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RCC Provides Strong Platform for
Quebec Recycling Facility
American Iron and Metal (AIM) Co. Inc needed a strong, durable
platform for their new metals recycling facility in Levis, Quebec.
The 70-year old company, based in Montreal, is a processor, dealer,
and broker of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The new facility processes
scrap metal, salvaging and recycling various metals from compressed
cars, boilers, appliances, ornamental steel, etc.
This type of operation requires a large platform for storage and
operations, which must also be able to stand up to the heavy loads
and punishment of the operating equipment. Roller-compacted concrete
(RCC) is often the material of choice for this type of application
because of its high strength and durability, and large areas can
be constructed with significant cost savings.
AIM needed no convincing to use RCC for this project, having used
it on several projects since 1996. “Our experience with roller-compacted
concrete has been excellent. It has good resistance to the abrasion
caused by our operations, and we have found that we can put truck
traffic back in operation in just 72 hours after construction”
said Guy Monet of AIM. Another advantage was the ease of patching.
If small areas needed repair, simply sawing out the area and replacing
with conventional concrete eliminated the need for forms.
One aspect of this application was the requirement for very low
permeability. For environmental reasons, the operating platform
had to protect the groundwater underneath the pavement from any
of the materials that might be involved in the recycling operation.
To ensure that the RCC would provide an impermeable barrier, tests
were performed by SEM Consultants in Quebec City who developed specific
laboratory procedures for this evaluation. Their results found that
the permeability of the RCC could be estimated at 1 x 10-11 cm/sec,
which would be very satisfactory for this application (see PCA Pavements
E-News from March 2006 for more information on this testing:
The pavement was built in the summer of 2006 by Carrieres St. Dominique,
a contractor that has also constructed previous RCC projects for
AIM.The RCC was placed on 12 in (300 mm) of drainable aggregate
base throughout the site. The thickness of the RCC varied from 6
in (150 mm) to 12 in (300 mm) depending on the static and dynamic
loading conditions. RCC was also placed for the floors of storage
bins at the facility (see pictures below).
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| Construction of RCC pavement with control
joints. |
Use of RCC for storage bin floors. |
The concrete mix consisted of 2,000 lb/yd3 (1185 kg/m3
) crushed stone (1/2 in. or 14 mm max size), 1532 lb/yd3
(908 kg/m3 ) sand, 175 lbs/yd3 (107 kg/m3
) water, and 14.75 oz/yd3 (570 ml/m3 ) of
Axim catexol 1000N water reducer. The cementitious material consisted
of 480 lb/yd3 (285 kg/m3) of Type I cement
blended with 7% silica fume. This blended cement, provided by Ciment
Quebec Inc., is commonly used in Quebec because of its excellent
resistance to freeze-thaw and deicer scaling.
The required field compaction was 98% of Modified Proctor, which
had a value of 155 lb/ft3 (2492 kg/m3). Concrete samples obtained
in the field and tested in the lab had 3-day strengths of 740 psi
(5.1 MPa) in flexure and 5,380 psi (37.1 MPa) in compression. Tests
conducted after 28 days had an average flexural strength of 1,059
psi (7.3 MPa) and compressive strength of 8,514 psi (58.7 MPa).
As part of the project, Ciment Quebec Inc. performed an evaluation
of different paving equipment. This included a conventional Barber
Green asphalt paver, and a Vogele Super 2100 paver with two different
screeds. The two Vogele screeds were a TP2, and a TVP2. The TP2
screed incorporates a tamping bar and two pressure bars, and was
used with standard procedures for roller-compacted concrete. The
TVP2 screed is specifically designed for concrete, and obtains the
required concrete density without additional rolling, thereby creating
the term “Paver Compacted Concrete”. Francois Marleau,
Vice President of Ciment Quebec, stated “We were very pleased
with the performance of the Vogele paver and both paving screeds.
This type of new equipment improves production for the contractor
and gives the owner a better final product.”
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| Evaluating the Vogele Super 2100 paver with
TP2 screed. |
After completion of paving, the new AIM recycling facility had
approximately 25 acres of roller-compacted concrete. This new operating
platform was constructed at a lower cost than any comparable construction
material, and will provide many years of durable service.
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| RCC provides a tough, durable, impermeable
operating platform. |
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