Everything You Need To Know About Soil Compaction And Roller Compactors - Part 3

Continuing from part 1 and part 2...

The road roller is a machine that is generally used in the construction of roads and highways. Usually the road roller comes with a roller body and a metal drum. Depending on the model there can be more than one metal drum. Some models come equipped with several wheel instead of drums. These models offer higher maneuverability and can be easily transported from one location to another. One person drives and operates the roller, and in some models the person pushes the roller in order to create flat and smooth surface. Generally speaking the road roller operates when the weight of the metal drum causes the soil to compact and to compress. The actual weight of the drum varies depending on the model. For example, the drum of the manually operated road roller usually has weight of 45kg, and this roller is not used in the construction of big roads or highways but for other small projects like for paving walkways. On the other hand the industrial rollers which are used in the construction of highways and regional roads can have total weight of 25 tons or even more. The actual weight of the road roller comes from the metal drum that is attached to the roller. In some models the total weight of the drum can be increased by adding liquid materials like water.

In some construction projects several different road roller models can be used. For example, at the beginning of the construction process a roller that has wheels instead of drums can be used, and once the ground area becomes smooth and level much bigger and powerful road roller with one or more metal drums can be used to make the ground as compact as possible.

Many different types and models of road rollers are available on the market today with capability to complete different kinds of compaction jobs and each model offers something different. Some road rollers use a water based lubricants for preventing different kinds of materials like asphalt or dirt to stick to the metal drums. Other rollers have vibration mechanisms for higher compaction. The road rollers generally are classified into two categories : static and vibratory rollers. The static road rollers operate by using only the force of the gravity for compaction. They usually have larger weight when compared with the vibratory rollers. The vibratory rollers on the other hand operate by using the force of the gravity and also the force of the vibrations provided by one or more vibrating mechanisms. The most commonly used road rollers at the construction sites are : the manual walk behind roller, powered walk behind roller, trench roller, padfoot roller, the single drum roller, double drum or twin drum roller, single wheeled roller, multi wheel roller or multi tyred roller and many other.