Estimating Construction Costs suited for lifting materials vertically from one location to another, such as depositing material in hoppers and overhead bins. The vertical movement capa- bility can be relatively large when clamshells are used with long crane booms. A clamshell is not effective in loosening solid earth, such as compacted earth, clay, and other solid materials. The bucket is lowered into the material to be handled with the jaws open. Its weight will cause the bucket to sink into the material as the jaws are closed. Then it is lifted vertically, swung to the emptying position, over a truck or to spoil, and the jaws are opened to permit the load to flow out. The clamshell oper- ator controls all these operations. The size of the clamshell is indicated by the size of the bucket, expressed in cubic yards. Manufacturers supply buckets either with removable teeth or with- out teeth. Teeth are used in digging the harder types of materials, but are not required when a bucket is used for handling purposes. The output of the clamshell is affected hy the looseness of the materials being handled, type of material, height of lift, angle of swing, method of dis- posing of the materials, and skill of the operator. Because of the variable factors that affect the operations of a clamshell, it is difficult to give dependable pro- duction rates. For example, if the material must be discharged into a hopper, the time required to spot the bucket over the hopper and to discharge the load will be much greater than when the material is discharged freely onto a large stock- pile. The values given in Table 7.10 are approximate outputs of clamshells of different sizes for various angles of swing. To accurately estimate the produc- tion rate of a clamshell, a cycle time should be determined based on job condi- tions and operating specifications for the equipment. Manufacturers provide operating specifications, such as speed of the hoist line and swing speed. TABLE 7.10 | Approximate output of clamshells, cy/hr. ‘sot ‘aback Type of material bucket, swing, Light ‘Sand Crushed ey deg. loam gravel stone 45 3 56 49 90 53 48 42 180 at 37 32 45 ai 73 63 90 68 6 53 180 54 48 42 45 134 120 104 90 102 88 180 87 78 68 EXCAVATING WITH HYDRAULIC EXCAVATORS There are two basic types of hydraulic excavators, depending on their type of digging action. Hydraulic excavators that have their digging action in an upwardsuch as ressed in or with- tare not naterials lof d e factors ble pro- sper, the oad will e stocl shells of produc- b condi- provide 1. type of upward Chapter 7 Earthwork and Excavation direction are called front shovels, or simply shovels. Hydraulic excavators that have their digging action in a downward direction are called by several names, such as hoe, backhoe, or trackhoe. FRONT SHOVELS Front shovels maneuver on tracks, similar to bulldozers, because they are used mostly in pit excavations of rock quarries (Fig. 7.4). When operating on rock, a track has a longer life than rubber tires. Shovels are used mostly for pit excava- tion where the bucket load is obtained from the vertical face of the excavation pit above and in front of the excavator. The excavated material is loaded into trucks and hauled to another location. Shovels are excavating machines that can handle all classes of earth without prior loosening; but in excavating solid rock it is necessary to loosen the rock first, usually by drilling holes and discharging explosives in them. The exc vated material is loaded into trucks or tractor-pulled wagons, which haul it to final destination. For the shovel to maintain its maximum output, sufficient haul- ing units must be provided. Inestimating the output of a shovel, itis necessary to know the class of earth to be excavated, the height of cut, the ease with which hauling equipment can approach the shovel, the angle of swing from digging to emptying the bucket, and the FIGURE. 7.4 | Hydraulic excavator with front shovel pila IneEstimating Construction Costs The size of a shovel is designated by the size of the bucket, expressed in cubic yards, loose measure. A bucket can be rated as struck capacity or heaped capacity. The struck capacity is the volume in the bucket when it is filled even with, but not above, the sides. The heaped capacity is the volume that a bucket will hold when the earth is piled above the sides. The heaped capacity will depend on the depth of earth above the sides and the base area of the bucket. Depending on the type of material, the heaped slope will vary 1:1 or 2:1 above the sides of the bucket. Equipment manufacturers publish fill factors, which are percentages that can be multiplied by the heaped capacity to obtain the average payload of the bucket. Table 7.11 provides fill factors for shovels. The actual capacity of a bucket should be determined by measuring the volume of earth in several representative loads, then using the average of these values. TABLE 7.11 | Fill factors for front shovel buckets. Fill factor of bucket, Material % of heaped capacity Bank clay earth 100-110 Rock-earth mixture 105-115 Rock—poory biasted 5-100 Rockwell blasted 100-110 Shale: sandstone 85-100 Source: Caterpilar. nc There are four elements in the production cycle of a shovel: load bucket, swing with load, dump load, and return swing. Adding the time of these ele- ‘ments provides the cycle time of the shovel. The production rate can then be determined by dividing the bucket capacity by the cycle time. The best method for determining cycle times is to develop historical data for a particular type of machine and job conditions. Table 7.12 provides the range of element times for shovels with bucket sizes ranging from 3 to 5 cy. A 30- to 45-min productive hour should be applied to these values. TABLE 7.12 | Time for elements in a shovel production cycle. 1. Load bucket 79 2. Swing loaded 46 3, Dump load 24 4. Swing empty 45 ‘Note: These vais are for ehovle wih 3-1 Sy bucket. The production of a shovel should be expressed in cubic yards per hour, based on a bank measure volume. The capacity of a bucket is based on its heaped volume, loose measure. To obtain the bank measure volume of a bucket, thecha 7 Earthwork and Excavation average loose volume should be divided by (1 + S,/100), reference Eq. [7.1] Forexample, if a 3-cy bucket (loose measure) is used to excavate material whose swell is 25 percent, then the average loose volume can be calculated as (2.0 cyV(1 + 0.25) = 1.8 cy, bank measure. If the shovel can make 2.5 cycles/min, the output will be 2.5 cycles/min X 1.8 cy/cycle = 4.5 cy/min, bank measure, which is equivalent to 270 ey/hr. When hard earth is dug, the output will be less than for soft earth. If the face against which the shovel is digging is too shallow, it will not be possible for the shovel to fill the bucket in a single cut, which will reduce the output. If the face istoo deep, the bucket will be filled before it reaches the top of the face, which vill necessitate emptying the bucket and returning to a partial face cut operation. Asthe angle of swing for the dipper from the digging to dumping is increased, the time required for a cycle will be increased, which will reduce the output of the shovel. The optimum height of cut for a shovel is that depth at which the bucket comes to the surface of the ground with a full load without overcrowding or undercrowding the bucket. The optimum depth varies with the class of soil and the size of the bucket. The optimum height of cut ranges from 30 to 50 percent of the maximum digging height. The lower percentage applies to material that can be loaded easily, such as loam, sand, or gravel. A 40 percent would be more upplicable to common earth, whereas a 50 percent would likely apply to sticky clay or blasted rock. Table 7.13 gives factors that correct outputs for percentage optimum heights of cut and angles of swing. TABLE 7.13 | Conversion factors for depth of cut and angle of swing for a power shovel Se Angle of swing ‘optimum depth 60 75* —90" 120" =—«150" «180° 40 093 0898S 08DT2) OSD 60 110 -108« «086-081 Bt 73066 80 eee RS ee Ce ae 100 120116 «1.07, 1008879 120 120 111 «103-097-086 O77 ~~ O.70 140 112 10 «= 087091 8t 078066 160 103 096 =«080 «(085 = a78 =e? 62 Souce: Power Crane and Shovel Associaton. Estimate the probable output of a 4-cy shovel for excavating common earth. For this shovel, the maximum digging height is 34 ft. The average face of cut is 15 ft. Assume a 120° angle of swing for the shovel to load the haul units. Assume an effec- tive 35-min hour for the excavation operation. EeEstimating Construction Costs Cycle time: From Table 7.12, using median values Load bucket 8 sec ‘Swing with load = 5 sec Dump bucket 3sec Return swing 4 sec Total time = 20 sec/oyole Cycles per min = (cycle/20 sec) x (60 sec/min) = 3 cyclesimin Production rate: Bucket fill factor for common earth from Table 7.11 = 105% ‘Average bucket payload, 4.0 cy x 105% = 4.2 cy Ideal production rate = (4.2 oy/eycle) x (3 cycles/min) = 12.6 cy/min Optimum height of cut = 40% x 34 ft = 13.6 ft ‘Average height of cut = 15 ft Percent optimum height of cut = 15.0/13.6 = 1.10, or 110% Adjustment for 110% optimum depth of cut and 120% angle of swing From Table 7.13, adjustment factor = 0.87 Probable output = 12.6 cy/min x 0.87 35 min/hr = 384 cy/hr, loose measure ‘Assume @ 25% swell factor for common earth Probable produetion rate = (384 cy/hr)/(1 + 0.25) = 307 cyfhr bank measure This production rate can be achieved only if a sufficient number of trucks is available to haul the excavated earth away from the shovel. If no truck is available to be loaded, the shovel will remain idle, which will reduce the production rate of the shovel. To estimate the total cost of excavating a given job, it is necessary to deter- mine the cost of transporting the shovel to and from the job, and the labor cost of setting up the shovel for operation and the cost of removing the shovel at the end of the job. These costs are in addition to the equipment and labor costs of excavating the material during construction. A foreman usually supervises the excavating and hauling. A portion of his or her salary should be charged to exca- vation HAULING EXCAVATED MATERIALS Trucks are used to haul the material excavated by shovels. The capacity of the hauling unit can be expressed in tons or cubic yards. The latter capacity can bejeasure trucks is available te of the. to exca- / of the can be Chapter 7 Earthwork and Excavation expressed as struck or heaped. The struck capacity is the volume that a unit will hold when it is filled even with, but not above, the sides. This volume depends onthe length, width, and depth of the unit. The heaped capacity is the volume thata unit will hold when the earth is piled above the sides. Although the struck capacity of a given unit is fixed, the heaped capacity will depend on the depth of the earth above the sides and on the area of the bed. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) specifies the heaped capacity based on a 1:1 slope of the earth above the sides. The actual capacity of a unit should be deter- mined by measuring the volume of earth in several representative loads, then using the average of these values. Units are available with capacities varying from 12 to 30 cy. Since shovel production rates are normally calculated in bank measure, it is desirable to express the loose volume of hauling trucks in bank measure. Equation [7.1] can be used for converting the loose measure to bank measure. For example, if a 15-cy truck is hauling ordinary earth that has a swell of 25 per- cent, the bank measure will be 15 cy/(1 + 0.25) = 12 cy. The size of the hauling units should be balanced against the bucket capacity of the shovel. For best results, considering output and economy, the capacity of hauling unit should be four to six times the bucket capacity. The volume that a truck can haul in a given time depends on the volume per load and the number of trips it can make in that time, The number of trips depends on the distance, speed, time at loading, time at the dump, and time required for servicing. Higher travel speeds are possible on good open highways than on streets with heavy traffic. For example, top speeds in excess of 65 mph may be possible on some paved highways, whereas speeds on crowded city streets may be not more than 10 to 15 mph. Delays can occur at loading, dump- ing, and servicing trucks. Therefore, the actual operating time may be only 45 or 50 min/hr. An appropriate multiplier should be applied in determining the num- ber of trips per unit of time. ‘Assume the shovel and job conditions given in Example 7.6 apply to a project that requires excavation and hauling of 58,640 cy, bank measure, of common earth. The production rate of the shovel was calculated as 307 cy/hr, bank measure. The earth willbe hauled 4 mi by 20-cy, loose measure, trucks at an average speed of 30 mph. The expected time at the dump is 4 min. The truck time waiting at the shovel to move into loading position will average 3 min. Assume a 45-min hour and calculate the total cost and cost per cubic yard based on using sufficient trucks to balance the production rate of the shovel Quantity of work: Volume of earth = 58,640 cy, bank measure Volume of truck = 20 cy (1 + 0.25) = 16 cy, bank measure SrnaEstimating Construction Costs Cycle time of trucks: Loading truck: 16 cy/307 ey/nr = 0.05 hr Traveling: 8 mi/30 mph 0.26 hr Dump time: 4 mir/60 minjhr = 0.07 hr Waiting to load: 3 min/60 min/hr = 0.05 hr Total cycle time = 0.43 hrftrip Production rate of trucks: Number of trips per hour: 1 trip/0.43 hr = 2.3 Number of trips per 45-min hour: 2.3 hr x (45/60) = 1.7 trips/hr Volume hauled per trip: 1.7 tripsihr x 16 cy/trip = 27.2 cy/hr Time: Number of trucks required: 307 oy/hr/27.2 cy/hr = 11.3 trucks required Use 12 trucks, therefore there will be more trucks than required The shovel at 307 cy/hr will govern the excavation production rate. Time = 58,640 cy/307cy/hr = 191 hr Cost: Equipment excavating and hauling: Shovel: 191 hr @ $135.00/nr $25,785.00 Trucks: 191 hr x 12 trucks @ $55.00/hr 126,080.00 Labor excavating and hauling earth: Shovel operator: 191 hr @ $21.67/hr 4,138.97 Truck drivers: 191 hr x 12 drivers @ $18.17/hr = 41,645.64 Laborers: 191 hr x 2 laborers @ $15.56/hr 5,943.92 Foreman: 191 hr @ $25.00/hr 4,775.00 Labor setting up and dismantling shovel: Shovel operator: 16 hr @ $21.67/hr 346.72 Laborers: 16 hr x 2 laborers @ $15.56/hr 497.92 Foreman: 16 hr @ $25.00/hr 400.00 Transporting shovel to and from job $2,850.00 Total cost = $212,443.17 Cost per cubic yard = $212,443.17/58,640 cy = $3.62/cy bank measure BACKHOES Backhoes are used to excavate below the natural surface, such as trenches, base- ments, and general excavation that requires precise control of depths (Fig. 7.5). ‘A backhoe may be a wheel type or track type. Track-type backhoes are com- monly called trackhoes. Backhoes have become one of the most widely used types of excavating equipment. Because of their rigidity, they are superior to draglines for loadingChapter 7 Earthwork and Excavation FIGURE 7.5 | Hydraulic & Sauce: Catepilar ne vator with back shovel into dump trucks. Due to their direct pull of the bucket, they can exert greater tooth pressure than shovels. For some job conditions, they are superior to trench- ing machines, especially for digging utility trenches whose banks are permitted fo establish natural slopes and for which trench shoring will not be used. Backhoes can remove the earth as it caves in to establish natural slopes, whereas trenching machines cannot do this easily The production rate depends on the bucket payload, average cycle time, and jb efficiency. If an estimator can predict the excavator cycle time and the bucket payload, the probable production rate for excavation can be determined. The cycle time will depend on the particular job conditions, such as the diffi- calty in loosening the soil, the angle of swing, the size of the truck that the back- hoe must load, and the skill of the operator. The estimator must use judgment and knowledge of actual job conditions to predict the cycle time for a particular job. Table 7.14 provides representative cycle time for backhoes under average ‘conditions. TABLE. 7.14 | Representative cycle times for backhoes.Erne Estimating Construction Costs The average bucket payload is equal to the heaped bucket capacity payleal multiplied by the bucket fill factor. The bucket fill factor will depend on the typ. of soil to be excavated. Table 7.15 provides representative values of the bucket fill factor for backhoes. TABLE 7.15 | Fill factors for backhoe buckets. Fill factor of bucket, Material % of heaped capacity Moist loam or sandy clay 100-110 Sand and gravel 95-100 Hard, tough clay 80-90 Rock, well blasted 60-75 Rock, poorly blasted 40-50 Source: Catepiliar. ne. Estimate the probable output of a 2-cy backhoe for excavation of hard, tough clay, Assume a swell of 30 percent and a 45-min. hour for the backhoe. Cycle time: From Table 7.14, Load bucket ‘Swing loaded = Dump bucket Return swing Total tim 6 sec 3 sec 3 sec 4 sec 16 secieycle Cycles per min = (cycle/16 sec) x (60 sec/min) = 3.75 cyclesimin Production rate: Bucket fill factor for hard, tough clay from Table 7.15 = 85% Average bucket payload, 2.0 cy x 85% = 1.7 cy Ideal production rate = (3.75 cy/cycle) x (1.7 cyclesimin) = 6.4 cy/min For 45-min hour = 6.4 cy/min x 45 min/hr = 288 cy/hr loose measure For bank measure, (288 oy/hr)/(1 + 0.30) = 222 oyfhr bank measure Table 7.16 provides representative ranges of production rates for excavating with backhoes. The information contained in this table is based on loose measure and a 60-min hour, or 100 percent efficiency. The estimator should apply a job efficiency factor to the factors shown in the table based on personal judgment or knowledge of actual job conditions. The upper limit corresponds to the fastest practical cycle time: easy digging earth, low angles of swing, and no obstructions ‘The lower limit corresponds to the toughest digging, deep depths, large angles of swing, loading into small trucks, and obstructions in the work area,Chapter 7 Earthwork and Excavation 141 ‘load type acket Bucket payload, Output of backhoe, cy loose measure cyhhr loose measure 3 75-135 i 90-202 120-270 150-300 154-260 180-420 205-420 231-472 TABLE 7.16 | Probable output of backhoes. Source: Caterpillar, no EXCAVATING AND HAULING EARTH WITH SCRAPERS Scrapers are used to excavate and haul earth for highways, airports, dams, canals, and levees. Since these units perform both excavating and hauling oper- ations, they are independent of the operations of other equipment. If one of sev- eral units breaks down, the rest of the units can continue to operate, whereas if ashovel or backhoe breaks down, the entire project must stop until the shovel is, repaired. Scrapers are versatile because they load, haul, and dump loose material. They cannot load as productively as a shovel or backhoe and they cannot haul as productively as trucks. However, for off-highway projects with haul distances of less than a mile, the ability of scrapers to both load and haul gives them an advantage. Also, the ability of these machines to deposit their loads in layers of uniform thickness facilitates compaction operations. Scrapers are classified by their method of loading: push-loaded, push-pull, and self-loading. The push-loaded scraper uses a crawler-tractor to push the scraper to assist the loading (Fig. 7.6). A push-pull scraper allows two scrapers to assist one another during loading by hooking them together. The trailing scraper pushes the lead scraper as it loads. Then, the lead scraper pulls the trail- ing scraper to assist it in loading. This feature allows two scrapers to work with- out assistance from a push tractor. A self-loading scraper is sometimes an ele- vavating vating scraper, which is completely self-contained loading. A chain elevator measure serves as the loading mechanism. Most scrapers are powered by a diesel engine ‘ly a job ona single drive axle. Models are available with tandem powered axles with engines, one at the front and one at the back of the scraper (Fig. 7.7) ‘The volume of a scraper may be specified as either the struck or heaped nuctions. capacity of the bowl, expressed in cubic yards. The struck capacity is the volume angles of that a scraper would hold if the top of the material were struck off level at the top of the bowl. For the heaped capacity, a 1:1 slope is commonly used for the side slope above the sides of the bowl. For example, a scraper might be designated as n clay. gment or e fastest