Sultan Qaboos University

Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering

CIVL4036 Highway Engineering
Earthwork Operations

The Process of earthworks is to prepare the existing land to a suitable level so that road
construction may begin.

Earth work operations may involve:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Construction Staking
Clearing and grubbing
Excavation
Formation of embankment

Height

Embankment slopes

Embankment foundation

Embankment materials

Construction process

Construction Staking
Prior to the construction activity the design information has to be moved from the plan to
the ground. This is accomplished by staking. It serves the purpose of guidance and
control of construction operation. For example, Stakes are used by the equipment
operator in locating where to begin cutting.

Clearing and grubbing

-

Clearing refers to the removal of materials above the existing ground surface
Grubbing means the removal of roots, stumps, and similar objects to a certain
depth below the surface.

Oman Specifications
Below is a copy of the related section from the Omani standard specification for roads &
Bridge construction 2010 related to this section for your future reference.

Excavation
Three types:

Roadway and drainage excavation

Excavation for structures

Borrow excavation

Roadway and drainage excavation

Excavating and grading the roadway and ditches including:
-The removal and disposal of all excavated materials
-All work needed for the completion and construction of the cuts, embankments, slopes
-All suitable excavated materials are used in construction of the road elements
*Unsuitable materials are disposed

*Several equipments are used such as:

o
o
o
o

Bull dozers
Scrapers
Front and back-end loaders
Dump trucks

Excavation for structures

This type refers to the excavating of materials in order to permit the construction of
structural elements such as foundation of bridges, culverts, and retaining walls.
Both machines and hand methods are used in the performance of structural excavation,
with more hand labor being required in this operation than in the other types of
excavation.
Borrow excavation
When sufficient material for the formation of embankments and other elements of
roadway structure is not available within the right-of-way limits, additional suitable
material is generally taken from borrow pits.

Formation of the embankment

Embankments are used in highway construction when it is required that the grade line of
the roadway to be raised some distance above the level of the existing ground surface in
order to maintain design standards or prevent damage to the highway through the action
of surface or ground water. An embankment maybe needed to maintain the grade to some
fixed point, as in the approach to a bridge or a large culvert structure, or to maintain
desirable grades in rolling or mountainous country.
Embankment height:

Majority of fills used in highway construction are 4.5 m (15ft) or less in height.

If a water table is a problem: a minimum height is established to prevent the

intrusion of ground water

Elevation of subgrade is required to be at least 0.6m (2ft) above the water table

More height is required when there is a capillary problem

Embankment slope
Basically the cross section of a highway consists of:

Flat (or crowned) horizontal top section (width depends on the pavement
dimensions required, typically 12m (40 ft) for two-lane roadway

In general, symmetrical slopes on either side that begins at the top and intersects
the natural ground surface

Flat side slopes are preferred

Embankments with high quality materials (A1, A3)can be constructed with steep
slopes (1.5:1)

Analysis of the slope stability is necessary

Examination of the soil below the embankment is an essential step. The embankment may
fail due to stresses imposed on the underlying soil due to the weight of the fill that
exceeds the shearing resistance of the bed soil. Settlement of soils due to consolidation
under embankment is also a problem
The above problems may occur when:

a high fill is built over a cohesive soils

soft foundation materials that are fine grained, compressible such as silt, clay,
organic soils

Selection of embankment materials

Soil classification is a useful tool

Further laboratory and field testing is required

A-1 is highly desirable as embankment material: easily compacted to the desired

stability and density

A-2 generally suitable for embankment: careful control of compaction process is

required

A-3 consists of cohesionless sands, can be used in embankment construction, they

cannot be compacted by sheeps-foot rollers, vibratory compaction is
recommended

A-4 and A-6 (sandy clay ,silty soils, inorganic clays) maybe used under certain
conditions:

Low height of fill

Careful control of compaction process

Relatively stable moisture content; doesnt increase

A-4 and A-6 soils are more difficult to compact because of their high moisture retaining
characteristics. The moisture content of these soils during construction must be
maintained within relatively narrow limits to secure adequate density and stability

A-5 and A-7 include elastic soils and are unsatisfactory for embankment materials

A-7 (clay soils) are subject to high volume change with change in
moisture content

Selection of embankment materials- Summary

A-1, A-2-4, A-2-5, A-3 groups should be used when available

A-2-6, A-2-7, A-4, A-5, A-6, A-7 are less desirable for embankment- special
attention is needed

Oman Specifications:

Construction Process

Constructed in relatively thin layers of loose soils 150mm-300mm (6-12in)

The fill is built up to the desired height by the formation of successive layers
called lifts. Each layer is rolled and compacted to a satisfactory density before
placing the second layer

Oman Specifications:

Pavement Subgrade

Compaction
Soil compaction is defined as the method of mechanically increasing the density of soil.
by pressing, ramming, or vibrating the soil particles into a closer state of contact.

The dense state is achieved through the reduction of the air voids in the soil, with little or
no reduction in the water content

Objectives of compaction:
-

Increase shear strength

Decrease future settlements
Decrease permeability

Types of compaction:
-

Laboratory compaction

Field Compaction

You have covered the laboratory compaction in details in Geotechnical Engineering I and
hence we will not cover it in here. It is worth reminding you though with the compaction
energy calculations during compaction. The compaction energy (E) is calculated using
the following simple equation:

Increasing the energy applied (compaction effort) per unit volume of soil results in an
increase in the maximum density. This greater density occurs generally at lower water
content. Where values of maximum dry density and optimum water content are specified,
they should be referenced to the compaction effort used.

Standard Proctor Test

Modified Proctor Test

12 in height of drop

18 in height of drop

5.5 lb hammer

10 lb hammer

25 blows/layer

25 blows/layer

3 layers

5 layers
3

Mold size: 1/30 ft

Mold size: 1/30 ft

3

Energy 12,375 ftlb/ft

Energy 56,250 ftlb/ft

Response of Different Soil Types to Compaction

Compaction characteristics vary considerably with the type of soil:
Well graded granular soils give higher dry densities than clays
A pronounced peak to the curve normally indicates well-graded materials whilst a
relatively smooth flat curve normally indicates a uniform grading

114

112

112

110

Dry Density, lb/ft3

Dry Density, lb/ft3

110
108
106
104
102
4

4.5

5.5

6
w, %

106
104
102
100

100

108

6.5

7.5

4.5

5.5

6.5

7.5

w, %

A very sharp peaked curve of dry density versus water content is usually obtained
for a silt, and water content is critical to achieving maximum density
The compaction curve for fat clays is rather flat and water content is not
particularly critical to obtaining maximum density

112

110

110

Dry Density, lb/ft3

Dry Density, lb/ft3

112

108
106
104
102
100

108
106
104
102
100

4.5

5.5

6.5

7.5

w, %

4.5

5.5

6.5

7.5

w, %

Field Compaction Equipment and Procedures

As mentioned earlier, an unbound section of the pavement is built up to the desired height
by the formation of successive layers called lifts. Each layer is rolled and compacted to a
satisfactory density before placing the second layer. The following is a brief description
of some common compaction equipment that is used in earthwork operations:
Smooth-wheel roller (drum)

Compactive effort: static weight

Can be used on all soil types except for rocky soils.
The most common use of large smooth wheel rollers is for proof-rolling
subgrades and compacting asphalt pavement.

Compacts effectively only to 200-300 mm; therefore, place the soil in shallow
layers (lifts)

Pneumatic (or rubber-tired) roller

Compactive effort: static weight and kneading.

is capable of economically compacting those soils that are neither completely
cohesionless nor highly plastic . In other words, the pneumatic-tire rollers work
best with soils having some granular material and some cohesive fines.

Sheepsfoot rollers

Has many round or rectangular shaped protrusions or feet attached to a steel

drum
Compactive effort: static weight and kneading.
It is best suited for cohesive soils.
Usually towed in tandem by crawler

Mesh (or grid pattern) roller

Compactive effort: static weight and vibration.

It is ideally suited for compacting rocky soils, gravels, and sands. With high
towing speed, the material is vibrated, crushed, and impacted

Vibrating drum on smooth-wheel roller

Vertical vibrator attached to smooth wheel rollers.

Compactive effort: static weight and vibration.

Particle rearrangement occurs due to cyclic deformation of the soil produced by
the oscillations of the roller.
Suitable for granular soils

Rammers and vibratory plates

Useful when rolling is impractical due restricted site conditions.

They generally weigh about 100kg although special larger versions are available.
Vibrating plates produce high dry densities at low moisture content in sand and
gravels

Notes to Remember about compaction

No single roller can be used to compact all soils under every circumstance.

The main factors that should be considered are:

the type of soil to be compacted,

the speed of the roller,

the thickness of the lift, and

the number of passes of the roller on the soil.

Clean granular soils containing little or no cohesive soils are compacted easily by
the vibratory roller. For example, a uniform, cohesionless soil is easily vibrated to
high density.

The vibratory roller becomes less effective as the amount of fine, cohesive soil
increases.

Smooth-wheel rollers work best with non-cohesive soils, but are not as effective
as vibratory rollers.

The clays and silts are best compacted with the tamping foot and the sheepsfoot
rollers.

Field Compaction Control and Specifications

Two types of specification methods are generally used
End-product specifications

This specification is used for most highways and building foundation. As long
as the contractor is able to obtain the specified relative compaction , how he
obtains it doesnt matter, nor does the equipment he/she uses.

Method specifications

The type and weight of roller, the number of passes of that roller, as well as the
lift thickness are specified. A maximum allowable size of material may also be
specified.

Relative Compaction (R.C.)

This concept is used for compaction control and acceptance

R.C. =

d filed
d max laboratory

100%

Typical required R.C. = 90% ~ 95%

Determining the Relative Compaction

Where and When

First, a test site is selected. It should be representative or typical of the

compacted lift and borrow material. Typical specifications call for a new
field test for every 1000 to 3000 m2 or so, or when the borrow material
changes significantly.

Method

Field control tests, measuring the dry density and water content in the field
can either be

destructive

nondestructive.

Destructive Method
This was covered in Geotechnical Engineering I. The method is the sand cone test.

Calculations

Know Ms and Vt

Get d field and w (water content)

Compare d field with d max-lab and calculate relative compaction R.C.

Nondestructiv Methods (Nuclear Density Meter ,ASTM D2292-91)

a quick and fairly accurate way of determining density and moisture content.
Generally speaking the less dense a material the easier radioactivity will penetrate/pass
through it
The nuclear density meter MUST be calibrated against actual core densities obtained
from the same material it will be used to measure.