Cemex launches cementitious alternative surfacing solution

Cemex UK has launched a new non-slump concrete aimed at the surfacing market. Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC), which offers approximately 30% lower costs over 50 years, has been designed as an alternative solution to asphalt, primarily for roads and surfacing. As the cost of bitumen increases – rising by 60% in the last two years – Cemex UK decided to research alternative materials that would lower costs but provide the same strength and performance levels as existing products. RCC is based on a cementitious alternative to bitumen, containing the latest additives and technology. Although it offers the same characteristics as traditional pavement quality concrete, it is laid with conventional asphalt paving equipment. Once laid, transverse cracks are induced at regular intervals to allow for any potential contraction of concrete. RCC’s long-term life cycle cost benefits mean that it can be used for both new construction and maintenance of surfacing. It could potentially be used on roads and highways with a thin asphalt overlay to ensure skid resistance and reduce noise.

“Around 35% of the price of asphalt is directly attributable to the high cost of bitumen and it is because of this that we have developed today’s RCC, striving to get better value for our customers. Whether the binders in the mix are bitumen based or cement based, it is doing the same job – binding aggregates,” said Will Fitzgerald, Director Asphalt and Paving Solutions, Cemex UK.

Adapted from press release by Louise Fordham.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/16112012/cement_cemex_uk_roller_compacted_concrete_roads_745/