As roller-compacted concrete (RCC) inexorably penetrates existing asphalt pavement markets, research into its composition and performance is ramping up as specifications are being fine-tuned by ASTM. Up to the past decade, RCC mixes principally were used in a variety of heavy-duty applications such as logging yards, loading docks, intermodal port facilities, large parking areas and dams. But as highway agencies and contractors followed in the wake of early adopters, it has started to move into pavements in the past 10 years.

"Roller-compacted concrete is gaining popularity as a paving alternative for a number of roadway applications," says Stacy G. Williams, Ph.D., P.E., research associate professor in Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville.