STR N325

Construction Equipment
Lecture 1
Dr. Hesham Osman
Associate Professor, CEM
Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University

Course Objectives

To highlight the importance of construction equipment in the overall

construction process
To understand the role of equipment in the following typical construction
processes:

Excavating
Earthmoving
Lifting
Compacting
Piling
Asphalt Paving

To understand how equipment and site characteristics impact the

productivity of these construction processes
To understand the economic aspects of managing construction equipment.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Explain the importance of construction equipment in the overall

construction process
Describe the operation process of earthmoving, lifting, concrete
placing and piling equipment
Describe the selection criteria of earthmoving, lifting, concrete
placing and piling equipment
Describe the required safety precautions during operating
earthmoving, lifting, concrete placing and piling equipment
Calculate the expected productivity of various types of construction
equipment
Calculate the ownership and operating costs of construction
equipment.
Demonstrate the ability to work in teams

Course Textbooks

Main:

Peurifory, L. and Schexnayder, C Construction

Planning, Equipment and Methods. McGraw
Hill Co., New York, NY.

Supplementary:

Nunnaly, S.W. Managing Construction

Equipment. Prentice Hall, Pearson Education.,
New York, NY

Course Schedule
Week
1 (25 Sept)
2 (2 Oct)
3 (9 Oct)

Topic
Introduction to Earthmoving

Machine Power Requirements &

Dozers
4 (16 Oct)
Scrapers
5 (23 Oct)
Excavators
6 (30 Oct)
Trucks and Hauling
Midterm (tentative) (6 Nov)
8 (13 Nov) Compacting & Finishing
9 (20 Nov) Lifting
10 (27 Nov) Equipment Economics
11 (4 Dec) Piles and Pile Driving
12 (11 Dec) Concrete Equipment
13 (18 Dec) Asphalt Paving

Reading
Peurifory-3,4

Notes
Assignment 1

Peurifory-6,7

Assignment-2

Peurifory-8
Peurifory-9
Nunally 6

Assignment-3

Peurifory-5,11
Peurifory-17
Peurifory-2
Peurifory-19
Peurifory-16
Peurifory-15

Assignment-5
Assignment-6
Assignment-7

Assignment-4

Grading System

Assignments
Project
Quizzes
Midterm exam
Final exam

10%
15%
15%
20%
40%

Administrative Issues

Rules
Class Participation
Midterm Exam
Late Policy

Introduction to
Construction Equipment

Why Equipment?

Why Equipment?

Critical Resource
Capital Intensive $$$$
Prone to breakdowns
Usually studied from a mechanical
engineering perspective

Earthwork

Soil moving?
Excavate Haul Place/Grade Compact
Common Equipment:

Excavators
Trucks
Dozers
Scrapers
Graders
Compactors

Earthmoving Projects

Highways
Dams
Canals
Berms
Dikes

Soil Characteristics

Soil Construction Characteristics

Soil Volume Change Characteristics

Bank soil
BCM or BCY
Bank Cubic Meters/Yards

Soil Volume Change Characteristics

Bank soil

Loose soil

BCM or BCY

LCM or LCY

Bank Cubic Meters/Yards

Loose Cubic Meters/Yards

Soil Volume Change Characteristics

Bank soil

Loose soil

BCM or BCY

LCM or LCY

Bank Cubic Meters/Yards

Loose Cubic Meters/Yards

Soil Volume Change Characteristics

Bank soil

Loose soil

Compacted soil

BCM or BCY

LCM or LCY

CCM or CCY

Bank Cubic Meters/Yards

Loose Cubic Meters/Yards

Compacted Cubic Meters/Yards

Soil Volume Change Characteristics

Bank density
Swell (%)
1 100
Loose density

Measures the percentage that

soil will increase in volume
when excavated

air
water

air

Weight (bank volume) = 1661 kg/m3

water

Weight (loose volume) = 1186 kg/m3

soil

soil

Volume increase

1661
Swell (%)
1 100 40%
1186

Soil Volume Change Characteristics

Bank Density

Shrinkage(%)
1 100
Compacted Density
air

air
water

water

air
water

soil

soil

soil

Volume decrease

Measures the percentage that

soil will decrease in volume
when compacted

Soil Volume Change Characteristics

Loose density
1
Load Factor

Bank density 1 swell

Bank density
Shrinkage Factor
1 shrinkage
Compacted density
Question: Are the values of Load
Factor and Shrinkage Factor:
1- Greater that 1
2- Less than 1

Soil Volume Change Characteristics

Calculating Earthwork
Volumes

Spoil Piles

Temporary pile of
material created from
the excavation
Spoil Pile: conical in
shape

H
R
D

Soil Angle of Repose

Spoil Banks

Temporary pile of
material created from
the excavation
Spoil Pile: triangular
cross section

H
R
B

Example

Find the base width and height of a triangular spoil

bank containing 76.5 BCM if the pile length is 10m
and the soils angle of repose is 37, and its swell is
25%
L

H
R
B

Earthwork Volume - Pit Excavation

Volume = Horizontal Area x Average Depth

Earthwork Volume - Pit Excavation

For large volumes, must divide area into smaller intervals

Corner: 1
Border: 2
Interior: 4

Earthwork Volume - Trench Excavation

Volume = Cross Sectional Area x Length
A

Q: When to use?