Earthwork Quantities Research Articles

Line position optimization method for mountain roads based on slope stability and earthwork balance

ABSTRACT As the awareness of environmental protection and safety becomes increasingly important in route design, it is crucial to emphasize line position optimization of mountain roads in sloped sections. In this study, we devised a combined optimization factor (F), which includes the displacement mutation factor (F 1 ), two types of energy mutation factors (F 2 and F 3 ), and the regional earthwork balance factor (F 4 ), to measure the optimization options. We then applied this combined factor to a rural road in Gansu Province, China, to calculate and compare the different line position optimization results according to numerical calculation models. This method allowed the selection of a better optimization option (b = 2.5 m) as the final result. From a short-term perspective, the proposed method can ensure the slope stability and balance earthwork quantities in mountain road sections, as well as promote environmental protection. In addition, this method can provide an optimization concept for long-term application to engineering practices.

The Generalized Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion

With the construction of supertall buildings such as high earth dams, the linear envelope of the Mohr-Coulomb (M-C) failure criterion fitted to lower confined pressure would significantly underestimate the loading capacity of foundations, causing a huge increase in the amount of earthwork. Given that the M-C criterion has dominated in the stability analysis of geotechnical structures, it is proposed in this study that the M-C criterion remain invariant in form but the cohesion c and the frictional factor f be related to the coefficient of intermediate principal stress b, called the Generalized Mohr-Coulomb (GMC) criterion. In other words, c and f are both functions of b, written as c(b) and f(b). In the simplest way, the GMC criterion for soils, a true three-dimensional failure criterion, can be established by using a piece of conventional triaxial apparatus. The GMC has a non-smooth strength surface like its conventional version. However, we prove from true triaxial tests and the characteristic theory of stress tensors that the failure surfaces in the stress space should be non-smooth per se for b = 0 or 1. Comparisons with other prominent failure criteria indicate that the GMC fits the test data best.

Geometric Accuracy of 3D Reality Mesh Utilization for BIM-Based Earthwork Quantity Estimation Workflows

Current surveying techniques are typically applied to survey the as-is condition of buildings, brownfield sites and infrastructure prior to design. However, within the past decade, these techniques evolved significantly, and their applications can be enhanced by adopting unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for data acquisition, up-to-date software for creating 3D reality mesh, which in turn opens new possibilities for much more efficient construction site surveying and constant updating and process management. In this study the workflows of three UAV-based photogrammetry techniques: Real Time Kinematic (RTK), Post-Processing Kinematic (PPK) and Global Positioning System (GPS) based on control points were analyzed, described, and compared to conventional surveying method with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver. Tests were performed under realistic conditions in 36 ha quarry in Lithuania. The results of the relationship between ground sample distance (GSD) and the comparison of volume measurements under each technique, including conventional method were analyzed. The deviation of data collected on field vs. generated in reality mesh, including ground control points (GCPs) and check points (CHPs) with different configurations, was investigated. The research provides observations on each workflow in the terms of efficiency and reliability for earthwork quantity estimations and explains processing schemes with advanced commercial software tools.

Decision-Making on Choosing a Railway Line Option

This article proposes a solution to the problem of choosing an option for routing of a railway line among two previously developed options. As initial data, materials were used for designing Elegest–Kyzyl–Kuragino railway line. On this section, two routing options are considered, which must be compared in order to choose the best one. The first option of the line (Eastern) takes place in a recess outside the village of Podgorny, which excludes the cost of demolition of residential buildings and relocation of residents, but provides for a large amount of earthwork. In the second option (Western), the line is laid through the village of Podgorny. With this development of the line, the volume of earthwork is much smaller, but it is necessary to take into account demolition of residential buildings, relocation of residents, as well as installation of noise barriers.The conclusion drawn by the designers of CJSC Vostsibtransproekt was reviewed and analyzed. During the study, the applied decision-making method required some refinement with regard to this problem and additional analysis. To select the best option, the analytic hierarchy process was used.

Semi top-down method combined with earth-bank, an effective method for basement construction.

Choosing an appropriate method of deep excavation not only plays a decisive role in technical success, but also in economics of the construction project. Presently, we mainly base on to key methods: “Bottom-up” and “Top-down” construction method. Right now, this paper presents an another method of construction that is “Semi Top-down method combining with earth-bank” in order to take the advantages and limit the weakness of the above methods. The Bottom-up method was improved by using the earth-bank to stabilize retaining walls instead of the bracing steel struts. The Top-down method was improved by using the open cut method for the half of the earthwork quantities.

Application of the GA-BP Neural Network in Earthwork Calculation

The calculation of earthwork quantity is the key factor to determine the project cost estimate and the optimization of the scheme. It is of great significance and function in the excavation of earth and rock works. We use optimization principle of GA-BP intelligent algorithm running process, and on the basis of earthwork quantity and cost information database, the design of the GA-BP neural network intelligent computing model, through the network training and learning, the accuracy of the results meet the actual engineering construction of gauge fan requirements, it provides a new approach for other projects the calculation, and has good popularization value.

Generation of 3D Terrain Map using Cell Deviation Algorithm for Earthwork

This study aims to automate earthworks by digitizing earthwork sites through a three-dimensional (3D) geotechnical analysis platform. Institutionalization is required to promote the development of related component technologies and applications of the technologies suitable to the characteristics of construction projects in South Korea. The 3D geotechnical analysis platform has already been developed and completed demonstration tests. Through the tests, it is verified that the database derived from the platform contains coordinates of topography, soil quality, drilling, earthwork quantity, cutting or filling information, which is the basic information of earthwork planning used in fleet management.Furthermore, the study aims to understand the current systems, standards and manuals on earthwork automation in the US and Japan to establish measures to institutionalize and promote the earthwork automation for South Korea. Additional research will be performed to define the cell types in consideration of various ground shapes to plan movement directions and stop locations of the equipment.

수송모형이론에 의한 토공 운반 최적화 모델 및 프로그램 개발

During road construction, minimizing haul and return distances as well as keeping a balance between cut and fill quantities are two of the key tasks for earthmoving operation planning. The result of the earthwork planning has a significant impact on the construction cost and duration. Although there have been research efforts regarding optimized earthwork planning using linear programming, the current practice of selecting earthwork planning methods typically depends on a field manager`s intuitive and/or experimental knowledge. Furthermore, there is no system considering earthwork influential field factors including the transportation distance, the earthwork quantity, and the recycling ratio of earth volume. Therefore, this research focuses on the development of such a model for planning the optimized earthwork to increase the efficiency of a road construction. The proposed model is developed based upon the transportation problem method which is a part of Linear Programming. The application result of optimization model on a case study shows that the duration and cost for earthwork ha sbeen reduced approximately 19% and 11% respectively

Mitigation of environmental impacts due to ghat road formation in Palamalai Hills, South India, by optimizing cut and fill volumes using GPS and GIS techniques.

Formation of new roads generally brings about adverse impact on the environment, and in the case of hill roads, the impact is diverse and effective measures are required to mitigate it. The common problems in hill road formation are tree cutting, destruction of canopies, change in land use pattern, soil erosion, slope instability, induced landslides, invasion of foreign species, and so on. Removal of trees and vegetations causes rapid soil erosion, landslides, and invasion of foreign species posing danger to the survival of weak native species. Dumping of surplus earth materials on the valley side poses a significant threat to the environment as it would cause induced landslides. Using the cut earth for filling in road formation and dumping, the surplus cut earth in safe locations will reduce environmental degradation considerably. Conventionally, hill road alignments are finalized using traditional survey methods using ghat tracer, compass, and leveling surveys which require enormous complicated field and office works. Any revision to reduce the quantum of earthwork is difficult in this method due to its complex nature. In the present study at Palamalai Hills, South India, an alignment for a length of 7.95km was prepared by traditional methods using ghat tracer and total station instruments for survey works. The earthwork quantities were ascertained from the longitudinal profile of the alignment. A GPS survey was also conducted along the alignment to examine its utility in alignment modification. To modify the stretches, where the earthwork cutting and filling are above normal and unbalanced and result in surplus earth, repeated GPS surveys were conducted along different paths to optimize the earthwork. The earthwork quantities of the original alignment were analyzed, and its correlation with environmental effect and the usefulness of the GPS survey in this task are presented in this paper.

Reliability of the Estimate of Earthwork Quantity Based on 3D-BIM

Reliability of the Estimate of Earthwork Quantity Based on 3D-BIM

Application of Three-Dimensional Interpolation Methods in Contaminated Site Evaluation

Contaminated sites remediation is one of the hot points in environmental protection fields. Therefore, an important research project is how to expediently determine the bound and level of pollution of contaminated sites. This may help to decide on a timely and accurate rescue plan so as to minimize the costs and to improve the effect of restoration. This is also the basis of contaminated sites remediation acceptance. There are many influencing factors to confirm the remediation areas on contaminated sites. Studies show that three-dimensional interpolation method is effective tool to delimit the pollution scope. Different three-dimensional interpolation methods have different results in contaminate distribution prediction and directly affect the boundary of contamination. This paper selects one specific case with heavy metal lead contamination to study three-dimensional interpolation methods. The three-dimensional stratigraphic model is established for uncertainty analysis and error analysis in the grid through KrigingIDW(Shepard) and nearest neighbor interpolation method. Results show that 40m*40m grids have the highest accuracy of stratigraphic simulation. Nearest neighbor interpolation method is most suitable for stratigraphic model building. Kriging interpolation method is more suitable for constructing three-dimensional pollutant prediction model. On the basis of above, this text established one distribution prediction model of soil lead contamination, and calculated the contaminated earthwork quantity under different remediation goals. Finally, the paper achieved three-dimensional visualization of the site soil contamination. This study can be directly applied to the actual site remediation decision process, and is helpful for the contaminated sites evaluation and restoration in the future.

BIM기반 고속도로 공사 물량산출 신뢰성 검토 및 활용

In case of applying the BIM method in the civil engineering of irregularly shaped structure, BIM method began to be introduced in the current building engineering area compared with the expected effects of the relatively high construction productivity has been recognized. In this paper, I have developed quantity calculation algorithms applying it to earthwork and bridge construction, tunnel construction, retaining wall construction, culvert construction and implemented BIM based 3D-BIM Modeling quantity calculation. Structure work in which errors occurred in range between -6.28% ~ 5.17%. Especially, understanding of the problem and improvement of the existing 2D-CAD based of quantity calculation through rock type quantity calculation error in range of -14.36% ~ 13.07% of earthwork quantity calculation. It's benefit and applicability of BIM method in civil engineering. In addition, routine method for quantity of earthwork has the same error tolerance negligible for that of structure work. But, rock type's quantity calculated as the error appears significantly to the reliability of 2D-based volume calculation shows that the problem could be. Through the estimating quantity of earthwork based 3D-BIM, proposed method has better reliability than routine method. BIM, as well as the design, construction, maintenance levels of information when you consider the benefits of integration, the introduction of BIM design in civil engineering and the possibility of applying for the effectiveness was confirmed. In addition, as the beginning phase of information integration, quantity document automation program has been developed for activation of BIM. And automatically enter the program code number, linkage and manual volume calculation program, quantity document automation programs, such as the development is now underway, and step-by-step procedures and methods are presented.

Structure-From-Motion Approach to the Reconstruction of Surfaces for Earthwork Planning

The reconstruction of surfaces from unorganized point clouds can provide very useful information for construction managers. Although point clouds are generally created using 3D scanners, they can also be generated via the structure-from- motion technique using a sequence of images. Here we report a novel surface reconstruction technique for modeling and quantifying earthworks that can be used for preliminary planning, project updates and estimating of earthwork quantities, as well as embedded planning systems in construction equipment. The application of structure-from-motion techniques in earth works is examined and its advantages and limitations identified. Data from 23 earthwork excavation construction sites were collected and analyzed. 3D surface reconstructions during the construction phase were compared to the original land form. Similar experiments were conducted with piles of earth and the results analyzed to determine appropriate ranges of use for structure-from-motion surface reconstructions in earthwork applications. The technique was found to be most suited to pile of materials with volumes less than 2000 m 3 . Piles up to 10 m in height and with base areas up to 300 m 2 were also successfully reconstructed. These results should be of interest to contractors seeking to utilize new technology to optimize operational efficiency.

Framework for Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions Due to Asphalt Pavement Construction

Greenhouse gas (GRG) emissions are an important primary criteria for environmental evaluation. As a project evaluation criterion, this study developed a framework that could estimate GHG emissions in asphalt pavement construction based on the limited information available in the feasibility study phase. A thorough literature review and in-depth interviews with domain experts in the field of road engineering were conducted to identify the input variables for this framework. By considering the characteristics of the input variables, such as material type, geometric shape of the structure, and earthwork quantities, an artificial neural network and a parametric calculation were used to develop the framework for estimating GHG emissions. When applied to real-life asphalt pavement projects in the Republic of Korea, the framework produced an average estimation error of 11.2%, which was considered sufficiently accurate for the planning phase. The proposed framework is expected to help decision makers easily evaluate the GHG emission potential of asphalt pavement projects in their preliminary phase such that project viability and priority can be determined in a more holistic manner.

An introduction to earthworks in Europe

Earthworks encompasses a range of engineering activities that goes well beyond the conventional digging out of soil and rock and movement of the material to another part of a site. Although these activities may be amongst the most fundamental of civil engineering construction activities, and take place whenever and wherever a development takes place, earthworks also include embankment dams, foundations (especially those for linear infrastructure) such as capping layers for road construction, structural fill for retaining walls, and for reinforced and anchored soil and earth. Conventional cut and fill operations are often somewhat disparagingly known in the UK as ‘muckshift’, the processes of excavation to form temporary and permanent cuttings and trenches, controlled placement of material for structural backfill, creation of embankments including earth and rockfill dams, and preparation of foundations for all forms of structure is a highly skilled geotechnical design practice. To undertake this work safely and economically requires an evaluation of the engineering geology of the site where the works are to take place, accurate descriptions of the nature and properties of the materials involved, detailed material specifications, assessment of earthwork quantities, settlement calculations for structures and foundations, analysis of short and long term slope and foundation stability, and the design of appropriate construction practices. The methods for excavating materials must be determined, the short and long term stability of excavations must be evaluated, and the suitability of any materials to be used in construction needs to be established. During any fill placement monitoring is necessary to ensure the materials meet specification and which may define pre-determined methods. It is also necessary to ensure that post-compaction properties meet performance specification, rates and amounts of settlement fall within expected limits, and that the foundations and side slopes of all structures meet design requirements. Once construction is finished the …

Road Construction Earthwork Volume Calculation Using Three-Dimensional Laser Scanning

Terrestrial laser-scanning (TLS) technology can be used to create a detailed model before and after construction to determine earthwork quantities. Cost-effective implementation of this technology requires that field operations are planned to efficiently acquire sufficient scan data and that data processing is able to filter out off-terrain points to provide an accurate bare earth model. This research developed a workflow for using TLS on road projects and created a customized computer program with a graphical user interface. Scans taken before and after construction were planned using the best available terrain model. Point cloud data were converted to station/offset coordinates for viewing cross-sections and generating the surface. An algorithm was developed, based on the finite element method, to create a surface through the lowest scan points. This surface was converted to a Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) file, and earthwork quantities were calculated by comparing the TIN of the original terrain to that of the finished project.

ACCEL: Spreadsheet-Based Cost Estimation for Forest Road Construction

Abstract A computer program has been developed to aid forest engineers in the cost estimation of forest road construction activities. This new tool, called ACCEL, uses Visual Basic for Applications within Microsoft Excel to compute the costs of construction components using interactive sheets, automated tasks, and advanced computer routines. The user is guided through road construction components and prompted for cost data, earthwork quantities, survey information, and the conditions of the construction environment to estimate total construction cost. Road design elements and site characteristics are variables used to optimize earthwork allocation, improving on using the mass diagram method. The program also estimates clearing and grubbing areas, rock surfacing volumes, and culvert lengths. ACCEL was validated by comparing the results to those of RoadEng (by Softree), ensuring that formulas were input correctly and showing close agreement in results. This program was created in a recognizable format, i.e., Microsoft Excel, and builds on basic quantity and cost estimation techniques. ACCEL is intended to improve the decisionmaking process for experienced forestry practitioners in forest road construction regardless of region, company, or agency affiliation by accepting their inputs and performing the calculations for different route alternative or varying design specifications.

Fast Calculation Method of Earthwork Quantity for Vertical Alignments from Digital Terrain Data

Fast Calculation Method of Earthwork Quantity for Vertical Alignments from Digital Terrain Data

Optimal Irrigation Canal Sections

The minimum area, or the maximum velocity cross section, is generally adopted for lined irrigation canals. Such a section is economically most efficient because it involves the least amount of earthwork and the least lining surface. For various practical sections there exist equations between the design variables. Because the design variables themselves are unknown, such relationships cannot be applied directly. In the present investigation, explicit equations for the design variables of various irrigation canal sections have been obtained. It is hoped that these equations will be useful to the engineer engaged in the design of lined canals.

The bituminous emulsion as an ecological alternative in soil stabilizations for roadbeds on low traffic flow roads

Road construction often cause certain environmental impact, due to: - The big earthmovings required to gain the ideal grade profile. - The extraction of materials from gravels mine or quarries necessary to implement granular stabilizations of poor quality soils. In rural roads the first point have not significant entity, as for the saving cause and for the traffic characteristics, excavation quantities are very short. It is not the case of the second point, as for the great amount of earthwork that this type of stabilization needs, can cause environmental changes of some importance in zones of development of this works. This paper attempt to show present available methods, designed to reduce impact, by means of the usage of techniques and materials that needs not to operate with spoil earths.