Soil volume-change characteristics

Earthmoving material conditions-bank,

loose and compacted
(i) Bank- material in its natural state before
disturbance. Referred as in-place or in
situ. Vunit = BCM
(ii) Loose- material that has been excavated
or loaded. Vunit = LCM
(iii) Compacted- material after compaction
Vunit = CCM

Swell
A soil increases in volume when it is
excavated because the soil grains are
loosened during excavation and and air
fills the void spaces created.

Swell (%) ={ [(weight of bank volume)/(weight of loose volume)] -1} x 100

Shrinkage
When a soil is compacted, some of the air
is forced out of the soils void space. As a
result, the soil will occupy less volume
than it did under either the bank or loose
conditions.
Shrinkage (%) = {(1 (weight of bank volume/weight of compacted volume)} x 100

Load and shrinkage factor

Because haul unit and spoil bank volume are commonly expressed
in loose measure, it is convenient to have a conversion factor to
simplify the conversion of loose volume to bank volume. The factor
used for this purpose is called a load factor

Soil load factor = (weight of loose volume/ weight of bank volume)

Shrinkage factor = (weight of bank volume/weight of compacted volume)

Estimating earthwork volume

The estimation of the earthwork volume involved
in construction of roads and airfields is
customarily performed by the design engineer.
The usual method is to calculate the crosssectional area of cut or fill at regular intervals
(such as stations 33m) along the centerline.
The volume of the cut or fill between stations is
then calculated, accumulated, and plotted as a
mass diagram

Mass diagram (continued)

Mass diagrams are prepared by highway and airfield
designer to assist in selecting an alignment which
minimizes the earth work required to construct the
facility-roadway etc.
Since mass diagram is intended as a design aid, it is not
normally provided to contractor as part of a construction
bid package. However, mass diagram can provide useful
information to construction manager, and it is usually
available to contractor upon request. A typical mass
diagram and corresponding roadway profile are
illustrated in the following figure.

Characteristics of Mass Curve

1- Rising sections of the mass curve indicates

areas where excavating exceeds fill, whereas
falling sections indicate where fill exceeds
excavation.
2- Steep slopes reflect heavy cuts & Fills, while
flat slopes indicate areas fro small amount of
earthwork.
3- The difference in ordinates between any two
points indicate net excess of excavation over
embankment or vise versa.
4- Any horizontal line dawn to intersect two
points within the same curve indicates a
balance of excavation (cut) and embankment
(fill) quantities between the two points.
5- Points of zero slope represent points where
roadway goes from cut to fill or from fill to cut.
6- The highest or the lowest points of the mass
haul diagram represents the crossing points
between the grade line (roadway level) and
natural ground level.

Mass diagram application

Some of the information which a mass diagram
can provide a construction manager includes the
following :
1. The length and direction of haul within a
balanced section
2. The average length haul for balance section
3. The location and amount of borrow (material
hauled in from borrow pit) and waste (material
hauled away to a waste area) for the project

Cut etc.
Cut- volume of excavation for a given cut
Fill- volume of material to be added to an
existing terrain for a given fill
Waste- volume of material that is required
to be hauled off site
Borrow-volume of material that is required
to be brought on site

Haul distance
The distance measured along the center
line or most direct practical route between
the center of the mass of excavation and
the center of mass of the fill as finally
placed. It is the distance material is
moved. Average haul is the average
distance a grading material is moved from
cut to fill.

Free haul
The term free-haul distance means a
distance over which hauling material
involves no extra cost. This distance is
usually taken to be about 500 feet
meaning that it is only for hauls longer
than 500 feet that the limits of economic
haul need to be considered.
1 feet =.m