percent of the particles were soft. Some of the larger soft particles crushed on the fill under the vi bratory roller. The material carried into the riverbed from the spillway channel consisted of sedimentary rock, ba. salt and quartzite, 2. Cement and temperatures. Type I cement was again used as it was the only type in supply. No temperature measurements were made on the mix. ture. An inspection of galleries constructed in the spillway rollerete buttress by inserting uncemented fill, which was later excavated, and a gallery in the groin excavated by blasting, indicated no eracks had developed at the time of inspection, June 1979, about one year after the completion of buttress and groin. However, cracking may develop at a later date and further inspections could yield interesting results. 3. Test mixes. After the borrow material was lo cated laboratory test mixes were prepared in which the amount of cement, the percentage of aggregate material passing the No. 4 sieve, and the compactive effort were varied. Results of varying the gradation and compactive effort on compressive strength at 28 days of 8 in. x 16 in. (203 mm x 1016 mm) cylinder made from minus 2 in. (651 mm) material were ob. served. Water-cement ratio of 0.49 was held con. stant. Strength for the 200 Ib mix increased from an average of about. 1150 psi (7.9 MPa) at 47 percent passing the No. 4 sieve to 1600 psi (11 MPa) for 32 percent passing, an increase of 39 percent, and 2150 Psi (14.8 MPa) for 20 percent passing, an increase of 81 percent. For the 250 th mix the strength at 47 percent passing was 1600 psi (11 MPa); 2150 psi (14.8 MPa) at 82 percent passing; and 2350 psi (16.2 MPa) at 20 percent passing; an increase of 34 percent and 47 percent respectively. The increase of compactive effort from 12 blows AASHTO to 26 blows increased strength 100 to 200 psi (0.7 to 1.3 MPa) for a mix containing 200 lb of cement per eu yd (120 kg/m’), but had small effect on a 250 Ib per cu yd (150 kg m’) mix, 5 to 7 eylinders were tested for each mix The 20 percent passing the No. 4 sieve would be approximately the amount of sand used in a lean 6 ‘CONCRETE INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1979 ' 1 iin, (152 mm) maximum concrete mix with excellent ‘control on the grading of the sand and coarse aggre: gates. Because of the poor control in the rollerote fixing plant, a minimum of about 30 percent sand/ aggregate ratio was deemed reasonable to avoid seg: regation. The average sand content in the borrow rea was the 82 percent used in one series of test mixes so it was decided to recombine the minus * jn. (19 mm) and % in, to 6 in, (19 mm to 152 mm) size aggregate in the average 50/50 ratio occurring in the borrow area. This also had the highly desir- able feature of avoiding large wastage of aggregate. Because of the poor control of aggregate it was de- cided to use a 250 pey (150 kg/m) cement factor. This also gave a greater leeway in moisture control which was also poor. ‘The average densities for materials compacted with 12 blows were 1427 pef (2310 kg/mm’) for 47 percent passing the No. 4 sieve; 145.2 pef (2850 kg! im) for 32 percent passing: and 146.0 pef (2370 kg/ tm’) for 20 percent passing. For material compacted with 26 blows the average densities were 143.4 pet {2520 kg/m’) for 47 percent passing; 146.7 pet (2375 kg/m’) for 32 percent passing; and 147.7 pef (2300 kg/m) for 20 percent passing. The effect of com- pactive effort on density was not great. The increase in density from 12 blows AASHTO to 26 blows AASHTO varied from 0.7 pef (11 kg/m?) (dry) at 47 pereent passing the No. 4 sieve to 1.7 pet (27 kg/m (dry) at 20 percent passing the No. 4 sieve. These densities were taken on the minus 2 in. (51 mm) frac- tion of the mix. In any event, the controlling factor in rollerete strength was found to be the moisture content. The maximum compacted density was ob- tained at from 5.0 to 5.5 percent moisture content in the minus 2 in. (51 mm) fraction. The maximum com: pressive strength was obtained with about 4.5 per- ent moisture content. in the minus 2 in, (51 mm) fraction. This was very close to the minimum amount of moisture tested. In other words, the wa- ter-cement ratio was controlling. 4, Moisture control. Moisture control was difficult because suitable samples of the mix were difficult to obtain after passing through the drum mixer. Mois ture determination in place was not accurate as pre viously mentioned. ‘The moisture content of the minus % in, (19 mm) material taken from the roll- rete in place for 150 samples was 5.4 percent. The minimum moisture content was 3.3 percent and the ‘maximum was 8.7 percent with a standard deviation af 1.05 percent; a coefficient of variation of 19 per- cent, The average moisture content of the minus % in, (19 mm) fraction of the rollerete mix, estimated to be 90 percent of the total moisture, determined at the mixing plant from 97 samples was 6.6 percent with a minimum of 4.0 percent, a maximum of 9.0 percent with a standard deviation of 1.06 percent; a Coefficient of variation of 16 percent. The loss in moisture was probably due mainly to the hydration CONCRETE INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1979 B Fig. 17 — Gradation of rollerete mix. of the cement in the samples obtained from the fill Using the 6.6 percent, and the average of 57 percent minus % in, (19 mm) material in the mixture, the av- erage total moisture content would be 0.57 * 6.6! 0.9= 42 percent. This is within the design range of 4.0 + 0.5 percent total moisture. 5. Gradings. The gradation of the rollerete mix sampled from the fill is shown on Fig. 17. The aver- ‘age pereent passing the No. 4 sieve was 35 percent compared to the 32 percent average of the borrow area. Since the mix contains about 6 percent cement the 32 percent would become 38/1,06= 36 percent, @ satisfactory check. The minimum minus No. 4 in one sample was about 10 percent. The other samples ranged from 20 percent to 64 percent except for one sample at about 70 percent with a standard devia tion of 9 percent; a coefficient of variation of 26 per- cent, There was a slight skewing towards the higher percentages of fines. ‘This skewing is partially explained by the fact that an effort was made to add additional fines from the sand hopper (H4) shown on the flow sheet when the percentage of fines was low. This effort failed because the amount of sand to be added was so small that the feed could not be satisfactorily con- trolled. Also the added sand was very fine and poorly graded with 84 percent passing a No. 30 sieve and 54 pereent passing a No. 50 sieve. ‘The average percentage passing the % in, (19 mm) sieve for the 150 samples was 57 percent. The 50 percent of minus % in. (19 mm) aggregate material desired would become 58 percent with the added ce- a aT cree eeeSOLLCRETE COWPRESSWE STRENGTH we- FRESH ceNSTy Le0EN0 iF J rom [see ne — at rc ea Fig. 18 — Rollerete compressive strength vs fresh density, ment. The division is considered satisfactory. Very little aggregate was wasted at the plant. 6. Field densities. Field densities were taken with 48 in, (1219 mm) ring using the method developed at Oroville Dam, Because a double plastic sheet was used to line the sample hole calibration disclosed that the densities obtained should be lowered by 2.6 Percent. This correction was made for all densities, ‘The average wet density for 76 samples was 147 pel (2360 kg/m’), about 141. pef (2260 kg/m?) dry den. sity, with a minimum of 133 pef (2130 kg/m’) and @ ‘maximum of 160 pef (2560 kg/m*) and a standard de- Viation of 5 pef (80 kg/m’); a coefficient of variation of 8.4 percent. For comparison the average density of the 8 in. x 16 in, (208 x 1016 mm) cylinders made from the minus 2 in. (51 mm) material for com. Pressive testing averaged 146 pef (2340 kg/m’) and a ‘maximum of 155 pef (2480 kg/m?) and a standard de- viation of 3.5 pef (56 kg/m); a coefficient of variation of 24 percent. From studies by USBR® this would indicate a weight of about 151 pef (2420 kg/m) for a 6 in. (152 mm) maximum mix. The average density OO on the fill is 97 percent of this weight, One-half of {he total number of eylinders was compacted. by Kango hammer and one-half by 72 blows of an AASHTO rammer. The densities with the Kango hammer averaged about 1 pef (16 kg/m’) higher than with the AASHTO rammer. Comparative studies in. dicate that density does not have much effeet on compressive strength for a 250 Ib mix. It is there. fore considered permissible to average the densities, Wet density was used as being more comparable to cylinder densities. One reason for lower densities than those obtained in the tunnel repairs was the lower specific gravity of the aggregate, especially the fine aggregate, Although the test mixes indicated an increase in density with a decrease in percent passing sieve No. 4 plotting of field densities against percent pass. ing No. 4 sieve gave such scattered results that no relationship could be established. This can probably be ascribed to the fact that the gradation of the ma. terial passing a No. 4 sieve varied widely, Similarly a plot of compressive strength against Percent passing a No. 4 sieve showed no relationship between the two values. A plot of compressive strength against densities (Fig. 18) seems to indicate an inerease in strength with an increase in density but appears to be inconclusive. 7. Compressive strengths. There was a difference in strength between the cylinder compacted with the Kango hammer and the AASHTO rammer. The av. erage 28-day strength of the Kango hammer eylin ders was 2705 psi (18.7 MPa) with a minimum strength of 1460 psi (10.1 MPa), 2 maximum of 4235 psi (29.2 MPa) and a standard deviation of 460 psi (3.2 MPa); a coefficient of variation of 17 pereent. ‘The average strength with the AASHTO rammer was 1835 psi (12.7 MPa) with a minimum of 795 psi (6.5 MPa), a maximum of 3320 psi (22.9 MPa) and with a standard deviation of 415 psi (2.9 MPa); a coefficient of variation of 23 percent. Since the vibratory action of the Kango hammer probably more nearly approx: mates the action of the vibratory roller, these strengths may better represent the strengths in place. It should be noted that the comparison with the tunnel rollerete should be made against the Kango hammer strengths. Thus the average 28day strength for the tunnel repairs 1800 psi (12.4 MPa) for a 188 Ib (85 kg) mix, compares to 2705 psi (18.7 MPa) for a 240 Ib (109 kg) mix. There seems to be a relationship between density and strength with an inerease in strength with an increase in density, as shown in Fig, 18, This increase in strength could be related to the better grading associated with the higher densities. Conclusions The rollerete repairs at Tarbela have demon- strated the feasibility of using rollerete where a low- strength conerete without a requirement for uniform CONCRETE INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1979strength, high impermeability, resistance to high ve Jocity flows, of severe weathering conditions, is suit: able, It is especially useful when rapid placement is required as was the case in these two repair jobs. To permit use in struetures such as a gravity con cfote dam, the aggregate would have to be sepa fated into the usual components and recombined in a ‘well-controlled manner; the cement control would have to be improved and the moisture control would have to be comparable to that for conventional con rote. With these changes, mixing by @ continuous ‘mixer should be satisfactory as the only problem with the mixing was segregation caused in large part by the poor aggregate control, Location and fontrol of the truck loading hopper would have to be Carefully studied to prevent segregation in loading trucks. "The statistical analyses indicate that the quality of the rollerete was improved by the separation of the aggregate into two size ranges and by the more Glaborate proportioning and mixing plant used for the spillway repairs. Further refinements should lend to further quality improvements. Tt is regretted that more data were not obtained ‘on the rollerete, but the high production rate pre cluded obtaining additional useful data. Acknowledgement ‘The authors are grateful to Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority for permission to publish; to Tarbela Joint Venture/Indus River Con tractors for use of their informational materials and for their many contributions to solving the problems involved; to Mr. John Lowe, Il, who suggested the tuse and name of Rollerete, for his critical review: and to the many TAMS engineers in New York and at Tarbela for their assistance in preparation of this, article. References 1. “Repair and Reconstruction of the Tunnels at Tar bela.” Water Power and Dam Construetion (London), June/July 1995. 2, “Another Crash Repair Program Begins at Tarbela bam" Engnerng ‘News-Record, V. 199, Oct. 6, 1977, p. CONCRETE INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1979 NN — 5, “Tarbela Dam Construction Reaches Half-Way Mark, Water Power and Dam Construction (London), Oct. 1972. 1. Binger, Wilson V., “The Tarbela Dam Project. West Pakistan” Proceedings, ASCE, V. 98, PO2, Oct. 1972, pp. 221.296. 5. Thompson, Morgan H., "Some Construction Aspects of Tarbela Dam,” Proceedings, ASCE, V. 100, C03. Sept. 1974, pp. 247-254, 6, “Sediment Deposition Model for Tarbela Reservoir” Second Annual Symposium on Modeling Techniques, Ws: ferways Harbors and Coastal Engineering Division, ‘ASCE, San Francisco, 1975, V. 1, pp. 501-520. 7. Discussion of “Utilization of Soil Cement as Slope Protection for Earth Dams” presented before the First ASCE Water Resources Engineering Conference, Omaha, 1962 (not published. ', “Rollerete Helps Beat Erosion Repair Deadline.” New Givil Engineer (London), June 9, 1918, Cover Story. ‘9. “New. Tarbela Sinkhole Mars Rollerete Success.” World Water, May 1978. 10. Concrete Manual, 7th Edition, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, 1966, 642 pp. Received Feb 27, 1978, and reviewed under Insite pubication plicis Horace A. Johnson is a, con sulting engineer from Berkeley. Calif, and formerly was special ‘coordinator and chief resident engi- fneer on the Tarbela Dam Project for. Tippetts-Abbett- McCarthy. Stratton. He spent 31 years with the US. Bureau of Reclamation and the Corps of Engineers on wa: ter resource planning, design, and ‘construction Paul C. Chao is chief project ‘engineer and formerly chief design engineer on the Tarbela Dam Proj fect for Tippetts-Abbett McCarthy. ae Stratton. New York, N.Y. He has been involved for 38 years with to tal design and supervision of eon: struction of many multipurpose projects including 7 years on the Shihmen Reservoir Project and 15 ‘years on the Tarbela Dam Project. &