Effect of compaction methods and mix design on the petrographic void ratio of roller-compacted concrete

Roller-compacted concrete (RCC) is considered highly preferable owing to its quick application, cost effectiveness and sustainable nature. A study of the literature revealed that, although extensive work on RCC has been performed, there are no studies related to void determination using petrographic analysis. Therefore, in this study, petrographic analyses were conducted on samples produced using different compaction methods (vibrating table, vibrating hammer, Superpave gyratory compactor (SGC) and modified Proctor method) using a high-resolution petrographic microscope. The effects of varying water content and cement dosage on the void ratio of the concrete mixtures were examined. The results showed the best compaction method to be the SGC method, with the lowest void ratio obtained from samples produced with a cement dosage of 400 kg/m³ and 6% water.