JBLDG – Spring 2011 [A GUIDE TO EXCAVATION] - Outlines

Outlines

1. Introduction
1. Definition of Excavation
2. Types of Excavation
2. Pre-excavation
1. Dewatering Techniques
2. Surveying Methodology
3. Estimating the excavation works required to bring
resources
4. Scheduling Excavation
5. Risk Assessment
3. Excavation Works
1. Soil support methods
2. Excavation Techniques and Tools
3. Site safety
4. Post- Excavation
1. Backfilling
2. Recycling Excavated materials
3. Exporting excavated materials
 JBLDG – Spring 2011 [A GUIDE TO EXCAVATION] – Introduction

Introduction
During construction process, site excavation is one of the most important and the earliest
stages. The site is excavated to create the desired elevation level, clean area to work, with the
foundations being established in the excavated area. A site may also be backfilled to confirm the
quality. The depth of site excavation can vary, depending on what is being built, where the
building is occurring, soil type, the functional purpose. Throughout the report we will get to
know what excavation is and its types, excavation works, and what’s after excavation.

Definition of Excavation

Literary Excavation means:” The act of

excavating, or of making hollow, by
cutting, scooping, or digging out a part
of a solid mass”. But, in the construction
world Excavation, which is a part of
earthwork, is often used as a broad
term that includes cut and fill. Cut is
the act of removing material to lower Excavation by an excavator
the elevation level of an area. On the
other hand, fill is the act of placing material to raise the elevation level of an area. In other
words, site excavation is a process in which soil, rock, and other materials are removed from a
site by the aid of heavy earthmoving equipment, especially excavators and bulldozers.

There are many reasons that push us to make a site excavation, including the desire to explore a
site to learn more about its archaeological history. Depending on the purpose of a
site excavation, the choice of excavation type is defined.

Types of Excavation:

Types of excavation can be classified archaeologically, according to soil type or, according to
functional purpose. Archaeologically, there are two basic types of excavation: Research
excavation and Development-led excavation. Research excavation is used when time and
resources are available to excavate the site at a relaxed pace. While, Development-led
excavation is used when time is limited, such as in cases of site threatening by building
development.

On soil type bases, excavation can be divided in to three types:

1. Loose Soils’ excavation

2. Cohesive Soils’ excavation
3. Wet Soils’ excavation

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 JBLDG – Spring 2011 [A GUIDE TO EXCAVATION] – Introduction

1. Loose Soils’ excavation: Loose and non-cohesive soil is usually excavated using a clam-
shell bucket and a pay-loader. Pay-loaders are heavy equipment that use very large
shovels to lift soil into the back of a dump truck. Also, a tractor with a mounted shovel
can be used. These pieces of machinery are very large, so they need free space around
the location that must be excavated.

Clam-shell bucket Pay-loaders Tractor with a Mounted Shovel

2. Cohesive Soils’ excavation: Cohesive soils need a power shovel or a pull shovel since
these soils can be very heavy and difficult to move with many other kinds of heavy
machinery. Pull shovels can sometimes dig when there are objects blocking the shovel's
path. On the other hand, Power shovels need plenty of space in order to get to the
excavation location.

Pull shovel
Power shovel

3. Wet Soils’ excavation: Draglines are

used to excavate very moist soil. The
machinery is placed on one or two
stable spots and the wet soil is then
dragged out.
Dragline

Excavation can be classified according to functional purpose as the following:

1. Foundation Excavation with or without Stripping

2. Cut-offs, Keyway, or Core Trench Excavation
3. Channel Excavation
4. Structure Excavation
5. Auxiliary Spillway Excavation
6. Abutment Shaping Excavation
7. Borrow Area Excavation

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 JBLDG – Spring 2011 [A GUIDE TO EXCAVATION] – Pre-Excavation

Pre-Excavation
Survey Methodology

Pre- construction stage

Step 1: Identify the geological extent of the construction works involved and design a
scheme of survey control network to cover the area.

Step 2: Carry out a reconnaissance survey on site to identify the known control stations
nearby and establish the new survey stations.

Step 3: Set up a survey control network, the new stations were rigidly tied to the known
stations.

Step 4: Carry out field measurements of angle and distance among the stations followed
by computation of global coordinates of control stations.

NB. All field measurements should be accepted &verified before computations are performed.

Archaeological Surveying and Excavation [7]

When planning and recording archaeological sites by hand the archaeologist is utilising basic
surveying principles. Plans will often use offsets from a known baseline (e.g. the site grid). Hand
drawing plans can lead to inconsistencies and inaccuracies. These errors will be minimised with
an experienced planner. Even with experience hand drawn plans are time consuming to
produce and they must also be digitized (a type of tracing with a digital device that replicates
the hand drawing into a CAD package) before publication. Levels will often be taken on site by
using a ‘dumpy level’. In Britain, this known level will normally be mean sea level that is derived
from a nearby bench mark. The bench mark is usually a physical mark in the wall of a building
and has a known level in relation to the mean sea level.

In recent times, the above methods of surveying have largely been replaced by using a total
station or DGPS (Differential Global Positioning System), particularly for large excavations and
evaluations. The total station and DGPS allow a rapid collection of planning data that is collected
in digital format and requires very little post processing. A total station must, of course, have a
level obtained from an Ordnance Survey benchmark but DGPS surveying systems will provide a
level from satellite information.

Total stations/DGPS are often also used to set out grids for geophysical survey and to set out
evaluation trenches and excavation areas for excavation by machine. Co-ordinates are uploaded
into the total station or DGPS system. These co-ordinates are normally tied in to the Ordnance
Survey Grid for evaluation trenches and excavation areas but geophysical survey grids normally
possess their own discrete set of co-ordinates for absolute accuracy (when setting out with total
stations.

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Dewatering

Dewatering is the process of lowering the groundwater table in order to obtain a "dry" area in
the vicinity of an excavation which would otherwise extend below water, it is either:

 Permanent: necessary to keep groundwater from reaching sensitive areas.

Or

 Temporary: Necessary during construction below ground water table (construction

dewatering)

The choice of dewatering system varies according to:

 Type of soil
 Type of construction
 Construction area, for example near a river or a water source.

Here are some cases along with their suitable dewatering solutions:

 Stable soil
If excavation is to be performed in stable, cohesive, low permeability and/or low hydraulic
conductivity soils Open pumping system is the most suitable dewatering system to be used and
it comprises the following characteristics:
 Usually inexpensive and effective
 Easy to install and simple to operate
 Procedure :
1) Allow the groundwater to enter the excavation
2) Direct it to low points (sumps) through ditches
3) Pump the water out of the sumps
4) Suction hose with strainer is merely placed in the sump and the collected
water is primed and discharged.

 High permeability soil

If the excavation is to be performed for a thin layer of high permeability soil (5-6 metres depth),
therefore well points are the most applicable
dewatering technique to be used, its characteristics
are:
 Done either by vacuum or gravity
 Very flexible system
 Less expensive than installing
individual pumps

However if the excavation expands to a level

deeper than 6 meters, therefore pumped well
system is to be used and it's characteristics are as
follows:
 accommodates large flow rates
Figure 1 - Pumped Well System
 More expensive than WellPoint systems
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 Permanent removal of water

If the excavation is done in an area near a water source, or in a sensitive area, water must be
prevented from reaching the excavation therefore cut-offs are the safest way of dewatering,
their characteristics comprise:
 They act as seepage barriers
 Physically block the groundwater before it reaches the excavation

 Underground construction
In underground construction such as tunnel construction, the groundwater must be prevented
from entering the excavation. This is done by using exclusion dewatering system which has the
following characteristics:
 use compressed air to prevent groundwater from entering the sealed and
pressurized excavations
 The air pressure is maintained at a level approximately equal to the pore water
pressure
 Workers must pass through a decompression chamber located between the
excavation and the atmosphere

 Other soil conditions

Pre-drainage system is suitable for a wide range of soil conditions and has the following
characteristics:
 Allows the contractor to lower the groundwater table before excavation begins
 Most pre-drainage systems use wells located a short distance outside the perimeter
of the excavation
 It includes various equipment including pumping wells, pumps, generators, storage
tanks, carbon filters, air strippers, etc.
Figure 2 - Cut/Fill works
Calculating excavation works

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In order to excavate for construction works, one needs to calculate the exact volume to be
cut/filled in order to bring in the required equipment types and numbers, as well as estimate
the excavation duration. Typically, calculations of such type would require accurate levelling
surveys of the construction area (and possibly surroundings) followed by accurate modelling of
the layout and expected works. The figure shows an example on cut/fill volumes to construct a road.

Budgeting Excavations

Setting a budget for the excavations is dependent on many factors: [1]

 Labour required
 Size (and type) of machines –costs decrease as the capacity of the machine increases.
 Cycle time - the amount of digs per minute that the machine carries out.
• It is reasonable to assume that a larger machine will move to a new position more
often than a smaller machine and so the cycle time is decreased;
• A machine in soft ground will have more cycles per minute than one operating in
hard ground;
• While a machine working in reasonable ground may achieve up to four cycles per
minute, this average is reduced due to repositioning or waiting for the next dumper
to arrive so that excavated material may be removed.
 Depth of excavation.
• A shallower dig will
require more frequent
repositioning of the
machine and thus
reduced cycle time.
• A dig to a specified
depth requires greater
accuracy than a bulk dig
and is slower.
• The bucket is often not
filled on every cycle on
a shallow dig. Material
is scraped and
accumulated and then
filled to the bucket and
placed to the dumper or
the spoil heap.

Scheduling excavation
In order to be able to get started
with excavation works, a clear,
reasonable schedule needs to be set
in place in order to control the
excavation works and minimise
problems in worksite. Below is an
example of a clear representation of
excavation phases.
Figure 3 - Excavation Scheduling
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The Excavation Risk Assessment

Its benefits:

 Hazards assessed prior to breaking ground

 Excavations designed around existing hazards
 Reduced or eliminated service strike risks
 Increased confidence of excavation teams
 Enhanced employee safety
 Simplified knowledge transfer
 Can be used as part of a permit to dig system
 Pre-Excavation briefing based on factual data
 Permanent record of excavation positions
 Unambiguous location definition

You should be provided with:

 Plan, cross-sectional view and written dialogue of potential hazards

 Location plan and photograph with section line position
 Dated with auditable production trail
 Allows excavation team briefing to be recorded
 Can be laminated for site use or supplied as bound hard-copies

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Excavation Works
Soil Support Methods

Several in-situ support systems have been deployed for containing deep excavations.

The criteria for the selection of these systems are excavation depth, ground conditions, ground
water level, allowable vertical and horizontal displacements of adjacent ground, availability of
construction know-how, cost factors, subsequent construction methodology, working space
limitations etc. One of the key governing factors is the requirement of water tightness of the
retaining structure. The following types of deep support systems are commonly used in
metropolitan cities.

Determinants of the value of the excavation:

− Geometry of the building;

− Transportation requirements;
− Dewatering requirements

Determinants of the type of the retaining structures:

− Size of the site;

− Type of the soil;
− Groundwater;
− Time;
− Neighbour structures;
− Size of the building;
− Available facilities (technology).

Types of retaining

1. Sloped (soil, torkret concrete);

2. braced (wood, reinforced concrete, steel, plastic);
3. Soldier piles
4. Sheet piling (wood, steel, reinforced concrete);
5. Diaphragm walls;
6. Freezing or chemical methods;
7. Shot-crete method

1. Sloped open cut method

Most simple way to make excavation,
but it needs a big free place and it
requires rather big volume
earthworks. It requires slope stability
calculations. Used only in cohesive
soils under groundwater where
dewatering of rainfalls is required.
Figure 4 - Sloped open-cut method
Dynamic effects reduce slopes ability.

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2. Braced excavation method

Braced – transfer the earth load to the opposite

earth wall. Walls → Walls → Struts.

The height of vertical earth wall without retaining:

 c- cohesion;
 φ - friction angle;
 γ - density of the soil
 n - safety factor (n=2)

2.1. Braced with standing walls

If the vertical earth wall is stable to excavation

level.

Procedure: Figure 5 - Braced with Standing Walls

1. Excavate the soil to foundation level.

2. Install walls into the excavation. (Not continuous)
3. Install wales.
4. Install struts.

2. 2. Braced excavation with repressing

If the excavation is deeper than the stable vertical earth wall H

> m0

Procedure:

1. Excavate the soil to first stage (m0).

2. Install walls, wales and struts temporary.
3. Excavate the soil to the next stage.
4. Release struts and push walls down and install wales
Figure 6 - Braced Excavation with Repressing
and
5. Repeat 3 and 4 till the designed depth.

2. 3. Braced excavation with lateral walls

The stable earth wall is very small, in case of non-cohesive

soils.

Procedure

1. Excavate the soil to mo,

2. Install the walls, wales and struts temporary.
3. Excavate the soil to the next stage.
4. Rebuild wales and struts.
5. Repeat procedure 3 and 4 till the designed depth.
Figure 7 - Braced Excavation with Lateral Walls
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2. 4. Table braced system 2. 5. Braced system

Figure 8 - Table Braced System

Figure 9 - Braced System

2. 6. Design braced excavation

The structure elements of braced excavation are compressed or bended.

Input: Output:

− Depth of excavation (H) − Thickness of walls (v);

− Space between wales (t); − Cross-section of wales (a ⋅ b );
− Space between struts (y). − Cross-section of struts (A).

3. Soldier pile method 4. Sheet-pile walls

Figure 10 - Braced Excavation Method (reality) Figure 11 - Braced Excavation Method profile &plan

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Structural types of sheet-pile walls:

- Embedded
- anchored in one level, without
embedding
- Anchored and Embedded
- strutted (braced)

Design:

- Depth of embedding
- Mmax → cross-section of sheet
- Load of anchors → parameters of
anchors

Figure 12 – Soldier Piles Method

5. Diaphragm walls

Figure 10 – Sheet Pile walls

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6. Freezing and injection

Gravely soils under groundwater and waterproof layer is missing or in very deep.

Advantages:

- Absolute waterproof
- Other retaining structures are not
necessary
- In any kind of soil (except injection clay)

Disadvantages:

- Difficult technical facilities

- Expensive
- Long-time defrost in case of freezing

7. Shot-crete method

Application field:
Figure 13 - Shot-crete Method (Schematic)
 Temporary or permanent retaining structure
 Retaining wall
 Stabilization of tunnel gates
 Stabilization of slopes
 Repair retaining structures

Properties: Cannot be used with:

 Thickness of shot-crete (12-25 cm),  Soft cohesive soils,
 Reinforcement:  Organic soils, turf,
o Netting,  Loose gravely soils
o Reinforcing steel (1-2 layers),  Filling (rocks, ash)
o Hajbeton (steel, PE),
 Nails:
o Steel tube,
o Reinforcing steel,
o Steel nail,
 Installation of nails:
o Hit,
o Screwed-injected,
o Jetted
o Screwed
Application soils: Figure 14 - Shot-crete Method (reality)
 Cohesive soils,
 Gravely soils,
Advantages Disadvantages
Cheap Soil should be stable in min. 1.0 m
Simple facilities Cannot install in case of groundwater flowing
Variable form Damages of public utilities
Elastic Structure

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8. Design shot-crete excavation

Procedure of designing:

1. Site visit
2. Geometry of excavation
3. Stability analysis

Figure 14 – Shot-crete excavation design (sliding)

Figure 15 - Shot-crete excavation design (bearing capacity)

Figure 16 - Shot-crete excavation design (deep failure) Figure 17 - Shot-crete excavation design (compound failure)

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Construction Equipment & Tools:

Figure 18 - Construction Equipment

 Bull dozers
A bulldozer is a crawler (Continuous tracked tractor) equipped with a substantial metal plate
(known as a blade) used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction
work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device (known as a ripper) to loosen
densely-compacted materials. The term "bulldozer" is often used erroneously to mean
any heavy equipment (sometimes a loader and sometimes an excavator), but precisely, the term
refers only to a tractor (usually tracked) fitted with a dozer blade.

 Front end loader

A loader usually wheeled, sometimes on tracks, that has a front mounted square
wide bucket connected to the end of two booms (arms) to scoop up loose material from the
ground, such as dirt, sand or gravel, and move it from one place to another without pushing the
material across the ground. A loader is commonly used to move a stockpiled material from
ground level and deposit it into an awaiting dump truck or into an open trench excavation.

Different types of blades can be used for different purposes.

BLADE, Landfill Doze BLADE, U

Angled extensions and a high Spill-screen The ends of the dozer blade are angled forward
convert the dirt dozer into one especially to increase the carrying capacity in loose
suited to spreading trash in sanitary landfills materials. For construction crawler dozers

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 Wheel tractor-scraper
Used for earthmoving, excavate soil in one location, haul and dump the soil in another spot. It is
difficult to match the efficiency of scrapers for cut/fill soil operation if the haul distance is less
than a mile. Scrapers are generally pulled by a rubber tire wheel tractor and are sometimes
pushed through the cut area by a bulldozer.

 Smooth Drum
Increases the density of the soil and in some cases provides a smooth, rolled surface.
Compactors achieve these results by either static weights or vibration. Care must be taken when
using a vibrating compactor concerning nearby structures and pumping excess water up
through the soil. The vibrations can literally causes nearby buildings to fall down. The
compactor surface that touches

the soil can be classified as either steel drum, pneumatic rubber-tired, or sheep foot.
Compactors can be either self-propelled or towed. These web links show equipment
specifications for several common compactors.

 Excavator
Are extremely useful machines for both bulk excavation and trench excavation. Usually self-
propelled on tracks, excavators operate hydraulically. The cable driven power shovels are the
forerunner of the modern day excavator. These web links show equipment specifications for
several common hydraulic excavators.
Different types of Buckets.

Bell hole and Clamshell Coral Rock

Cemetery

Used for digging manholes; Especially suited to loose runny With special short, hardened
underground transformer materials; pulling stumps; picking teeth and flared side cutters.
stations; straight, vertical, and placing large rock, trees,
square trenches. brush, etc.

Types of Modern Excavation Machinery:

Excavator Bulldozer

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Loader Grader

Trench Excavator Compactor

Compact Track Loader

Road Reclaimer

Ditch Digging Machine

Tunnel Boring Machine

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Excavation Safety

Some KEY Definitions:

Competent Person means one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in
the surroundings, or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to
employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them.

Protective System means a method of protecting employees from cave-ins, from material that
could fall or roll from an excavation face or into an excavation, or from the collapse of adjacent
structures. Protective systems include support systems, sloping and benching systems, shield
systems, and other systems that provide the necessary protection.

Registered Professional Engineer means a

person who is registered as a
professional engineer in the state where
the work is to be performed. However, a
professional engineer, registered in any
state is deemed to be a “registered
professional engineer” within the
meaning of this standard when
approving designs for “manufactured
protective systems” or “tabulated data”
to be used in interstate commerce.

Support System means a structure such

as underpinning, bracing, or shoring, Figure 19
which provides support to an adjacent
structure, underground installation, or the sides of an excavation.

Tabulated Data means tables and charts approved by a registered professional engineer and
used to design and construct a protective system.

Trench (Trench excavation) means a narrow excavation

(in relation to its length) made below the surface of the
ground. In general, the depth is greater than the width,
but the width of a trench (measured at the bottom) is
not greater than 15 feet.

One of the most important steps in avoiding cave-ins

is the preplanning of excavation operations. Some of
the questions that must be answered prior to digging
are:

1. What types of soil will be found? Figure 20

2. What are the soil moisture conditions?
3. Has the soil previously been disturbed?
4. How large will the excavation be?
5. How long will the excavation be open?
6. What kinds of weather can we expect?
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7. What kinds of equipment will be on the job?

8. Will the excavation be near structures?
9. Is traffic control needed near the excavation?
10. What sources of vibration will be nearby?
11. Will water be a problem?
12. What kind of shoring? How much?
13. Underground installations?

Underground Installations

 Determine the estimated locations

 Contact the utility or owner
 Proceed cautiously
 Find the exact location
 Support, protect, or appropriately remove
Figure 21
 The installation in open excavations

Surface Encumbrances

Remove or support if creating a hazard to workers. An example of surface encumbrances is the

poles rocks trees

Access and Egress

(1) Structural ramps used for access or egress of equipment must be designed by a competent
person qualified in structural design.

(2) A safe means of entering and leaving excavations must be provided for workers. A stairway,
ladder, ramp, or other means of egress must be located in trench excavations which are:

 Four feet or more in depth, and

 Require no more than 25 feet of lateral travel.

Exposure to Vehicular Traffic

Employees must be provided and wear warning vests or other suitable garments marked with
or made of reflectorized or high visibility material

Exposure to Falling Loads

Employees are not allowed under loads handled by lifting or digging equipment.

Workers must either stand away or otherwise be protected from any vehicle being loaded or
unloaded to avoid spilling or falling material.

Warning System for Mobile Equipment

A warning system must be utilized when mobile equipment is operated adjacent to an

excavation, or when such equipment is required to approach the edge of an excavation, and the
operator does not have clear and direct view of the edge. Barricades, hand or mechanical
signals, or stop logs can be used.

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Hazardous Atmospheres

Purpose

Prevent exposure to harmful levels of air

contaminants such as:

 Oxygen deficiency,
 Explosives/Flammables,
 Toxins; and to assure acceptable
atmospheric conditions through:
 Atmospheric testing,
 Removal of the substance,
 Proper ventilation,
 Respiratory protection,
 Etc.
Figure 22
Testing and Controls

Testing is required where oxygen deficiency (less than 19.5 per cent oxygen), or a hazardous
atmosphere exists or could reasonably be expected to exist.

Examples include excavations in landfill areas or in locations where hazardous substances exist
(i.e. utilities, tanks, contaminated soil, etc.)

When controls such as ventilation are used to reduce the level of atmospheric contaminants to
an acceptable level, testing must be conducted as often as necessary to ensure continuing safety.

Emergency Rescue Equipment

Emergency rescue equipment must be readily available where hazardous atmospheric

conditions exist or can reasonably be expected to develop.

Water Accumulation

Employees must be properly protected when working in excavations

where water has accumulated or is accumulating. Precautions will vary
with each situation but may include diversion, dewatering (well pointing)
systems, special supporting systems, or water removal equipment. The
competent person must monitor water removal equipment.

Water is one of the major concerns during excavation operations. The

action of water in excavations can cause undermining and cave-ins.

Stability of Adjacent Structures

Where the stability of adjacent buildings, walls, or other structures is

endangered by excavation operations, support systems such as shoring, Figure 23
bracing, or underpinning must be provided to ensure stability.

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Excavation below the level of the base or footing that could pose
a hazard is not permitted except when:

• The excavation is in stable rock, or

• Support system (underpinning) is provided, or

• Registered Professional Engineer approves.

Sidewalks, pavements, and appurtenant structure must not be

undermined unless a support system or another method of
protection is provided to protect employees from collapse. Figure 24

Protection from Loose Rock or Soil

Scale back to remove loose material or install protective barricades and place all material and
equipment at least two feet from the edge.

Fall Protection

Walkways must be provided where employees or equipment are permitted to

cross over excavations.

Adequate barrier physical protection must be provided at all remotely located

excavations. All wells, pits, shafts, etc., must be barricaded or covered; backfill
as soon as possible.

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POST – EXCAVATION

Backfilling

After all the work required in the vicinity of the excavation is done; such excavation must be
backfilled with suitable soil in order to maintain ground level, stability of the soil and safety of
the executed work.

The backfill material used can be either the

excavated material reused, or new material
obtained from a known source. Either ways, the
backfill must comply with certain specifications,
based on the nature of the work executed, such
as a certain void ratio, dry density… etc. Hence;
backfill is generally placed in layers, each layer
compacted to the required limit.

In all cases, it must be ensured that the backfill

is free from stones large enough to interfere
with compaction; large or frozen lumps that will
not break down readily under compaction; and Figure 25 - Backfilling
wood or other extraneous material.

Recycling of Excavated Material

Excavated material has many areas of reuse; firstly, it can be used onsite for backfilling the
excavation. However; in some cases the excavated material may not be suitable for such use; for
example, it can be a swelling soil or containing organic material.

Other uses for excavated material may include:

 Raising the profile of a terrain

 Landscaping
 Concrete aggregates

For a chosen use, the excavated material must pass a series of tests to ensure that it complies
with the specifications required for this use.

Reclaimed Concrete Material (RCM):

In some excavations, mainly utility excavations in roads, the excavated material contains
crushed concrete from road pavement, curbs, sidewalks and driveways. This crushed concrete
is referred to as “Reclaimed Concrete Material” (RCM) or “Recycled Concrete Pavement” (RCP).

RCM can be used as coarse and/or fine aggregate in granular base since its properties when
processed generally exceed the minimum requirements for conventional granular aggregates.
Being a 100 per cent crushed material; processed RCM aggregates "lock up" well in granular
base applications, providing good load transfer when placed on weaker sub grade.

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 JBLDG – Spring 2011 [A GUIDE TO EXCAVATION] – Post-Excavation

The excavated concrete is processed at a central

processing facility where crushing, screening, and
removal of reinforcing steel operations are
performed.

RCM can be used as an aggregate for cement-treated

or lean concrete bases, a concrete aggregate, or an
asphalt concrete aggregate. It can also be used as a
bulk fill material on land or water, as a shore line
protection material, a gabion basket fill, or a
granular aggregate for base and trench backfill.

Disposal of Excavated Material Figure 26 – Reclaimed Concrete Materials

In cases where the excavated material is not suitable for reuse, the solution is then to dispose of
the material in landfills. Soil loaded into transport vehicles for offsite disposal must be covered
with continuous heavy duty plastic or other covering to minimize emissions to the atmosphere.

Environmental Concerns

Sometimes, if the excavation is carried out in a contaminated site, there is a large possibility that
such contamination be spread due to the reuse of excavated material. Hence; it is essential that
the excavated soil pass a soil quality survey before reuse. The governing principle here is the
“Stand-Still” principle, i.e. no deterioration of the current environmental conditions is allowed.

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 JBLDG – Spring 2011 [A GUIDE TO EXCAVATION] – References

REFERENCES
 http://www.orosha.org/pdf/workshops/302w.pdf, Accessed March 29, 2011
 http://www.osh.dol.govt.nz/order/catalogue/pdf/excavation.pdf, Accessed March 29,
2011
 Excavation in Construction from Construction Knowledge.net,
http://www.constructionknowledge.net/sitework/sitework_excavation.php#5,
Accessed March 29, 2011
 Definition of Excavation – BrainyQuote,
http://www.brainyquote.com/words/ex/excavation162339.html#ixzz1I04cM3du,
Accessed March 29, 2011
 Wikipedia the free encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excavation_(archaeology), Accessed March 29, 2011
 http://www.landpro.co.uk/downloads/Articles/article_bases_for_pavings_01.pdf,
Accessed March 29, 2011
 Excavation Risk Assessment | ERA | Technics Group - Geospatial Consultant Surveyors |
Surrey, UK, http://www.technicsgroup.com/land-surveying-services/excavation-risk-
assessment-era, Accessed March 29, 2011
 Engineering Survey System for TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) Tunnel,
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/27446492/Engineering-Survey-System-for-TBM-
(Tunnel-Boring-Machine)-Tunnel, Accessed March 29, 2011
 http://www.najah.edu/researches/299.pdf, Accessed March 29, 2011
 What is RCM?, http://americancrushing.com/html/what_is_rcm_.html, Accessed March
29, 2011
 Construction Waste Management | Whole Building Design Guide,
http://www.wbdg.org/resources/cwmgmt.php, Accessed March 29, 2011
 Disposal of excavated material, http://www.scribd.com/doc/51523563/57/Disposal-
of-excavated-material, Accessed March 29, 2011
 http://www.deere.com/en_US/cfd/construction/deere_const/media/pdf/attachments.
pdf, Accessed March 29, 2011

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