Senior figures from Northern Ireland’s Mineral Products Association (MPANI) recently convened at Rapid International’s headquarters in County Armagh for an opportunity to collaborate and learn latest research and case studies on roller compacted concrete (RCC) and cement bound materials (CBM).
The MPANI, whose mission is to provide a secure and socially responsible aggregates industry, is Northern Ireland’s top trade association for the minerals sector. Delegates from the MPANI represent a broad cross-section of the sector, including, aggregates, asphalt, cement, concrete, dimension stone, lime, mortar and silica sand.
The half-day seminar, hosted by Rapid International Ltd, provided an overview of the production and applications of RCC and CBM, also offering valuable insight into their great many advantages. The UK has witnessed significant growth in the use of hydraulically bound materials (HBM’s), such as CBM and RCC for road construction, in recent years. The advantages of RCC and CBM are numerous, however most notable are the associated cost savings (approx. 20%), speed of paving and resistance to extreme weather.
As mixing technology experts for almost fifty years, Rapid offered insight into the key considerations for selecting a mixing plant for HBM’s. James Vaughan, Sales Executive at Rapid, explained, “CBM & RCC can be mixed in the vast majority of plant, however, they are substantially different to conventional concrete, in that the relatively dry nature of the mixture demands much higher mixing energy to provide a uniform mix.” Mr Vaughan proceeded to highlight the key criteria for selecting a HBM mixing plant, “Any continuous mixing plant will require the ability to facilitate controlled blending of component aggregate fractions. The plant should also be capable of discharging to tipper or dump trucks. Output should meet the supply rate demanded by the paving operation.”
Rapid’s Rapidmix mobile continuous mixing plant and Trakmix, track-mounted mobile continuous mixing plant have both been utilised for the production of RCC and CBM on high profile international projects, including JFK airport, Mexican hydro dams and many more. Both Rapidmix and Trakmix have been specifically designed for optimal production of HBM’s. Rapid offers the longest and fastest pugmill mixer available on the market today, producing high outputs of up to 600 tonnes per hour. The pugmill’s unique mixing action creates high turbulence, resulting in a fully homogenised mix. Both Rapidmix and Trakmix offer full weighing for all materials, providing accuracy and traceability. Offering total mobility, both plants are fully self-contained with an onboard genset. In addition to HBM’s, Rapidmix and Trakmix are also ideal for bentonite enriched soil, pavement quality concrete, soil stabilisation, sludge stabilisation, tunnelling, dredging, mine backfill and many more.
To learn more about Rapidmix or Trakmix, click here.
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