ABSTRACT
In 1987, the Portland Cement Association published a brief manual entitled, Bonding Roller Compacted Concrete Layers following the first use of Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) for gravity dam construction in the United States. This manual was intended to serve as a guide to the early-recognized fact that the overall performance of an RCC gravity dam is highly dependent upon the performance of its lift joints. Since that time, approximately 66 new RCC gravity dams and 74 dam rehabilitations using RCC have been constructed in the United States. Worldwide approximately 223 RCC gravity dams over 50 feet (15 meters) in height have been constructed. As more experience is gained in RCC technology, engineers in recent years have gained the confidence to design and construct RCC gravity dams with heights over 600 feet (180 meters). Consequently, higher demands have been placed on the performance of RCC lift joints. To keep pace with this trend and to provide an update to the new advances and lessons learned since 1987 in the design and construction of lift joints, a second edition of this manual will soon be published. As the principal author of this updated manual and as the RCC design task leader for the tallest RCC gravity dam in North America, Olivenhain Dam in San Diego, California, this paper provides a synopsis of guidelines for the design and construction of RCC lift joints.
