Techniques Used in Civil Engineering for Substructures and Earthwork

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CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
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Introduction
This report discusses the techniques used in civil engineering for substructures and earthwork.
The process of earthwork is clearly defined and different techniques and equipment used are
discussed. A safety plan assessment and method statement for the given scenario has been clearly
presented.
Earthworks
Earthwork is defined as the process of loosening, excavating, loading, transporting and placing
soil somewhere else away from the construction site to create space for construction of an
engineering structure or project (Trenter, 2016, p. 143). There are four processes involved in
earthworks and they include;
 Loosening and excavation of soil
 Transporting of excavated soil.
 Placement
 compaction of the soil (Boettger, 2016, p. 432)
Depending on the resources available, the existing site conditions and quantity of work to be
done, there are many equipment used in the process of earthwork such as;
 Compacting equipment
 Transporting equipment
 Excavation Equipment
Excavation equipment
These refers to the equipment used in loosening and excavating the ground. They include;
o Scrapers
o Power shovel (Horner, 2017, p. 134)

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o Bulldozers
o Clam shells
Equipment used in transportation
These are equipment that is used in achieving geographic mobility excavated soils from the site
to where they will be place. Such equipment include;
o Trucks
o Tippers
o Dumpers
o Belt conveyors (Aldiss, 2011, p. 453)
Equipment for compaction
These refers to the equipment used in compacting the soil once it has been placed and they
include;
o Pneumatic tired rollers
o Sheep foot roller
o Smooth wheel rollers
o Vibratory roller equipment
Techniques and methods used in earthwork process
There are various strategies and approaches adopted during the process of earthwork and they
include;
o Borrow and cut to crossbill.

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o U-cut ( Great Britain. Council for Codes of Practice, 2012, p. 564)
o Levelling
Methods used in the construction of complex foundations
During the construction process of engineering structures, different types of foundations can be
used, depending on a number of factors such as;
 Availability of construction materials,
 Cost
 Load to be supported.
Foundations are normally classified into two categories i.e.
Deep foundations
Deep foundations are foundations which are used in situation where the load imposed on the
foundation is significantly more than soil bearing capacity (Harrison, 2014, p. 564).
Shallow foundations
Shallow foundations are types of foundations used in situations where the load to be supported is
in comparison to the bearing capacity of soil.
Methods and techniques used in pilling works
Various methods are applied during the construction of piles in the given case, the piles will be
constructed by being drilled into the ground directly by the use of bore pilling machine. This will
be easily achieved through the application of pile drivers (Winter, 2015, p. 125). The piles
will be greatly applicable in regions where the soil is relatively unstable. Based on their function,