EMBANKMENT CONSTRUCTION

METHODOLOGY

Embankment are the main part of the any earth work . They are widely used, e.g. as
embankment dams for reservoirs, as road, railway and airport runway
embankments in transportation but here we are discussing sequence wise working
methodology for the earthwork in embankment for highway work.

1. Scope of Work
2. Reference Documents.
3. Setting Out.
4. Selection of Material & Borrow areas.
5. Equipments.
6. Methods of Operation.
7. Quality Control.
8. Work Safety
9. Environmental Safety

1.0 Scope of Work:

The work shall consist of Construction of embankment with approved and specified
materials obtained from approved borrow areas or suitable material obtained from
roadway excavation and drain excavation and in accordance with clause 305 of
MORT&H specification.

2.0 Reference:

Reference Documents:
1. Ministry of Road Transport & Highway Specifications for Road & Bridges.5th
Revision
2. IRC SP-87
3. Technical Specification
4. Relevant contract drawings.
5. IS 2720 Codes

3.0 Setting Out:

After completion of site clearance, the limits of embankment shall be marked by

fixing pegs on both sides at regular intervals. The chainage boards and working
bench mark shall be set outside the limits of construction areas.

4.0 Selection of Material and Borrow areas:

4.1 Material:

The material used in Embankment shall be soil, moorum, gravel, a mixture of these
or any other material approved by the Engineer. It shall be free from logs, stumps,
roots, rubbish & any other material detrimental to the stability of structure. The
material for embankment shall be obtained from the approved source with
preference to the material becoming available from nearby roadway excavation or
any other excavation under the contract. The material requirements shall be in
accordance with clause 305.2 of MORT&H.

4.2 Borrow Material:

Samples should be taken from the known borrow area & to be tested as per IS 2720
for the suitability in use in embankment as per project specification. On confirmation
of the suitability material the area shall be properly demarcated and satisfy the clause
305.2.2.2

5.0 Equipments:

The following equipments shall be carried out for the Embankment Construction. If
desired the contractor shall demonstrate the efficacy of the type of equipment to be
used, before commencement of work.

1. Hydraulic Excavator
2. Dozer
3. Dumper (Tipper Trucks)
4. Motor Grader
5. Soil Compactor
6. Water Tanker
7. Tractor Trolleys
8. Survey Kit / instrument

6.0 Method of Operation:

 After completion of site clearance, the limits of embankment shall be marked by
fixing pegs at regular intervals before commencing the earthwork. Construction toe
line shall be more than the design toe line for proper construction of the edges .
 The original ground shall be levelled to facilitate placement of first layer of
embankment, scarified, mixed with water and then compacted by rolling so as to
achieve minimum dry density as specified in the modified Technical specification.
Foundation treatment specified for embankments shall be carried out as per
approved drawing. Unsuitable material occurring in embankment foundation shall
be removed as per direction and approval of the Engineer and replaced by approved
materials laid in layers and suitably compacted to the required and specified degree
of compaction. Excavation at approved borrow areas as per clause 305.2.2.2 shall be
carried out with excavator and transportation of excavated material shall be done by
dumpers/ tractor trolley.
 Natural ground soil shall be tested for its suitability. If found unsuitable it shall be
replaced with the permission of the Engineer.
 Dry Density of natural ground soil shall be determined, and natural ground shall be
tested for dry density, if found less than 95% of M.D.D.(Max Dry Density), the
original ground shall be scarified and mixed with the required quantity of water and
then compacted by vibratory roller to achieve minimum specified dry density.
 For construction adjacent to the existing embankment, a continuous horizontal
benching 300 mm wide or as per drawing shall be provided in the existing
embankment.
 The embankment material shall then be spread in layers not exceeding 250 mm
compacted thicknesses when using vibratory roller over the entire area with the
dozer and finished by a motor grader. When the existing embankment to be widened
continuous horizontal benches shall be cut out into the old slope to ensure adequate
bond. Where water is required to be added the same shall be sprinkled from a water
tanker fitted with sprinkler, uniformly on the surface but without flooding and shall
be mixed thoroughly in soil by harrowing until uniform moisture content is obtained
throughout the depth of the layer. If the material delivered to the roadbed is too wet,
it shall be dried by aeration and exposure to the sun till the moisture content is
accepted for compaction. At the time of compaction the moisture content should be
in the range of +/- ½ of OMC.
 The compaction shall be done with the help of Vibratory Roller of 8 – 10 Tonne static
weight. Compaction trial shall be carried out on a suitable stretch to determine the
no. of passes required for particular type of soil, dumped for embankment, to achieve
densities specified in the table 300-2 of the Technical specification. Based on the trial
actual compaction will be carried out with required no. of passes of Soil Compactor
until the specified density is achieved. Rolling shall progress parallel to the center
line of the road uniformly overlapping each preceding track by one-third width.
Rolling shall be continued till the specified density is achieved as per table 300-2. In
case specific compaction is not achieved the material in the soft area shall be
removed and replaced with approved material. Densities shall be tested by sand
replacement method / nuclear density gauge.

 Subsequent layers shall be placed only after the finished layer has been tested as per
the clause 903.2.2 and accepted. The top levels of the embankment shall be checked
with reference to the longitudinal and cross profile of the road as per drawing to keep
the variation within tolerance limit as per table 900-1.
 Different layers of embankment will be marked on pillars fixed outside the toe-line.

7.0 Quality Control:

Minimum compaction for embankment layers is 95% of modified proctor value.

8.0 Work Safety:

8.1 During construction of widening works, adequate safety and traffic signs shall be
installed adjacent to the road shoulders to protect the ongoing works as per location
specific safety plan.

8.2 For locations where the dumping of embankment materials by tippers are
performed from the road shoulder, a minimum of 2 flagmen with reflective vests and
holding a red flag each be deployed to control the traffic which may be affected by
the unloading operation.

8.3 All locations adjacent to existing road where embankment construction is in

progress shall be provided with safety and road signs.

8.4 No machines or equipment’s shall be permitted to remain on the existing road or

shoulder unattended at all times unless it is properly protected and secured in a safe
manner.

8.5 The Safety Officer shall make frequent patrols along the highway to ensure that
the safety equipment and signs are operational at all time.

8.9 Trucks sometimes fall over a tip head because the driver backs over the edge or
the edge collapses under the weight of the truck. A protective berm or timber baulk
should be used. Alternatively, a signalman should be deployed in order to avoid this
possibility.

8.10 When excavating trenches, place the excavated material at least 600 mm clear
of the edge, where there is no danger of it falling back into or collapsing the side of
the trench.

9.Environmental Safety:

a.Nearby streams, water courses, lakes, reservoir shall be protected from

contamination by the soil erosion from areas exposed during excavation by
constructing temporary berms, dykes, sediment Basins, slopes, drains & by the use of
temporary mulches, seeding or other control devices.

b.Vehicles tracks shall be kept moist to prevent flying of dust particles with the
vehicle movement.

Frequency as per
Serial No. Embarkment Reference code MoRT&H
1.1 Sand Content/Gradation test IS:2720(Part 4) 2 Tests/3000 m3
1.2 Atterberg’s limits IS:2720(Part 5) 2 Tests/3000 m3
1.3 Modified Protor Test IS:2720(Part 8) 2 Tests/3000 m3
1.4 Moisure Content IS:2720(Part 2) 2 Tests/3000 m3
1.5 Density of compacted Layer IS:2720(Part 28) 10 Tests/3000 m3
DETERMINATION OF DRY DENSITY OF
SOILS IN PLACE (SAND
REPLACEMENT METHOD)

Soil compaction is a artificial method in which expulsion of air from soil is done by
mechanical means thereby increasing the density of soil In construction.
It is important to know and control the soil density during compaction process. To
determine the proper soil compaction of embankment or subgrade in highway
project, several methods were developed. The most prominent method is Sand
Replacement method to check the relative density at site. In this article,we will
discuss in detail “how to perform sand replacement test at site”.

STANDARD USED

IS: 2720 (Part 28) 1974.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the in place dry density of natural or compacted fine and medium
grained soils by sand replacement method.

APPARATUS

a. Small sand pouring cylinder for depth up to 150 mm.

b. Large sand pouring cylinder for depth more than 150 mm and not exceeding
250 mm.
 c. Tools for excavating holes such as a scraper tool for leveling the surface, bent
spoon or dibber for digging holes.
d. Cylindrical calibrating container with material diameter of 100 mm and an
internal depth of 150 mm.
e. Balance of capacity 15 kg and sensitivity 1 gram.
f. A glass plate of about 600 mm square area and at least 10 mm or more thicker.
g. Metal containers.
h. Metal tray having area 300 mm square, 40 mm deep with a 100 mm hole in
the center of the tray.
i. 1 mm and 600 microns IS sieves.
j. Clean, uniformly graded natural sand passing 1 mm sieve and retained on 600
microns sieve.

PROCEDURE

Calibration of Sand Pouring Cylinder

1. Clean and dry, sand passing 1 mm sieve and retained on 600 microns sieve
approximately 5 to 6 kg for small pouring cylinder and 23 to 24 kg of sand for
large pouring cylinder.
2. Remove the cap of the pouring cylinder.
3. Weigh the empty pouring cylinder (W).
4. Close the shutter of the cone.
5. Fill the sand in to the pouring cylinder about 10 mm below from the top.
6. Determine the net weight of sand in the cylinder (W1).
7. Now place the pouring cylinder on a clean plane surface, open the shutter and
allow the sand to flow in to the cone.
8. Close the shutter when the flow stops.
9. Carefully collect and weigh (W2) the sand discharged from the pouring
cylinder.
10. Refill the pouring cylinder with sand such that the initial weight is W1.
11. Place the pouring cylinder on the top of the calibration cylinder concentrically.
12. Open the shutter and allow the sand to flow in to the calibrating cylinder.
13. Close the shutter when the flow stops or no further movement of sand takes
place in the cylinder.
14. Determine the weight (W3) of the pouring cylinder.
15. Repeat the above procedure for at least three times and determine the mean
values of W2 and W3.
16. Determine the volume (V) of the calibrating cylinder either by measuring the
dimensions
17. (Diameter and height) or by filling with water until the brim.

CALCULATIONS

Weight of sand (WS) in the calibration container up to level top

WS =( W1 – W3 – W2) in grams
Volume of calibrating container = V in cc

𝑊𝑠
𝐵𝑢𝑙𝑘 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑(𝛾𝑠 ) = 𝑔𝑚/𝑐𝑐
𝑉

DETERMINATION OF SOIL DENSITY

1. Prepare a flat approximately 450 mm square area with the aid of a scraper
tool.
2. Place the metal tray just above the central hole on the prepared surface of the
soil to be tested.
3. Excavate the hole in the soil with a chisel & hammer using the hole in the tray
as a pattern to the depth of the layer to be tested.
4. Carefully collect the excavated soil from the hole and weigh (Ww).
5. Determine the water content (ω) of the excavated soil as per IS: 2720 (Part 2)
1973.
6. Fill the pouring cylinder to the constant weight (W1) i.e. weight equal to the
initial weight during calibration.
7. Remove the metal tray before the pouring cylinder is placed in position over
the excavated hole.
8. Place the cylinder such that the base of the cylinder covers the hole
concentrically.
9. Open the shutter and allow the sand to run out in to the hole.
10. Close the shutter of the pouring cylinder when no further movement of sand
takes place in the cylinder.
11. Remove the cylinder and determine the net weight of sand (W4).

CALCULATIONS
 REPORT

 Report the bulk density and dry density of soil to the nearest second decimal.

PRECAUTIONS

a. Care shall be taken to see that the test sand used is clean, dry and uniformly
graded.
b. Care shall be taken in excavating the hole to see that the hole is not
enlarged against the side of the hole, as this will result in lower densities.
c. Care shall be taken to see that the same initial weight of sand is taken during
calibration and during density measurement in the field.