Compacting equipment

Commonly Used in
Construction Projects
Most construction sites need a stable ground to
do their work on. The soil needs to be
compressed so there aren’t any pockets of air
underground that can disrupt the process.
For this to work, special construction equipment
is needed to properly compact and smooth the
ground.
It provides the necessary flat base which
provides the crucial support for
buildings, construction foundations,
pavements, roads and various other
construction structures. The process of
compaction gives the soil underneath
these supports higher resistance and
greater stability.
 Compacting Equipment

 One of the most common types of

compaction equipment is the road roller.
Road rollers have a long history, with some
of the first being pulled by a horse and
used for agricultural purposes. In fact,
modern rollers are still referred to as steam
rollers, from when they were powered by a
steam engine.
Compacting Equipment

 Knowing about the different types of

rollers is important information for a
construction project. To help you
choose the right machine, we’ve
broken down the different types of
rollers and their uses below.
1. Cylindrical Rollers
Compacting Equipment

 One type of walk-behind roller is a

cylindrical roller. These ones are traditional
in that they are relatively lightweight and
are pushed by a person. All of the other
types of rollers on this list have walk-
behind and ride-on counterparts and are
sometimes still powered by an engine.
Compacting Equipment

 Cylindricalrollers are used mainly for small

and private projects, like yard work.
Cylindrical rollers are typically 1 meter in
diameter and are generally made of iron,
stone or concrete.
2. Grid Rollers
 Gridrollers are a type of roller that has a
network of steel bars, which create a grid-
like pattern on the steel drum. The grid
may also be ballasted with concrete blocks
or steel attachments for more contact
pressure. These types of rollers are
generally towed or pulled behind a tractor
or another heavy machine.
 Thegrid design on the cylinder drum
produces a high contact pressure with little
kneading action on compaction work.
Because of this, they’re most suitable on
well-graded, coarse soils, weathered rocks
and for subgrade and sub-base road
constructions.
3. Pneumatic Rollers
 Pneumatic rollers, sometimes called
pneumatic tired rollers, are a type of large,
ride-on roller with several rows of rubber
tires on the front or rear end. The rubber
tires provide an 80% coverage area and
uniform pressure throughout the width of
the tires.
 They are typically used for pavements and
can help smooth out and polish a project,
but are also great for cold-laid bituminous
or cold mixed pavements and layers of
loose soil
4. Sheepsfoot
 Sheepsfoot rollers, otherwise known as
padfoot or tamping rollers, are rollers with
many rectangular-shaped lugs, or “feet.”
They’re great for compacting soil and silty
clay in road construction work.
 Likewise, any projects with wet clay or other
fine-grained soils at great depths should use this
type of roller. You can finish off areas compacted
by sheepsfoot rollers by going over them with a
pneumatic roller.
5. Smooth Wheeled or Static Rollers

 There are generally two types of smooth

wheeled rollers: single and double drum
roller. They are also known as static rollers.
Double Drum or Tandem
 The tandem, or double drum roller, has one steel
drum in the front and one in the back. As the two
drums move, this moves the roller. The efficiency
of the tandem roller comes from the two drums —
entire sections of a highway can be flattened and
paved quickly and efficiently.
 Theserollers are great for flat or gradual
surfaces like asphalt, but because they
have very little traction, they’re not
recommended for anything specialized.
Single Drum or Three-wheeled
 Three-wheeled or single drum rollers are
some of the most common pieces of heavy-
duty machinery. When people think of road
rollers, they typically picture a three-
wheeled roller. They typically have a steel
drum in the front and two special wheels in
the back that can prevent most flat tires
from happening.
 Single drum rollers can work in tighter spaces and
more specialized projects due to their smaller
size. They’re great for creating foundations for
buildings and paving highways or sidewalks, but
because of the extra weight in the front, they
won’t roll over some surfaces.
 One thing to note is that single-drum can also
refer to other rollers, such as the padfoot or
smooth roller. Understanding that aspect can help
differentiate exactly what you need.
6. Vibratory Rollers
 Vibratory rollers are almost identical to smooth
wheel rollers (including the single and double
drum) except for one major difference: they
come with a specialized vibrating component. As
the roller compacts and flattens the surface, it
will vibrate.
 Since soil, asphalt, and concrete have natural
empty spaces, they can cause a building to warp
and sink, causing damage to the structure. Using
a vibratory roller on your construction project can
help keep the building’s structural integrity. Other
types of soil that vibratory rollers are great at
compacting are crushed rock or gravel.
Estimating Compactor Production

Production (CCY/h)= 16.3 × W × S × L × E / P (5-lA)

Production (CCM/h) = 10 × W × S × L × E / P (5-lB)
Where
P = number of passes required
W = width compacted per pass (ft or m)
S = compactor speed (mi/h or km/h)
L = compacted lift thickness (in. or cm)
E = job efficiency