Mechanical and thermal behavior of roller compacted concrete (RCC) for the construction of dams

Abstract

The aim of this research is to study the behavior of rollercompacted concrete with local materials (Tunisia) used indam’s constructions in order to determine its optimalcomposition. In this context, an experimental laboratorystudy was conducted to determine the mechanical andthermal properties of this material. This study consists ondetermination of the resistance, workability and release ofadequate heat for the BCR in order to obtain a compactmaterial, without shrinkage micro cracks, allowing a lowpermeability. The resumption between two successivelayers must be warm to guarantee the continuity ofmaterial. For concrete’s mass, structure is subjected tothermal stress resulting from the cement hydrationexothermic reaction. Measures of the temperature in themortar extracted from roller compacted concrete treatedwith an admixture allowed the control of the delay ofexothermic reaction. This control is significant to select thecement type and the adequate admixture. Tests ofpenetration of a needle Proctor under imposed loads onthe extracted mortar allowed to evaluate the duration ofwarm resumption adhesion “DWRA” between twocompacted successive layers. The results of thisexperimental study allowed developing a mix design of aRoller Compacted Concrete (RCC) in order to execute adike’s dam with low permeability and higher resistance.