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Construction Site Earthwork Calculation

With advancement of Technology there is a lot of progress in the way we take Ground reading. Earlier only Auto Levels were used, whereas now Total Station, GPS, LIDAR are being used to take ground reading. Previously Earthwork Calculations were simply done on paper followed by some simple computer applications. Now, however, either Spread Sheets likes Excel are used or advanced software products which are specifically designed for earthwork calculation are used. But volumetric calculations done by software still have to presented in understandable manner even while getting different results from different software products. There are three different methods popularly used for doing Earthwork Calculation for Cutting/Filling Projects. Before discussing these in detail let us try to understand Some Basic definition of Terms related to Earthwork Calculation. Earthworks Earthworks are engineering works created through the moving and/or processing of massive quantities of soil or unformed rock. Earthwork is done to reconfigure the topography of a site to achieve the design levels. Earthwork involves cutting and filling to achieve the required topography. Cutting Cutting is the process of excavating earth material from a work location to achieve the desired topography. Filling Filling is the process of moving the excavated material or additional earth material to a work location to achieve the desired topography. Let us take 2 Simple Examples for our Study In the Example below the plot is 30 X 30 Meters and all the Grid levels measured at Grid level of 10M

Example 1 (Only Cutting) Example 2 (Both Cutting and Filling) Ground Level Ground Level Section 0 10 20 30 30 192.51 193.71 193.21 193.47 192.51 193.71 193.21 193.47 20 193.04 193.14 192.92 193.01 193.04 193.14 192.92 193.01 10 192.61 192.56 192.63 192.67 192.61 192.56 192.63 192.67 0 192.56 192.68 192.67 192.57 192.56 192.68 192.67 192.57 Formation Level Formation Level 191.9 193.1 192.6 192.87 193.4 193.5 193.3 193.2 192.43 192.53 192.31 192.4 193.5 193.3 193.2 193.4 192.01 191.96 192.03 192.06 193.4 193.6 193.4 193.4 191.95 192.07 192.07 191.97 193.1 193.4 193.5 193.3
Average method: In this method Levels at each grid point is found Levels multiplied by Area gives the Result. This is can be used only when there is cutting or filling. filling, Average method gives wrong result as averaging. out. Difference between the Average of Two Sets of a very simple and straight forward method. But this When Leveling of surface includes both cutting and cutting and filling values nullify each other while

Example 1(Only Cutting) Filling

Example 2 (Both Cutting and Filling)

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Construction Site Earthwork Calculation

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Average 0 0 Cutting 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.6 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.6 0.6 Average 0.606 545.62
Volume = Average * 900 = 0.606 * 900 = 545.62 Block Method (Division of Square Method):

0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0

Filling 0 0.21 0 0.27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Average 0.03 27 Cutting 0.89 0 0.09 0 0.46 0.16 0.28 0.39 0.79 1.04 0.77 0.73 0.54 0.72 0.83 0.73 Average 0.526 473.625

In this method, volume of cutting or filling is found out for each block and added together to get the final volume. This is mathematically simpler then Section Method, but more accurate than Average method. The problem of nullification is also encountered here when in the same block there is both cutting and filling. But here the margin of error is very small when compared to Average method for whole area. Example 1(Only Cutting): Difference in Average for Each 10 X 10 Block 0.61 0.605 0.605 0.61 0.605 0.6025 0.6075 0.6075 0.6025

Volume = Sum * 100 (Area of Each block) = 5.455 * 100 = 545.5 (Cutting) Note: Value 0.61 = Average (192.51, 193.71, 193.04, 193.14) Average (191.9, 193.1, 192.43, 192.53) [Values taken from first 2 rows and 2 columns of ground and formation level) Example 2 (Both Cutting and Filling) : Difference in Average for Each 10 X 10 Block 0.325 0.6125 0.7725 0.08 0.5625 0.84 0.1225 0.5425 0.765

Volume = Sum * 100 (Area of Each block) = 4.6225 * 100 = 462.25 (Filling). Note: Although in this example there is some cutting, because of nullification of value in same block we are not getting any value in Cutting. Section Method: In this method Sections are drawn for Each Line of Value. Area of Cutting and Filling is found out for each Section with Trapezoidal Method or Nett Area Calculation Method. Then volume is determined by multiplying Average Area with Distance between Sections. This method is more accurate, but for larger area, finding the area becomes difficult as we need to find intersection of points where lines representing Surfaces meet.

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11/29/13

Construction Site Earthwork Calculation

Example 1(Only Cutting): Sl. Section No. 1 Cutting Volume Filling Volume Area Previous Average Volume Area Previous Average Volume Sq. Mtrs Area Sq. Mtrs Cu Meters Sq. Mtrs Area Sq. Mtrs Cu Meters 0.000 18.150 0.000 9.075 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 18.150 18.050 18.300 18.100 18.175 18.275 181.000 181.750 182.750 545.500 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

2 10.000 18.050 3 20.000 18.300 4 30.000 18.250 Total

Sections Related to Example 2 (Both Cutting and Filling) :

Example 2 (Both Cutting and Filling) : Sl. Section No. 1 0.000 Cutting Volume Filling Volume Area Previous Average Volume Area Previous Average Volume Sq. Mtrs Area Sq. Mtrs Cu Meters Sq. Mtrs Area Sq. Mtrs Cu Meters 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.948 Total Summary of Results Sl. Method 1 2 3 Average Method Block method Section Method 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.974 0.000 21.850 0.000 25.700 0.000 8.650 9.740 9.740 3.848 0.000 21.850 25.700 8.650 10.925 23.775 17.175 6.249 0.000 237.750 171.750 62.490 471.990

2 10.000 3 20.000 4 30.000

Example 1 Cutting 545.62 545.5 545.500 Filling 0 0 0

Example 2 Cutting 27.000 0.000 9.740 Filling 473.625 462.25 471.990

Summary of Various Methods Methods /

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Construction Site Earthwork Calculation

Methods Formula

Advantages

Disadvantages

Applicability

Volume=Depth of Average Easiest Method for cutting/filling* Method calculation area

Approximate, cannot be applied when Used for very small both cutting projects and filling are there

Volume=Sum of (Depth of Block cutting/filling* Method area of each block) Area to be found out using

Commonly used to Box method will find volume for nullify volume when It Is very easy to leveling projects both cutting and calculate the area before the filling are there in construction of a the same block building

Mathematically, Trapezoidal very good and Section Method hence adopted in Involves a lot of Method Nett area majority of calculations Method infrastructure projects Volume = Lx1/2(A1+ A2)

Used in most of the infrastructure Projects including Roads, Irrigation Projects, Rail Road Projects, etc.

Conclusion From the above examples, we can conclude that Section Method is complex compared to any other method but gives accurate results. Also if the Average method or Block Method is used for calculation then it is likely that Volume will be little lesser and the contractor will get lesser quantity and hence less payment for his work.

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