Common Applications of Road Rollers in the Philippines

April 11, 2019

Where can you see road rollers being used?

1. Worksite preparation
2. Road construction
3. Agricultural application
4. Landfill compaction

Road rollers are designed for one thing—soil compaction. However, in today’s construction industry, that’s not where it ends. Just like how resourceful people make use of different things in order to optimize a few other operations, people in the construction industry have also made efforts to try and use these machines in a different way.

The construction industry is filled with both the typical and a few unique operations. From the typical and traditional operations to the unique and unorthodox.

In the Philippines in particular, road rollers are used in a variety of ways. These machines are used even outside of the construction industry. Take a look at some of the most common applications of road rollers:

Work Site Preparation

This is the most common application of road rollers. Since their main function is to prepare the soil and make them as stable as possible, then preparing foundations for buildings is one of its primary uses.

Road rollers do so by simply working their way through the whole construction site, going back and forth until the whole area is flat and stable enough for the other machines to pass through without any kind of ruggedness.

The flattening that it does is also quite temporary—which brings about benefits for some applications. When done correctly, the ground that the road roller worked on will not only be flat but also smooth. Depending on the type of machine used, the preparation can take longer. Or it can also be more efficient in dealing with different kinds of soil compositions.

Keep in mind that when it comes to soil or the ground in general, different areas have different soil compositions—so they will need different levels of soil compaction in order to properly be worked.

Road Construction

As it’s stated in the name itself, these machines are made for road construction. The drums that they have as wheels work extremely well in flattening asphalt into roads, be it for residential areas or highways. Unlike when you use it for soil compaction, however, these road rollers need to be extreme even with their application of force.

Because of this, a vibratory roller is usually used—one that has a vibrating mechanism within the drums themselves. The vibrations that it produces makes for an even layering of asphalt and other road components.

In most cases, vibratory rollers are the better choice for road construction solely because they can lead to a more even flattening when compared to simple mechanical road rollers.

Aside from that, vibratory rollers have more power to them, enabling them to flatten more materials even with a difference in soil composition. Whether it’s sand, gravel, or asphalt, a strong, heavyweight vibratory roller is perfect for that kind of application.

Another thing worth taking note of is that road rollers are also the perfect machine for road rehabilitation. When it comes down to it, road construction, rehabilitation, and repairs are better done with the help of road rollers.

Agricultural Applications

Aside from constructions, rollers in general, are also used in agriculture. They’re a supplementary machine that’s used to flatten land or break up large chunks of soil. Most of the time, they’re used after plowing or disc harrowing is done.

Traditional ways to flatten the lands for agriculture used to be done with heavy cylinders being pulled by tractors or even animals.

Nowadays, the agricultural industry itself is already mechanized with so many machines for their benefits. Road rollers were one of the machines that were outfitted to fit this operation.

Rollers made for agricultural purposes don’t necessarily just flatten the ground—meaning the drums that they have aren’t just for flattening. Often there are drums that specialize on breaking apart the soil, while some are designed to pound on the ground in order to roughen it up a bit for further tilling and flattening.

Keep in mind that when it comes to farming, flat land is perfect for creating optimal seedbeds—especially if they’re moderately firmed.

Landfill Compaction

Another application that requires heavy compaction is for landfills. In essence, landfills are just spaces of land used as storage for whatever. It can be used for garbage, for scrap metal, for plastics—basically, anything that has nowhere to go.

Road rollers are used here to make the landfill as flat as possible, increasing the area that can be used to store the items that will be dumped in the area.

Key Takeaway

Road rollers can arguably be seen as a one-dimensional machine. But even so, they have found multiple different uses in different fields. Although their applications are basically the same, the demand for it is so strong that even the agricultural industry has space for rollers in their arsenal.