When a road roller is working in confined spaces (such as indoor warehouses, underground garages, roadways, around pipelines, building corners, etc.), due to limited space and many obstacles, it is necessary to adjust the operation method according to the characteristics of the site and the performance of the equipment. The core goal is to avoid collisions and ensure uniform compaction. The specific operation points are as follows:

1. Equipment Selection: Prioritize Models Suitable for Confined Spaces

The premise of construction in confined spaces is to select a suitable road roller to reduce operation difficulty:

• Small road rollers: Preferred are small vibratory road rollers (such as ride-on models of 1-3 tons) or walk-behind road rollers (0.5-1 ton class) with a wheel width of 1.0-1.5 meters and a body length of ≤ 3 meters. They have a small turning radius (usually ≤ 2.5 meters) and can flexibly turn in a space 3-4 meters wide.

• Special models: If the site height is limited (such as underground garages with a floor height of ≤ 2.5 meters), choose a road roller with a low body design; if the ground bearing capacity is limited (such as floor slabs), use a rubber-tired road roller (which has a smaller ground contact pressure than a steel wheel roller to avoid cracking the ground).

• Avoid using large road rollers (with a wheel width of ≥ 2 meters and a weight of ≥ 10 tons), as they have a large turning radius (usually ≥ 5 meters) and are prone to colliding with walls or equipment.

2. Site Pre-treatment: Plan Routes and Clear Obstacles

Before construction, a systematic survey of the confined space is required to reduce operational risks:

• Measurement and marking:

• Use lime or ink lines to mark the boundaries of the compaction area, the positions of obstacles (such as columns, pipelines), and clarify the rolling route (it is recommended to plan a "one-way circular route" to avoid frequent reversing).

• If the site width is only 0.5-1 meter wider than the road roller's wheel width (for example, a 3-meter-wide site using a 2-meter-wide road roller), a "safety distance" (≥ 30 cm on each side of the body) should be reserved to prevent scraping the wall during rolling.

• Obstacle clearance:

• Remove small debris in the site (such as steel bars, stones). For fixed obstacles (such as columns), anti-collision pads can be wrapped around them. When rolling, keep a distance of at least 50 cm (if the area around the columns needs to be compacted, a walk-behind roller can be used for supplementary compaction later).

• Check the flatness of the ground. If there are protrusions (such as concrete blocks), they need to be crushed in advance to avoid the road roller bumpy and causing direction loss.

3. Core Operation Skills: Control Speed, Steering, and Compaction Sequence

• Speed control:

• Reduce the driving speed to 1-2 km/h (the normal road construction speed is 3-5 km/h). Low-speed driving can improve the accuracy of direction control, and the roller can brake in time when encountering obstacles (small road rollers have a short braking distance, usually ≤ 1 meter).

• Operate the throttle and brake slowly when starting and stopping to avoid body deviation due to inertia. Especially when approaching walls or equipment, "inching" control should be used for forward/backward movement.

• Steering and U-turning:

• When rolling straight, keep the body parallel to the boundary, observe the distance on both sides through the rearview mirror. If deviating, adjust the direction slightly (steering angle ≤ 10°) to avoid the rolling wheel exceeding the compaction area due to sudden steering.

• When making a U-turn, prefer a relatively open area of the site and use the "three-point turn method": first drive forward close to the obstacle, then reverse while steering, and finally move forward to complete the turn (small road rollers can turn in place, but it is necessary to confirm that the ground bearing capacity is sufficient).

• If the site width is insufficient for a U-turn (such as a narrow passage only accommodating the length of the body), the "reciprocating rolling method" can be adopted: after moving forward to the end, reverse and roll directly without turning around (pay attention to the blind area of vision when reversing; it is recommended to arrange a dedicated person to command).

• Compaction sequence: From the inside out, light first then heavy:

• The first rolling should proceed from the center of the site to the edge to prevent the uncompacted materials at the edge from collapsing after being squeezed (especially loose materials such as sand, gravel, and lime soil).

• If layered compaction is required (such as backfill soil), the thickness of each layer should be ≤ 20 cm (1/3 less than the normal subgrade compaction thickness). First, use the static pressure mode (without turning on vibration) to compact the surface layer, then turn on the vibration (adjust the amplitude to the minimum to avoid resonance of surrounding buildings caused by vibration).

• For edge areas close to obstacles (such as wall roots, next to columns), if the road roller cannot directly roll, a walk-behind vibratory rammer can be used for supplementary compaction (compaction width 30-50 cm) to ensure that the edge compaction degree meets the standard.

4. Safety and Quality Control Points

• Anti-collision measures:

• Arrange 1-2 commanders to guide the road roller's movement with gestures or walkie-talkies, especially in blind areas (such as behind columns) where early warning is required.

• Paste reflective strips on fixed obstacles such as walls and equipment. When working at night, turn on the road roller's warning lights and site lighting (brightness ≥ 50 lux).

• Compaction quality inspection:

• Confined spaces are prone to local looseness due to missed compaction. After every 2-3 rolling passes, use a steel ruler to check the compaction area to ensure that the overlap of adjacent rolling belts is ≥ 1/3 of the wheel width (for example, when the wheel width is 1.2 meters, the overlap is ≥ 40 cm).

• For materials such as sand, gravel, and lime soil, the compaction degree can be tested by sampling with the "ring knife method"; for asphalt or concrete, observe whether there are cracks or displacements on the surface (caused by too sharp steering). If problems are found, adjust the rolling route immediately.

• Equipment maintenance:

• When operating in confined spaces, the load on the road roller's steering system and braking system is relatively high. It is necessary to check the tire pressure (for tire rollers) and brake oil level every 2 hours of work to avoid operational failure due to malfunctions.

Summary

The key to construction in confined spaces is "small models + slow operation + strong cooperation": adapting to space constraints through small equipment, avoiding collisions with low-speed driving and precise steering, ensuring quality through layered compaction and edge supplementary compaction, and at the same time, doing a good job in site survey and safety protection to balance efficiency and safety.