Title:
Roller Compacted Concrete: A Civil Engineering Innovation
Author(s):
Kenneth D. Hansen
Publication:
Concrete International
Volume:
18
Issue:
3
Appears on pages(s):
49-53
Keywords:
dams; embankments; fly ash; mass concrete; roller compacted concrete; Construction
DOI:
Date:
3/1/1996
Abstract:
Civil engineers are builders and problem solvers. With respect to the construction of dams in the early 1970s, more and more embankment dams were being built at sites that could accommodate concrete dams. This was mainly because they cost less. Earth moving construction methods had advanced more rapidly than concrete dam construction methods. Mass concrete dams continued to be placed in large monoliths called blocks by placing concrete bucket by bucket. In each case, the early engineers produced designs that performed very well. However, their resulting structures were close to, but not 100 percent effective. The pioneers in RCC design and construction should be proud of their accomplishments. Much was learned from the early innovators that were applied to an increasing number of dam and dam rehabilitation projects using roller-compacted concrete.