Different Types Of Road Rollers

Properly compacted ground surface is essential for many reasons. Generally the soil compaction is a necessary activity when the subsurface or the surface of the road needs a smooth finish. Proper soil compaction is required for roads that are intended for heavy traffic usage. Improper ground compaction can result in irregular and extensive ground wear. Today different types of construction equipment is used for ground compaction. Many different construction machines are used at the construction sites for conducting soil compaction. The road roller is one of those construction machines that is used mainly for soil compaction during the construction of roads. Different road rollers are available and are used for different purposes. The main function of the road rollers is to provide proper compaction, to ensure that the ground foundation is compacted properly and to prevent the ground materials to be become to much loose. What type of road roller is going to be used depends on the type of the construction materials which are being utilized, the condition of the soil, the level of moisture, and the particular weight that is required in order the desired compaction results to be achieved. The most commonly used road rollers are: the static roller, the vibrating roller, the padfoot roller, single drum roller, multi wheel roller and many other road roller variations.

Static Roller. The static road roller operates by using its own weight for different compaction activities. This roller type can be further divided into steel wheel roller and tire wheel roller. The static roller is mainly used for compacting different ground materials such as crushed stones, gravel, sand, sand macadam and many other materials. This road roller is widely used in road construction, site developments, industrial yard and road construction. The static roller provides high safety and reliability features, excellent gear shifting, high flexibility and of course high quality.

Vibrating Roller. The vibrating rollers usually are equipped with one or two vibrating drums. They are equipped with a powerful engine capable to compact different non cohesive ground materials like crushed rocks and stones, gravel, sand, and also can be used for slightly cohesive types of soil. Some vibrating rollers when used for asphalt compaction are equipped with water pump systems. Such water systems prevent the asphalt from sticking to the vibrating drum. The vibrating rollers are designed for large construction projects like highways, dams, airports, harbors, industrial facilities and other areas. These rollers are classified into:

• Single drum vibrating rollers. These rollers are designed for non cohesive materials compaction, like gravel, stones and rocks, sand macadam.
• Walk Behind Vibratory Rollers. These types are suitable for compacting small ground areas like ground trenches.
• Twin Drum Vibrating Rollers. These road rollers are designed to be used for compacting and maintaining roads, parking areas, lawns, sidewalks. They have small compact design and are heavily used by the construction companies.

Padfoot roller. This model is another useful static roller which is used for many different purposes. The padfoot roller, sometimes known as sheepfoot roller, is mainly used for compacting cohesive type soils but it shows great results also on other soil types. What makes this road roller to be so widely used is the greater compacting depth provided when compared with the smooth drum roller. The padfoot rollers are typically single drum rollers with capabilities to meet and to complete different construction jobs.