CHAPTER TWO

TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED
Construction 1. Equipment for earth work
Equipments 2. Power excavators and cranes
3. Foundation equipment
and Plants 4. Concreting equipment
5. Compactors and paving
equipment
6. Compressors and pumps
7. Aggregate production
equipment

1
 INTRODUCTION
For the purpose of course two major classifications of equipments largely based on
the type of works involved:
A. Construction Equipments
Earth works equipments: Bulldozers, Shovels, Clamshells and Draglines, Loaders, Graders,
Scrappers, Rollers, Drills, Grouting pumps, Pile driving and Hammers.
Hauling and Hoisting equipments: Tractors, Dump trucks, Scrapers, Hoists, Conveyors and
Cranes.
Compaction and stabilization equipments- Compactors
Foundation Equipments - Pile Driving Equipments
Pumping Equipments - Pumps, Hoses, Pipes, and Compressors.
Concreting equipment: Mixers, Vibrators
Tunneling equipment
Drilling and blasting equipment
2
 CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENTS AND PLANTS
B. Construction Plants
Aggregate production plants,
Crushers, Screens, Conveyors, and Feeders.
Asphalt mixing plant and
Aggregate Batchers, Bitumen Emulsifier, and Mixers.
Concrete Batching Plants

3
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
Earth work equipments are broadly classified into earth moving and
compaction equipments.
Earth work is a process of moving soil or rock from one location to the other and
processing it, so that it meets construction requirements of location, elevation,
density, moisture content, etc.
Earth work includes:
Site preparation, excavation, loading, hauling
Embankment construction,
Backfilling, dredging,
Preparing base course,
Sub-base and sub-grade,
Compaction, road surfacing
4
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
Earth Work Equipments
a. Loaders
b. Excavators
c. Shovels
d. Scrapers
e. Clamshells
f. Dump truck
g. Dozers
h. Draglines
i. Graders
j. Rollers
5
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK

6
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
Excavation Types
i. Common Excavation: refers to ordinary earth excavation.
ii. Rock Excavation: rock excavation cannot be done by ordinary earth
handling equipment.
Rock materials must be removed by drilling and blasting or by some
other methods.
This normally results in a considerably greater expense than earth
excavation.
iii. Muck Excavation: includes materials that will decay or produce
subsidence in embankments.
It is usually a soft organic material having a high water content.
7
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK

Muck Excavation:
Typically, it would include such things as decaying stumps, roots, logs,
and humus.
These materials are hard to handle and can present special
construction problems both at their point of excavation, and in
transportation and disposal.
iv. Unclassified Excavation: refers to the materials that cannot be
defined as soil or rock.
The removal of common excavation will not require the use of
explosives, although tractors equipped with rippers may be used to
loosen consolidated formations.
8
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
General Soil Characteristics
As earth moving equipments are mostly related to woks related to
soil, important aspects of soil shall be reviewed.
From the characteristics of soils trafficability, loadability and volume
change are vital for earth works. Accordingly,
Trafficability - is the ability of a soil to support the weight of
vehicles under repeated traffic.
Loadability - is a measure of the difficulty in excavating and
loading a soil.
Soil Volume Change - property that is related with volumes of soil
samples on different stress or compaction levels.
9
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK

10
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK

Soil Volume Change Characteristics

11
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
Soil Volume Change Characteristics
Relationship between the three states

12
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
Soil Volume Change Characteristics
Load and Shrinkage Factors:
In performing earthmoving calculations, it is important to convert all material
volumes’ to common unit of measure.
Bank cubic meter is most commonly used
Pay load is the volume unit specified as the basis for payment in an earth
moving contract.
 A factor used for conversion of bank volume to compacted volume is sometimes
referred to as shrinkage factor and Loose volume is multiplied by the load factor to
obtain bank volume

13
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK

i. Crane Shovel Family

Hoe

FACE SHOVEL

Drag Line

Clam Shell

14
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK

i. Crane Shovel Family

A. Face Shovel
Face shovel is equipment used mainly in quarries, pits and on construction sites
to excavate and load blasted rock.
These equipments are more effective for excavations above the wheel or grade level.
The basic parts of a power shovel include the mounting, cab, boom, dipper
stick, dipper (bucket), and hoist line.
Optimum depth of cut: is that depth which produces the greatest output and at
which the dipper comes up with full load without undue crowding.
The depth varies with the class of soil and the size of the dipper.

15
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK

i. Crane Shovel Family

A. Face Shovel
The output of a shovel is affected
by numerous factors, including the following:
 Class of material,
 depth of cut,
 angle of swing,
Crawler mounted
 job conditions, power shovel
 management conditions,
 size of hauling units,
 skill of operator and Wheel grade
level
 physical condition of the shovel.

16
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK

i. Crane Shovel Family

B. Drag line
Draglines are used to excavate earth and load it into hauling units,
such as trucks or tractors-pulled wagons, or deposit it into levees, dams
and spoil banks near the pits from which it was excavated.
These equipments are more efficient for excavation below the grade
level and have the longest reach of all shovel equipments.
A dragline can be used for dragging out sediments and is efficient for under
water construction.
These equipments are weak while excavating hard materials and have a
lesser productivity than a face shovels.
17
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK

i. Crane Shovel Family

B. Drag line
Basic Components of a drag line

18
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK

i. Crane Shovel Family

B. Drag line
Types of Drag Lines: Drag lines may be divided into three types:
 Crawler-mounted
 Wheel-mounted, self-propelled
 Truck-mounted
Crawler-mounted draglines can operate over soft ground conditions that would
not support wheel -or truck- mounted equipment.
The travel speed of a crawler machine is very slow, frequently less than 1 mph,
It is necessary to use auxiliary, hauling equipment to transport the unit from one job to
another .
Wheel-and track-mounted units may have travel speeds in excess of 30mph.
19
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
i. Crane Shovel Family
B. Drag line
Size of a Drag Line
The size of a dragline is indicated by the size of the bucket, expressed in cubic meter
(cu m).
Most draglines may handle more than one size bucket, depending on the length
of the boom utilized and the class and weight of the material excavated.
Since the maximum lifting capacity of a dragline is limited by the force which
will tilt the machine over, it is necessary to reduce the size of the bucket when
a long boom is used or when the excavated material has a high unit weight.
In practice, the combined weight of the bucket and its load should not be greater than
75% of the force required to tilt the machine.
20
 2 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
i. Crane Shovel Family
B. Drag line
Output of drug lines
The output of drag lines will vary with the following factors
 Class of material
 Depth of cut
 Angle of swing
 Size and type of bucket
 Length of boom
 Method of disposal, casting, or loading
 Size of the hauling units, when used
 Skill of the operator
 Physical condition of the machine
 Job conditions

21
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
i. Crane Shovel Family
C. Clam Shells
Clamshells are used primarily for handling loose materials such as sand,
gravel, crushed stone, coal, etc. and for removing materials from inside
cofferdams, pier foundations, sewer manholes, sheetlined trenches, etc.
They are specially suited to vertically lifting materials from one location to
another, as in charging hoppers and overhead bins.
The limits of vertical movements may be relatively large when they are used
with long crane booms.
Clamshell buckets are available in various sizes, and in heavy-duty types for
digging, medium-weight types for general-purpose work and lightweight types
for rehandling light materials.
22
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
i. Crane Shovel Family
C. Clam Shells
Manufacturers supply buckets either with removable teeth or without teeth.
Teeth are used in digging the harder types of materials but are not required
when a bucket is used for re-handling purposes.

23
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
i. Crane Shovel Family
C. Clam Shells
The capacity of a clamshell bucket is usually given in cubic meter.
The variable factors affecting operations include:
The difficulty of loading the bucket,
The size load obtainable,
The height of lift,
The angle of swing,
The method of disposing of the load, and
The experience of the operator.
24
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
i. Crane Shovel Family
D. Hoes

Hoes are used primarily to excavate below the natural surface of the ground on which the machine
rests.
Hoe is sometimes referred to by other names, such as backhoe or back shovel.
They are adapted to excavating trenches, pits for basements, and general grading work, which
requires precise control of depths.
Because of their rigidity they are superior to draglines in operating on close-range work and dumping
into trucks.
Because of the direct pull on the bucket, backhoes may exert greater tooth pressures than face shovels.
In storm drain and utility work the hoe can perform the trench excavation and handle the pipe,
eliminating a second machine.

25
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK

i. Crane Shovel Family

D. Hoes
Basic component of backhoes

26
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK

i. Crane Shovel Family

D. Hoes
Hoe Buckets- There are special buckets for everything from light sand to
hard rock digging. s
n
Bu
c tio
ke Op
t Op t h
e
t ion Te
s

27
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
i. Crane Shovel Family
D. Hoes
Hydraulic Hoes
Bucket penetration (break out force) is developed by the hydraulic cylinders of the
boom, stick and bucket

28
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
i. Crane Shovel Family
D. Hoes

29
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
i. Crane Shovel Family
D. Hoes

30
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
i. Crane Shovel Family

31
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments

32
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
A. Excavators


Replaced the cable operated crane shove family

Excavators are basically digging machines, having the following three main components
i.An undercarriage to give mobility. This may be crawler track mounted or wheel
mounted.
ii.A superstructure with operator’s cabin mounted on either a slew ring to traverse through
360° or on a rigid frame.
iii.
Hydraulically articulated boom and dipper arms with bucket.

Excavators are designed to excavate below the ground surface on which the machine rests.

Good mobility and versatility and excellent for general-purpose work, such as excavating
trenches and pits.

33
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
A. Excavators - Basic Parts of Excavator

34
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
A. Excavators - Basic Parts of Excavator
Functions of excavators:
Excavating – Earthworks
Loading Excavated Material
Scarification
Making of Drains
Advantages of hydraulic excavators include:
Faster cycle time,
Higher bucket penetrating force,
More precise digging, and easier operator control.
Many attachments can be made to increase the versatility of the equipments.
35
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
A. Excavators - Types of excavators
Excavators are of the following types based on the type of carriers on
which they are mounted:

I. Crawler mounted excavator

II. Truck mounted excavator
III. Self propelled (Wheel) excavator
IV. Excavators mounted on barge or rail

I. Crawler mounted excavator:

These excavators are mounted on the crawler system and are very suitable for
carrying out large works in rough terrain.

36
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
The three types

37
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
A. Excavators - Types of excavators

Crawler excavators have the following main characteristics;

Can be used for work on soft or wet grounds
Can be used on sharp rocks or other adverse conditions
These can climb steep grades (even up to 40 percent)
Requires very less turning space
Have very less speed for travelling
Can be shifted from one site to another only on trailors

38
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
A. Excavators - Types of excavators
II. Truck mounted excavators:

These excavators are mounted on truck chassis and has the following main
characteristics:

High road speed and mobility is the main advantage.

Lower stability over sides and hence require counter-weight or outriggers.

Require more operating space.

Tyres or outriggers give high ground pressure and hence it requires firm and smooth
operating locations.

Have two engines and two cabs, separately for truck chassis and excavator.

39
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
A. Excavators - Types of excavators
III. Self propelled excavators:
These excavators are self propelled and has rubber tyres. The main characteristics
are:
Medium travel speed generally between 10-30 Km per hour.
Has one engine and one cab for control by one operator.

IV. Excavators on barge or rail:

These excavators are mounted on barge or rail to carry out work of excavation in
water or near railway line respectively.

40
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
A. Excavators - Common attachments
Some common attachments include:
Augers: Drills holes for poles, posts,
soil sampling, and ground
improvement
Jack Hammer: vibratory hammer used
to break up concrete and rock.
Bucket Ripper: The bucket sides and
bottom are lined with ripper teeth to
break up hard soil or soft rock.
Thumb Bucket: attached to bucket to
provide a hook capacity.

41
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
B. Loader
A bucket is attached to the arms and capable of being raised, lowered, and dumped through
mechanical or hydraulic controls.
The loaders having bucket in the front, known as “front end loaders” are very common.
The loaders are versatile, self propelled equipment mounted either on crawler or wheel-type
running gear.
These are equipments used primarily:
 To load excavated materials to a hauling unit,
 Excavate soft to medium materials,
 Loading hoppers,
 Stockpiling materials,
 Backfilling ditches, and
 Moving concrete and other construction materials.

42
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
B. Loader – Basic Parts

43
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
B. Loader- Types
Loaders are of the following two types:
Crawler loaders and Wheel Loaders

44
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
B. Loader
I. Crawler loaders
Crawler track types are generally preferred for digging and loading jobs where
ground conditions are poor and low pressure characteristics are required.
They are preferable for applications involving rock and sharp stony ground as
there is no possibility of tire damage.
These are best employed for short moves between loading and dumping points.
They should be transported from one site to another after loading on the trailors.

45
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
B. Loader
II. Wheel loaders
As a result of the development of more capable power trains (axel and
tires), there was a steady trend towards wheel loaders at the expense of
crawlers.
Wheel loaders are generally four wheel drive. However, for handling light
jobs on good ground conditions two-wheel drive varients are also used.
Four wheel drive loaders are generally used for construction jobs, whereas,
two wheel drive loaders are used for bulk handling of coal, cement, fertilizer
etc.
46
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
B. Loader
II. Wheel loaders
From manoeuvrability point of view, wheel loaders are of
A. Articulated type (Pivot steer)
B. Rigid frame- two wheel steer or all wheel steer.
A. Articulated type of loaders
They are hinged in the middle of the front and rear axels.
Due to their operational characteristics and capability of working in limited space
and short turning radius, resulting higher speed of work, they have become popular.
The articulation permits the loader to pivot 30-45 degree either side of the center.
47
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
B. Loader
II. Wheel loaders
A. Articulated type ofloaders
Some advantage of articulated type of loaders are:
Quick manoeuvring and thereby easier spotting of loads
Less rolling resistance on turns
Better mobility on soft surface
Give better performance and high productivity.
B. Rigid frame type loaders
These are comparatively cheaper than articulated frame type of loaders.
Manoeuvring back and forth before dumping is required in most cases.
Rigid frame loaders are of two types, namely two wheel steer and all wheel steer.
48
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
B. Loader
Some models of wheel loaders are designed as a
combination of a
backhoe and loader and often called backhoe loader.

49
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
B. Loader
Backhoe loader features
 Very common piece of equipment
 Many subcontractors own/lease
 Very versatile
 Easily transported
 “Low” maintenance costs
 Operator “friendly”
 Easily rented
50
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
B. Loader- Operation

Loaders are used to carry out the following main operations;
A. Loading- includes scooping, lifting, turning and dumping materials
B. Hauling- Wheel loaders are excellent for moving loose materials over short distances to
dump into hauling units, hoppers, conveyors, bins e.t.c.
C. Excavating- Crawler loaders and heavy duty wheel loaders are excellent for many
excavation jobs and lifting excavated material to dump in to Truck
D. Clearing- Loaders are the first equipment to prepare the site for building
and construction operations; and also the last equipment in order to backfill,
spread, level and top with selected good soil.

51
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
B. Loader- Attachments
The following are main attachments which can be fitted to a wheel loader
a. Back filling attachment- can be done with the bucket of this attachment when used with the loader.
b. Forklift attachment- when attached with the loader gives more stability, more tractive power and
greater clearance than the normal.
c. Sweeping attachment - can be fitted to a wheel loader for general cleaning of roads and parking
areas in the industries.
d. Multi purpose bucket- can be used as a dozer, scraper, clamshell and a general purpose loading.
e. Ripper-scarifier a attachment- These are mounted on the rear of the loader to loosen hard surfaces.
f. Miscellaneous other attachments- A large number of attachments for specialized jobs are also
available for fitting to the loaders.

52
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers
Dozers are machines designed primarily for cutting and pushing the material
over relatively short distance.
They consist of a tractor equipped with a front–mounted earthmoving blade
controlled by hydraulic cylinders to vary the depth of cut.
A dozer moves earth by lowering the blade and cutting until a full blade

load of materials is obtained.


It then pushes the material across the ground surface to the required location.

Rear mounted hydraulic scarifiers and rippers can be fitted to loosen hard
material prior to dozing.

53
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozer-Parts

54
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers
Application of Dozers
The following are the main dozer application
Clearing land of timber and stumps,
Opening up pilot roads through mountains and rocky terrain,
Moving earth for the haul distances up to approximately 100m,
Helping load tractor-pulled scrapers,
Spreading earth fills,
Backfilling trenches,
Side hill cuts
Clearing construction sites of derbies, and
Maintaining haul roads.

55
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers
Applications
l
ia
er
at

er
m

ap
ng

cr
hi

S
g
s
Pu

in
p
el
H
56
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers
Common Dozer Blade Types
Many different special application blades may be attached to a
dozer, but basically only five blades are common to earthwork.
1. The Straight blade or S-blade
2. The Angle blade or A-blade
3. The Universal blade or U-blade
4. The Semi-U blade or SU blade
5. The Cushion blade or C-blade

57
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers- Blades
Straight blades or “S-blade”:- This is designed for short and
medium-distance passes, such as backfilling, grading and
spreading fill material.

Angle blades “A-blade”:- An angle blade can be tilted, but

because it is attached to the dozer by a C-frame mount, it
cannot be pitched.
The angle is very effective for the side casting material particularly for
Backfilling or making side hill cuts.

58
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers- Blades
Universal blades “U-blade”:- U blade efficient for moving
large loads over long distances.
Best suited for lighter material, working stockpiles and drifting loose or
non-cohesive materials.
Semi-U Blades “SU blade”:- This blade combines the characteristics
of the S and U-blade designs.
It has increased capacity by the addition of short wings.
Cushion blades “C-blades”:- These are mounted on large
dozers that are used primarily for push-loading scrapers.

59
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers

60
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers

61
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers
Dozer Blades and Material Evaluation
Besides job requirement, several other consideration determine choice of attachment.
Moisture content, particle size, and number of voids are the more important characteristics influencing
dozing performance.
a. Moisture content: If the moisture content increases above the optimum, material becomes
heavy and will thus have a negative effect on dozing performance.
b. Particle size: Large particles resist penetration more than smaller ones, requiring more dozing
power .
 Materials consisting of irregularly and sharp-edged particles are more difficult to doze than
material composed of round-edged particles
c. Voids: Relatively dense materials with few voids contain large numbers of individual particles
in close contact with each other.
 Because of this more force is required to break up this tightly bonded material.
62
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers
Rippers
Crawler-tractor, mounted with ripper is finding increasing use in construction,
mining and quarrying.
Characteristic of material to be ripped influence the selection of ripper type;
number of shanks required, ripping speed and amount of ripper penetration.
Types of Rippers
A. Fixed multiple-shank ripper: used for comparatively simple ripping operations.
B. Variable multiple-shank ripper: These are used where there are many
boulders, or where the quality of rock is not consistent.
63
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK

64
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers
C. Fixed giant ripper: has only one single powerful shank, but is
not common as compared to variable giant rippers.
D. Variable giant ripper: has a single powerful shank. The angle of
this ripper can be changed according to the ground requirements.
Sin
gle 3S
Sh ha
an nk
k s

65
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers
Types of Rippers

66
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers
Ripping Efficiency
In order to achieve high ripping efficiency, the following suggestion should be considered.
1) When material is not broken, loosen the surface in one direction, then cross-ripping
should be adopted.
2) If material is soft, use more than one shank ripper .
3) Ripping should be done downhill.
4) Avoid reversing when shank is in the ground.
5) When both dozing and ripping operations are required to be done, it should rip going
out and doze on the way in.
6) For hard material, use shorter tips, and for ordinary work use longest and sharpest
point.

67
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers- Types
Dozers are classified on the basis of running gear:-
1. Crawler (Tracklaying) Type
2. Wheel Type

68
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers
Crawler Vs Tyre Tractors
Each type of tractor has certain advantages in certain conditions.

Advantages of crawler mounted tractors:

i. More tractive effort, hence can also operate on loose or muddy soil.
ii. In absence of tyres, can easily operate in rocky conditions.
iii. Where maintenance of haul roads is difficult, it can easily travel, especially in rough
terrain.
iv. Crawler tractors are more compact and powerful and hence can handle difficult jobs as
well.
v. Greater floatation because of the lower pressure under the trucks.

69
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
C. Dozers
Advantages of wheel mounted tractors:
i. Can travel at higher speeds during operations and also from one job to the other .
ii. Ease in operation. Operator feels less fatigue.
iii. Can travel on paved roads without damaging them.
iv. Can travel long distances at its own power, whereas crawler mounted needs
trailors.
v. When work is spread over long area, these are found to be producing more
output.
vi. Operation, maintenance and repair costs are less in wheeled tractor as compared to
crawler tractors.
70
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
D. Scraper
Scrapers are capable of excavating, hauling, and dumping material over medium-
to long-haul distances.
The scrapers are designed to dig, load, haul, dump and spread and sometimes
called as carry all.
Types of scrapers
The scrappers are of three types:
i. Towed scrapers:
ii. Self propelled or motorized or conventional scrapers:
iii. Self loading or elevating scrapers:
71
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
D. Scraper-Types II. Self propelled or motorized or
I. Towed scrapers: conventional scrapers:
Generally manufactured in ranges from 10-20 cubic meters.
They are provided with either
cable or hydraulic control. Needs push loading by a crawler mounted or wheeled tractor.

They are becoming obsolete. Have more hauling speed and hence are suitable for
long distance hauling .
When coupled to a suitably
powered crawler tractor, they III. Self loading or elevating scrapers:
can operate in extremely The problem of loading by a pusher is overcome by
adverse conditions. these type of scrappers.
Travel at slower speed and can These are twin engine scrappers and can work
be used for short hauls only. completely independently of all other plants.
Pay loads are restricted because of the additional weight
of the loading elevator and its drive system.

72
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
D. Scraper
Types of scrapers
Another classification method of scrapers
I. Push-loaded (Conventional):
 Single powered axel
 Tandem powered axels
II. Self loading:
 Push-pull, tandem powered axels
 Elevating
 Auger
73
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
Types of Scrapers

74
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
D. Scraper

75
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
D. Scraper

76
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
D. Scraper

77
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
D. Scraper
Basic Parts of a scraper
A scraper has the following main parts:
i. Bowl
The bowl is a pan to hold the scraped dirt
It is hinged at the rear corners to the rear axle inside the wheels, and is capable of tilting down
for digging or ejecting.
ii. Cutting edge
The bowl has a cutting edge attached to the bottom.
The cutting edge is lowered into the dirt to make a shallow cut.
iii. Apron
This is a wall in front of the bowl, which opens and closes to regulate the flow of
the earth in and out of the bowl.
78
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
D. Scraper- Parts
iv. Tail gate or ejector
 These are the rear of the pan which is capable of forward and
backward movement inside the bowl

79
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
D. Scraper
Basic Parts of Scraper

80
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
D. Scraper
Operation
Operation of a scraper is described here under for an earth work:
i. Loading or digging
The operator moves to the cut with the ejector at the rear and the apron raised
approximately to 40 cm.
The bowl is then lowered to the desired depth of cut, increase engine speed, move
forward in first gear keeping optimum depth of cut.
When the bowl is full, the apron is closed and the bowl is then raised.
ii. Transporting
The bowl is transported in high gear in raised position to provide sufficient clearance.
During transporting, apron should be fully closed to prevent loss of material

81
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
D. Scraper
 Operation of a scraper is described here under for an earth work:
iii. Unloading
The bowl should be positioned to spread the material to the desired depth during
this operation.
A partial opening of the apron during the initial unloading will help in even
spreading.
For wet and sticky material, the apron should be raised and lowered repeatedly
until the material behind it is loosened and drops out of the bowl.
Then the ejector is moved forward to push the remaining material out of the bowl
at a uniform rate.
When the dump is complete, the tail gate is fully retracted, the apron dropped and
the ‘bowl’ raised to transporting position.
82
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
D. Scraper
Operation
Following are some of the suggestions for increasing scraper production:
Construct and maintain smooth haul roads for faster travel.
Depth of cut should be according to the type of soil being cut.
Use ripper teeth in hard or abrasive materials for easy handling.
Where possible, loading be done in down grade
To increase the stability of the scraper during travel, carry the bowl as close to the
ground as possible.
If necessary pre-wetting of the soil is done so that the soil is reasonably moist, as
most soils load easily when they are moist.
Whenever possible, plan the work to eliminate all avoidable turns.
83
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
E. Grader
Grading is the process of bringing earth work to the desired shape and elevation (grade).
Motor graders are used for leveling and smoothening the earthwork, spreading and
leveling the base course in the construction of roads and air fields.
Motor graders can be used for the following types of works:
Gravel road repairing
Road shoulder reshaping, bank cutting and reshaping
Ditch filling or digging
Levelled or slopped ground finishing
Base course spreading and levelling
Material mixing, hard surface cutting, snow clearance,
Land clearance, frozen top soil and asphalt breaking

84
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
E. Grader
Comparison with dozers
A grader is restricted to making shallow cuts in medium-hard
materials.
They should not be used for heavy excavations.
A grader can move small amounts of material but cannot perform
dozer-type work because of the structural strength and location of
its moldboard.
Graders can work on slopes as steep as 3:1.
Grader are capable of progressively cutting ditches to a depth of 3 ft

85
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
E. Grader

86
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
E. Grader
Blade
The blade (Mould Board) is the main tool of the grader .
It is carried by a rotating circle and is easily maneuverable to a wide range of
cutting positions with the help of hydraulic controls.
The blade and the circle are mounted on a frame and is supported at the front of
the machine by a ball joint.
The blade can be adjusted to any position with help of levers as indicated below:
 Side shift: the blade has Blade Side shift Ram
 Lifting the blade: The blade can be lifted or lowered by levers operating the two rams.
 Rotating the circle: A hydraulic motor is provided to rotate the circle and blade. Blade can
be rotated either in clockwise or counter clockwise direction.

87
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
E. Grader

88
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
E. Grader

89
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
E. Grader

90
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
E. Grader

91
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
E. Grader

92
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
E. Grader
Scarifier
Scarifier is a special tool attached with the motor grader for loosening the hard
soil and has a set teeth mounted on adjustable shanks.
This attachment digs up hard ground like asphalt, old pavement, frozen
surface and hard soil with vegetation and brushes which can not be
removed by the blade.
The teeth are replaceable, and the number of teeth can be varied to suit
the ground hardness.
High strength alloy steel tips can be mounted on the teeth to prevent
teeth wear and extend their service for economical performance.
93
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
E. Grader
Ripper
The ripper is used to break up materials too hard to cut with
moldboard blade.
The depth of cut is controlled by hydraulically operated ripper control lever
Type of material to be ripped will determine position of the ripper
shank.

94
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
ii. Heavy Earth Moving Equipments
E. Grader
 Graders are multipurpose machines used for:
 Finishing,
 Shaping,
 Bank sloping,
 Ditching,
 Mixing,
 Spreading,
 Side casting,
 Leveling and Crowning,
 Light stripping operations,
 General construction, and
 Dirt road maintenance. 

95
2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
E. Grader

96
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
iii. Summery of Earth work Equipments

97
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
iii. Summery of Earth work Equipments

98
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
iii. Summery of Earth work Equipments

99
 2.1 EQUIPMENT FOR EARTH WORK
 Choice of Excavation Equipment for Building Site Excavation
depends on:
 Size of the job: - Bucket Size and Number of Excavators
 Activity time constraints: - Number of equipment
 Availability of equipment:
 Cost of transportation of equipment:
 Type of excavation:
 Soil characteristics:
 Geometric characteristics of elements of the soil to be excavated:
 Space constraints:
 Characteristics of haul units:
 Location of dumping areas:
 Weather and temperature:
100
QUESTIONS?

101