Off-Highway Research’s coverage of compaction equipment small hand-guided equipment as well as various types of larger ride-on equipment. The main types of compaction equipment within our coverage are:
Vibrating Plates
Hand-guided equipment, including one-way and reversible types.
Pedestrian Rollers
Sometimes called hand-guided, duplex or walk-behind rollers, they comprise one or two vibrating rollers with a typical width of 650 mm or less.
Trench Compactors
Equipped with two vibrating drums, these machines are either articulated or have a rigid frame with skid-steering split drums. Typical drum widths are 650-850 mm and they feature remote control to allow them to be used in applications where it would be dangerous or illegal to deploy personnel.
Tandem Rollers
Ride-on tandem rollers have two drums and, depending upon their specification, either one or both drums will vibrate or oscillate. They come in a wide range of sizes from 0.9 to 16.5 tonnes, and are used primarily for compacting asphalt. The frame may be rigid or articulated, and there may be drives to one or both drums. Some models have split drums for better finishing on curves.
Self-Propelled Rollers
Self-propelled rollers, or soil compactors, have a single drum at the front and a driven steering axle with treaded tyres at the rear. The front drum may also be driven. It may be of smooth steel or rubber-coated for asphalt, or pad foot for earth compaction.
Pneumatic-Tyred Rollers (PTRS)
Pneumatic-tyred rollers (PTRs) rely purely on their weight and in consequence are ballasted. Their function is to bring the finer particles to the surface of an asphalt mix and to leave a completely smooth surface, which will not ripple as the final vibratory tandem roller, seals it.
Combination Rollers
Combination rollers, or combi rollers,have one smooth, vibrating steel drum at the front, and a set of smooth rubber tyres at the rear. Combining aspects of PTRs and tandem rollers into a single machine has the attraction of offering both high compaction and a high quality finish.
Towed Rollers
Towed rollers are usually used with crawler dozers. They carry a small engine to power the vibrator.
Static Rollers
Static rollers are non-vibrating and with a single drum on the front and two at the rear. The weight of the machine can be increased by adding ballast such as water, sand or a mixture of both to aid their ability to compact material.
