Civil Engineering Technology | Earthwork Activities

CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
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Introduction
Earthwork involves the process of removal after loosening as well as handling of quantities of
the earth during the process of construction. In this particular scenario, the activities or
operations of earthwork will be carried out so that a level terrace can be obtained or established.
The level surface is commonly refered to as the bench.
TASK 1
Section a
Earthwork Activities
In most cases, the operations of the earthwork will be performed so that longitudinal slope is
obtained. Such kind of the surfaces will allow for the establishment or building of camber as well
as drainages. In order to come up with the industrial units as per the demands of the client, the
following primary activities of earthworks will be performed:
 Measurement as well as calculations of the excavated volumes
 Excavation activities which will include cutting to cross fill, leveling, borrow excavation
and finally U-cut
 Hauling, loading and finally unloading
 Filling: Majorly includes compaction after spreading
Techniques to be used
In order to effectively measure the volumes excavated accurately, the following techniques are
likely to be employed:

Use of the traditional methods of taking level measurements with the right instruments. This will
then be followed by drawing to scale the cross-section. This will then allow for the calculation
of the volumes (Lawson 2005).
Alternatively, there will be use of the slotting techniques. This technique allows for the
measurements to be taken by the use of tape or ruler on the cut itself. This particular technique
will be preferred since it can be used elaborately without the need of equipment for the survey. It
will involve excavation of the soil to about 0.3-1.0 metre wide slots. This will be done at right
angles in relation to the centre-line up to the level which has been predetermined.
Earthmoving Equipment
The following equipment will be used in the processes of earthworks:
Bulldozer-This will be used basically for soil pushing
Drag Line-This type of vehicle usually allow for the excavation to be done its own level. In most
of the cases, it is just a bucket with one end made up of a jib. It will be solely used for bulk
excavation. This is due to the fact that it is uncontrolled at times.
Dump Truck-They are wheeled vehicles which are capable of moving fast. They will be used for
the material transfer from one point of the site to the other.

Figure 1: Dump Truck (Trzeciak and Borrmann 2018)
Shovels-These are also wheeled vehicles that assist in filling up of dump trucks.
Hydraulic Excavators-They are either tracked or wheeled and are capable of excavating below
the level of the truck. They usually have very small capacity although their flexibility is usually
extreme
Grader-It will be used in leveling the fill which has been deposited waiting for the compaction.

Figure 2: Grader (Trzeciak and Borrmann 2018)
Rollers: Rollers will be used for compaction exercises
Figure 3: Rollers (Trzeciak and Borrmann 2018)

Section b
Methods of laying complex foundation: Steel Grillage foundations
 A trench will be excavated to the width which had been previously calculated of
approximately 0.90 m - 1.50 m deep. The trench will have its bottom leveled and rammed
 A lean cement concrete layer of about 30cm thick will be introduced and compacted
 This will be followed by a layer of rich cement of thickness 15cm. It will be properly
spread and later compacted to that it can form a bed of concrete (Ottosson 2012)
 The steel-I beams of recommended dimensions will be put at specified distances with the
aid of the spacer bars as tiers
 The whole space will then be filled with concrete of cement in the ratio of 1: 2 : 4.
Methods of establishing Pile Foundations
According to the available geological information, there is a layer of weak soil at site. It has been
confirmed that the surface soil can therefore not support parts of the building. This implies that
the loads of this particular structure will have to bypass this weak surface soil and be transferred
to the layer of soil which is stronger underneath or basically the rock.
The process will involve driving a temporary cylinder of steel or sleeve into the soil. This will be
retained in the soil’s upper portion or just the upper section of the soil until there will be pouring
of pile. After drilling the hole, a reinforcing steel bar is lowered into hole. The hole will then be
filled with the mixture of concrete (Roeder, Stephens and Lehman 2018).
Drainage Establishment