Department of Technical Education

Andhra Pradesh
Name : J. Ravi Kumar
Designation : Lecturer
Branch : Civil Engg.
Institute : SRRS GPT, Sircilla
Year/Semester : IV semester
Subject : Quantity Surveying
Subject Code : C404
Topic : Earth Work Calculations
Duration : 50 Minutes
Sub Topic : Problems on Earth Work volume for
roads, canals and earthen bunds
Teaching Aids : PPT
Revised by : 9C404.64
S. Prabhakara Rao 1
Objectives :

On completion of this period ,you would be able to :

• Calculate earthwork volume using

a) Trapezoidal formula

b) Prismoidal formula

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Recap:

In the previous period, we have learnt about:

• Calculation of volume of earth work in excavation

and embankment.

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 Problem: 1
Estimate the quantity of earthwork for a portion of a
road from the following data
Formation width of road is 12m. Side slopes1 ½ : 1
(H:V) in banking. Assume ground at level across.
The distance in between station is 50m.
Station 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

R.L of 102.35 101.80 102.05 102.50 103.15 103.45 103.0 103.55

ground

R.L of formation is 104 meter

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Step 1 : Calculation of cross selected areas

A0 = bd1 + nd12
= 12 (104 – 102.35) + 1 ½ (104-102.35)2
= 12 x 1.65 +1.5 x 1.652 = 19.8 + 4.084 = 23.884
A1 = 12 (104 -101.80) + 1 ½ (104 – 101.80)2
= 12 x 2.2 + 1.5 x 2.22 = 26.4 + 7.26 = 33.66
A2 = 12 (104 – 102.05) + 1 ½ (104 – 102.05)2
= 12 x 1.95 + 1.5 x 1.952 = 23.4 + 5.704 = 29.104
A3 = 12 (104 -102.50) + 1 ½ (104 – 102.50)2
= 12 x 1.5 + 1.5 x 1.52 = 18 + 3.375 = 21.375
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A4 = 12 (104 – 103.15) + 1 ½ (104-103.15)2
= 12 x 0.85 +1.5 x 0.852 = 10.2 + 1.084 = 11.284
A5 = 12 (104 -103.45) + 1 ½ (104 – 103.45)2
= 12 x 0.55 + 1.5 x 0.552 = 6.6 + 0.454 = 7.054
A6 = 12 (104 – 103.00) + 1 ½ (104 – 103.00)2
= 12 + 1.5 = 13.5
A7 = 12 (104 -103.85) + 1 ½ (104 – 103.85)2
= 12 x 0.15 + 1.5 x 0.152 = 1.8 + 0.034 = 1.834

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 Using Trapezoidal Rule :
Total Volume of earthwork

V = L/2 [ (A0 + A7) + 2(A1 + A2 + A3 + A4 + A5 + A6 ]

= 50/2 [ (23.884 + 1.834)+ 2(33.66 + 29.104+ 21.375

+ 11.284 + 7.054 + 13.5) ]

= 50/2 [ 23.884 + 1.834 + 231.954]

= 6441.8 Cu. m.

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 Using Prismoidal Rule :
Total Volume of earthwork

V = L/3 [ (A0 + A7) + 4(A1 + A3 + A5) + 2(A2 + A4) ]

= 50/3 [ (23.884 + 1.834) + 4(33.66 + 21.375 + 7.054)

+ 2(29.104 + 11.284) ]

= 50/3 [ 25.718 + 4(62.089) + 2(40.388) ]

= 50/3 [ 25.718 + 248.356 + 80.776 ]

= 5916.167 Cu. m.

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Problem : 2
Calculate the quantity of each work for 200m length for a
portion of a road in an uniform ground the heights of banks
at the two ends being 1.00m and 1.60m. The formation
width is 1.0 m and side slopes 2:1 (H:V)

Assume that there is no transverse slope use

(i) Mid – ordinate method and

(ii) Mean – sectional area method

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 Solution:
(i) Mid – ordinate method
Given B=10m d1 = 1.00m S=2 L = 200m
d2 = 1.6m

Mean depth, dm = (1.0+1.6)/2 = 1.30m

Quantity of earthwork, V = (Bdm + Sdm2) x L

= (10 x 1.3 + 2 x 1.32) x 200
= (13 + 338) x 200
= 16.38 x 200
V = 3276 Cu. m.
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(II) Mean – Sectional area method:

A1 = Cross sectional area at one end = Bd1 + Sd12

= 10 x 1 + 2 x 12
= 10 + 2
= 12 sq. m
A2 = Cross sectional area at other end = Bd2 + Sd22
= 10 x 1.6 + 2 x 1.62
= 16 + 2 x 2.56
= 16 + 5.12
= 21.12 sq. m
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 A1 + A2 12 + 21.12
Mean sectional area = =
2 2
33.12
= = 16.56 sq. m
2
A1 + A2
Quantity of earthwork V = ( )
2
= 16.56 x 200
= 33.12 Cu. m.

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 Summary

In the previous period, we have learnt about :

1) Mid – ordinate method

2) Mean sectional area method

3) Prismoidal rule

4) Trapezoidal rule

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 Quiz
1. Earth work calculation is done by using the following
method

a) Rectangle method

b) Triangle method

c) Diagonal method

d) Mid – ordinate method

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2. In the following method for calculation of earthwork
average ordinate or mean ordinate is taken.

a) Mid rectangle method

b) Mid area method

c) Mid ordinate method

d) Mid quadrilateral method

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Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Calculate the quantity of each work for 100m length for

a portion of a road in an uniform ground the height of

banks at the two ends being 1.5m and 2.4m. The formation
width is 12m and side slopes 1 ½ :1 (H:V)

Assume that there is no transverse slope use

(i) Mid – ordinate method and

(ii) Mean – sectional area method

9C404.64 16
2. Estimate the quantity of earthwork for a portion of a road
from the following data.
Formation width of road is 9m. Side slopes 2 : 1 (H:V) in
banking. Assume ground at level across.
The distance in between station is 100m.

Station 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
R.L of ground 102.1 101.6 102.15 103.4 103.2 103.6 104.3

Calculate volume of earthwork by using

a) Prismoidal rule
b) Trapezoidal rule
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