Chapter 4

Heavy Construction Equipment and
Machinery
Bahir Dar University

MSc in Construction Technology and Management
TADESSE AYALEW (PhD)

Assistant Professor, AAU
December 2020
1
O4 Types of Construction Equipment
Construction Equipment Earthwork Equipments
and Plants
Hauling and Hoisting Equipments
Concreting Equipment and Construction

Plants
O5 Planning and Scheduling
The Management of Construction Equipment
Construction Equipment The Buy, Lease, or Rent Decision
Construction Equipments
Maintenance Management
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Content
O4 Types of Construction Equipment
Construction Equipment
and Plants Earthwork Equipments
Hauling and Hoisting Equipments
Construction Plants
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4.Construction Equipment
4.1 Introduction
 It is a common fact to find a wide variety of construction
machines on every construction sites, which make the

construction jobs easy, safe and quicker.
 Equipment are used for highway projects, irrigation, buildings,
power projects etc. In construction 15-30% of total project cost

has been accounted towards equipment and machinery.
 The selection of appropriate type and size of construction
equipment for specific use often affects the required amount of

time and effort and thus the job-site productivity of a project.
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4.Construction Equipment
4.3 Classification of Construction Equipment
 Depending on the application, construction machines are classified

into various categories;
 Earth-moving equipment
 Earth-compacting equipment
 Hauling equipment
 Hoisting equipment
 Conveying equipment
 Aggregate production equipment
 Equipment's used in Concrete Construction.
 Pile-driving equipment
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6
7
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4.3.1 EARTH-MOVING EQUIPMENTS
4.3.1.1 Excavators
Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, stick, bucket and
cab on a rotating platform (known as the "house"). The house sits atop an
undercarriage with tracks or wheels.
Excavators are used in many ways:

 Digging of trenches, holes, foundations
 Material handling
 Brush cutting with hydraulic attachments
 Demolition
 General grading/landscaping
 Heavy lift, e.g. lifting and placing of pipes
 Mining, especially, but not only open-pit mining
 River dredging
 Driving piles, in conjunction with a pile drive
9
4.3.1.2 Back hoe
 A backhoe, also called a rear actor or back
actor, is a piece of excavating equipment or

digger consisting of a digging bucket on the end
of a two-part articulated arm. They are typically
mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader.
 Backhoes are mainly used to clean up construction
areas, to dig holes in the ground, to smooth

uneven ground, to make trenches, ditches and to
help remove deep roots from trees.
 It is used to excavate below the natural surface on
which it rests. Generally used to excavate

trenches, pits for basements and also for grading
works, which requires precise control of depths.
10
4.3.1.3 Front shovel
A front shovel (also stripping shovel or power shovel or electric mining shovel or
Dipper Shovel's power shovel) is a bucket-equipped machine, usually electrically
powered, used for digging and loading earth or fragmented rock and for mineral
extraction.
 They are mounted on crawler tracks.
 It is used to excavate earth of all classes except hard

rock and load it into wagons.
 Basics parts of power shovel including the track

system, cabin, cables, rack, stick, boom foot-pin,
saddle block, boom, boom point sheaves and bucket.
 Power shovels are used principally for excavation and
removal of overburden in open-cut mining
operations, though it may include loading of minerals,
11 such as coal.
4.3.1.4 Dragline
 They are used to excavate soft earth from below
ground and to deposit or to load in wagons. They are
suitable for bulk excavation below its track level in
loose soils, marshy land and areas containing water.
 Unlike the shovel, it has a long light crane boom and
the bucket is loosely attached to the boom through
cables.
 Because of this construction, a dragline can dig and
dump over larger distances than a shovel can do.
 Drag lines are useful for digging below its track level
and handling softer materials.
 The basic parts of a drag line including the boom,
hoist cable, drag cable, hoist chain, drag chain and
bucket.
12
4.3.1.5 Clamshell
 It consists of a hydraulically controlled bucket suspended
from a lifting arm. It is mainly used for deep confined
cutting in pits and trenches.
 It is having bucket of two halves which are hinged together

at top. It is used to excavate soft to medium materials and
loose materials.
 This is so named due to resemblance of its bucket to a clam

which is like a shell-fish with hinged double shell.
 The front end is essentially a crane boom with a specially

designed bucket loosely attached at the end through cables
as in a drag line.
 The capacity of a clam shell bucket is usually given in cubic

meters.
 The basic parts of clam shell bucket are the closing line,
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hoist line, sheaves, brackets, tagline, shell and hinge.
Comparison between different types of equipment
Sr.no. Items of comparison Power shovel Back hoe Drag Clam shell
line
1 Excavation in hard soil or Good Good Not Poor
rock good
2 Excavation in wet soil or mud Poor Poor Modera Moderately good

tely
good
3 Distance between footing and Small Small Long Long
digging
4 Loading efficiency Very good Good Modera Precise but slow

tely
good
5 Footing required Close to work Close to pit Fairly Fairly away from
away pit
from
pit
6 Digging level Digs at or above Digs below Digs Digs at or below
footing level footing level below footing level
footing
level
7 Cycle time Short Shortly more than More More than the
power shovel than other equipment
power
shovel
14
4.3.1.6 Bulldozer
 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, or other such material during
construction or conversion work and typically
equipped at the rear with a claw-like device (known
as a ripper) to loosen densely-compacted materials.
 They are used for moving earth up to a distance of
about 100m and act as a towing tractor and pusher

to scraper machines. They can be track-mounted or
wheel-mounted.
 The heavy blade attached to the tractor pushes the
material from one place to another.

15
4.3.1.7 Scraper
 It is a device to scrap the ground & load it
simultaneously, transport it over required

distance. It can dig, load, haul and discharge the
material in uniformly thick layers.
 The scraper can transport its load to the fill area
where the blade is raised, the back panel of the

hopper, or the ejector, is hydraulically pushed
forward and the load tumbles out. Then the
empty scraper returns to the cut site and repeats
the cycle.
 They are used for site levelling, loading, hauling
over distances varying between 150m-900m.

They may be towed, two-axle or three-axle type.
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4.3.1.8 Grader
 A grader, also commonly referred to as a road
grader, a blade, a maintainer, or a motor grader,
is a construction machine with a long blade used to
create a flat surface.
 In civil engineering, the grader's purpose is to "finish

grade" (refine, set precisely) the "rough grading"
performed by heavy equipment or engineering vehicles
such as scrapers and bulldozers.
 Graders are commonly used in the construction and

maintenance of roads. In the construction of paved roads
they are used to prepare the base course to create a wide
flat surface for the asphalt to be placed on.
 It is self propelled or towed machine motor grader, Used

for light or medium works. It shapes the ground and
17 spreads the loose material..

4.3.1.9 Loader
 A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in
construction, primarily used to lift material (such as
asphalt, demolition debris, dirt, snow, feed, gravel, logs,
raw minerals, recycled material, rock, sand, and
woodchips) into or onto another type of machinery (such
as a dump truck, conveyor belt, feed-hopper, or railcar).
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4.3.1.10 Trenching Machine
 Trenchers, or ditchers as they are sometimes
called, are similar to excavators in the sense that

they penetrate the earth, breaking soil and rock,
and remove it from the ground. They differ
from excavators in that the soil is removed in
one continuous movement. Trenchers are
specifically used for digging trenches for pipes,
but other machines have been improvised in the
past to serve this purpose.
 Trenchers can come in two types: ladder
trenchers and wheel trenchers, and can dig

trenches at speeds that other machines cannot
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compare to.
4.3.1.11 Tractor
 Multi-purpose machines used mainly for
pulling and pushing the other equipment.
 Tractors may be classified as
 Crawler type tractor- Used to move bull
dozers, scrapers. The crawler has a chain by

which these tractors can be very effective
even in the case of loose or muddy soils.
 Wheel type tractor- The engine is
mounted on four wheels. The main

advantage is higher speed, that enables it to
be used for long-distance hauling and good
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roads.
4.3.1.12 PRODUCTION OF EARTH-MOVING EQUIPMENTS
 Once the equipment needs for an activity have been
identified, the next step is to conduct an equipment

productivity analysis to select the optimum size.
 The objective is to determine the number of units and the size
of equipment that would permit the contractor to accomplish

the activity with a duration resulting in the lowest cost
possible.
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4.3.1.12 PRODUCTION OF EARTH-MOVING EQUIPMENTS (Cont…)
 The basic relationship for estimating

 The term volume per cycle
production for all earthmoving
equipment is; represents the average volume of
material moved per equipment
cycle. Thus the nominal capacity
of the equipment such as
excavator or haul unit should be
modified with appropriate fill
factor based on the type of
materials and equipments to be
involved
Equipment Travel Time
Before discussing the productivity of Loader , Dozer and Hauling Equipment
lets see how we can determine the effective grade resistance which affects the
speed of the equipment that in turn has an impact on the Variable time
Component of the cycle time

Equipment Travel Time (Cont…)
Example 4.1
Productivity of an equipment
 Productivity of an equipment can be classified as peak or
theoretical and actual;

 Peak Productivity is the theoretical productivity governed by
design limitations only.

 Actual Productivity on the other hand is the productivity of an
equipment after due consideration of the differently influencing

factors
• Equation 4.1
Productivity of an equipment (Cont…)
 From productivity concept equipments can be broadly classified
into two;
 Cyclic Operating or
 Continuously Operating
A. Cyclic Operating Equipments

 These are machines which are intentionally or unintentionally
influenced by their operators. The theoretical productivity can be

computed from;
Equation 4.2
B. Continuously Operating Equipments

 These are machines that continuously operate, like pumps, conveyer
belts, etc. For these kinds of machines:

A) Productivity of Shovel Family and
Excavators
 The actual productivity of the shovel family is dependent on the actual
volume per cycle and the cycle time. Thus, to compute the actual
productivity one should be able to make a good estimate of the actual
bucket capacity (which depends on the soil characteristics) and the
cycle time.
 The actual productivity of these equipments can be estimated from the
following expression;
Equation 4.3
A) Productivity of Shovel Family and Excavators (Cont…)
 To utilize Equation 4 ‐ 3 for estimating the production of shovel family

or an excavator, it is necessary to know the volume of material actually
contained in one bucket load. The methods by which excavator bucket
and dozer are given in Table 4 – 1.
Table 4.1, bucket capacity rating methods for various types of excavating and loading
equipments
Heaped volume is the maximum volume that
Cont… can be placed in the bucket without spillage
based on a specified angle of repose for the
material in the bucket. (based on a 2:1 slope
above hauler bodies)
Struck capacity is the bucket capacity
when the load is struck off flush with
the bucket sides (Material measured
straight across the top of the body)
 Plate line or Water line capacity assumes a level of

material flush with the lowest edge of the bucket
 A better estimate of the volume of material in one bucket load will be
obtained by multiplying the nominal bucket volume with a bucket fill factor or
bucket efficiency factor.
 Suggested values of bucket fill factor for common soils are given in Table 2-2.
 The most accurate estimate of bucket load is obtained by multiplying the
heaped bucket volume (loose measure) by the bucket fill factor.

If desired, the bucket load may be converted to bank volume by

multiplying its loose volume by the soil’s load factor. This procedure is
illustrated with the following examples,
A.1) Productivity of Excavator
 Production of a hydraulic excavator then can be estimated by using
Equation 4 ‐ 5 together with Tables 4.2 through 4.5 which have been
prepared from manufacturers’ data,
Equation 4.5
Example 4.2
Find the expected production in loose cubic meter (LCM) per hour
of a small hydraulic excavator, If it its heaped bucket capacity is 0.57
m3. The material is sand and gravel with a bucket fill factor of 0.95.
Job efficiency is 50 min/h. Average depth of cut is 4.3m. Maximum
depth of cut is 6.1m and average swing is 90 degree.
Solution
PRODUCTIVITY OF SHOVEL FAMILY
A. Productivity of Dragline
 Data are taken from “Liebher‟s Technical Hand Book Earth moving
Product line”.
Drag Line Production = Dragline Capacity (m3) x C x f
Where, C = Theoretical Cycles/hr = 120 Cycles/hr
f = Correcting factor
= f1 x f2 x f3 x f4 x f5 x f6 x f7
f2 – Digging factor
Boom Length (m) 12 18 24 30
Digging factor,f2 0.86 0.79 0.72 0.65
f3 – Hoist factor
Boom Length (m) 12 18 24 30
43 Hoist factor,f3 0.95 0.92 0.90 0.87
A. Productivity of Dragline (Cont.…)
f1 - Fill factor
Class Fill factor
1 Sand or fine gravel
a) Dry 1.1 to 1.2
b) Damp 1.0 to 1.1
c) Wet 0.9 to 0.8
2 Clay
a) Sandy clay, dry 0.95 to 1.0
b) Cohesive, dry 0.9 to 0.95
c) Very cohesive, hard 0.88 to 0.9
3 Earth with sand or gravel, dry 0.85 to 0.88

4 Top Soil
a) Sandy clay 0.82 to 0.85
b) Clay damp 0.80 to 0.82
5 Clay with sand or gravel, damp 0.75 to 0.80
6 Slatelike rock, gravel 0.72 to 0.75
7 Gravel with clay, hard 0.70 to 0.72
44 8 Clay with large size gravel, damp 0.68 to 0.70

f4 – Swing factor (Simultaneous swing and hoist)

Angle of Swing (deg) 90° 120° 180°
Swing factor, f4 0.98 0.95 0.91
f5 – Loading factor
Method of dumping Truck Hopper Stock pile
Loading factor, f5 0.96 0.95 1.0
f6 – Job efficiency factor

Actual working time 60 min/hr 50 min/hr 40 min/hr
Job efficiency factor, f6 1.0 0.83 0.67
f7 – Operator factor
Operator Experienced Average Beginner
Operator factor, f7 1.0 0.95 0.85
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Example 3
 An experienced operator has to excavate „wet gravel‟ with a dragline

capacity of 2.3 m3. The boom length is 18m and the swing angle will be
120 degrees. The material is dumped onto stockpile. Actual working
time is 50 min per hour.
Solution
Drag line production = Bucket capacity x C x f.
where C = theoretical cycles/hr = 120 cycles/hr
= 2.3 x 120 x f
where f = f1 x f2 x f3 x f4 x f5 x f6 x f7 = 0.8x0.79x0.92x0.95x1.0x0.83x1.0
= 0.4588
Therefore, Drag line production = 2.3x120x0.4588
= 126.4 m3/hr
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B. Productivity of Clamshell
 Data are taken from “Liebher‟s Technical Hand Book Earth moving
Product line”.
Clamshell Production (m3/hr)= Clamshell Capacity (m3) x C x f
Where, C = Theoretical Cycles/hr = 120 Cycles/hr
f = Correcting factor
= f1 x f2 x f3 x f4 x f5 x f6 x f7
Correction factors
 f1 – Fill factor
 Same as those for dragline.
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f2 – Digging factor
Clamshell capacity (m3) 1 2 3 4 5
Digging factor, f2 = 0.98 0.97 0.96 0.96 0.95
f3 – Hoist factor (considering average rope speed of 50m/min)

Digging depth (m) 5 10 15 20
Hoist factor, f3 = 0.88 0.76 0.64 0.52
f4 – Swing factor
Swing Angle (deg) 60 90 120 180
Swing factor, f4= 1.2 1.0 0.98 0.90
f5 – Dump factor
Method of dumping Truck Hopper Stock pile
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Dump factor, f5 = 0.90 0.95 1.0
f6 – Job efficiency factor

Actual working time 60 min/hr 50 min/hr 40 min/hr
Job efficiency factor, f6 = 1.0 0.83 0.67
f7 – Operator factor
Operator Experienced Average Beginner
Operator factor, f7 = 1.0 0.95 0.85
Example 4
 An average operator has to excavate „damp sand‟ with a clamshell of
2.0 m3. The digging depth is 10m and the swing angle will be 120
degrees. The sand is added into trucks and actual working time is 50
min/hr.
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Solution
Clamshell production = Clamshell capacity x C x f.
where C = theoretical cycles/hr
= 2.0 x 120 x f
where, f = f1 x f2 x f3 x f4 x f5 x f6 x f7
= 1.0 x 0.97 x 0.76 x 0.98 x 0.9 x 0.83 x 0.95
= 0.5127
Therefore, Clamshell Production = 2.0x120x0.5127
= 123.0 m3/hr
50
A.2 Productivity of Loaders
 Loader production can be estimated as the product of average bucket
multiplied by cycles per hour (Equation 4 – 3).
 Basic cycle time for a loader includes the time required for loading,
dumping, making four reversals of direction, and travelling a minimum

distance (less than 5 m for track loaders).
 The important aspect is determining the actual travel time. Travel times
shall be determined from manufacturer’s performance curves.

Loader Basic Cycle and Travel Time
Example 4. 5
Estimate the hourly Production in loose Volume (LCM) of 2.68M3

of wheel loader excavating sand and gravel (Average Material) From
Pit and moving it to a stockpile. The average travel distance is 200ft
(61m), the effective grade is 6%, the average fill factor is 1 and Job
Efficiency is 50min/hr.
A.3 Productivity of Dozers
 The basic earth moving production equation (Equation 2 – 3) may be applied
in estimating dozer production.
 This method requires an estimate of the average blade load and the dozer
cycle time.
 There are several methods available for estimating average blade load,
including the blade manufacturer’s capacity rating, previous experience under

similar conditions, and actual measurement of several typical loads. Blade
volume can be computed by using the following equation:
Example 4.6
A power shit crawler tractor has a rated blade capacity of

7.65 Lm3. The dozer is excavating a loose common earth
and pushing it a distance of 80 m. Maximum reverse
speed in third range is 8 km/hr and dozing speed is 4.0
km/hr. The fixed time for a power shift transmission is
0.05 min. Estimate the production of the dozer if the job
efficiency is 55 min/hr and load factor is 0.90.
Solution
B) Productivity of Graders
 Grader production is usually calculated on a linear basis (kilometers
completed per hour) for a road way projects and on an area basis
(square meters per hour) for general construction projects. The time
required to complete a roadway may be estimated as follows
B) Productivity of Graders (Cont…)
 Average speed depends on the operator skill, machine characteristics,
and job condition. Typical grader speeds for various types of

operations are given in Table 2 – 7.
Example 4.7
A 25 km gravel load requires reshaping and leveling. It is estimated
that six passes of a motor grader will be required. Based on the
operator skill, machine characteristics, and job condition,
estimates indicated two passes at 7 km/hr, two passes at 8 km/hr
and two passes at 10 km/hr. If the job efficiency is 0.80, how
many grader hours will be required for this job?
Solution
4.3.2 EARTH COMPACTION EQUIPMENTS
4.3.2.1 General
Compactors are machines frequently used

to compact materials such as soil in order to
increase its density for construction.
1. In addition, compactors are utilized in
landfill tasks.
2. Common varieties are plate tampers (also
known as rammers)
3. Vibratory plates, compactors (also known
as tamping foot rollers) &
4. Vibratory pad foot compactors.
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5. These categories are further divided as
4.3.2.1 Smooth-wheel rollers
 These are most suitable for compacting gravels,

sand and such like materials. Examples are
Three wheeled or macadam rollers and tandem
rollers.
 Plain steel rollers
 Self-propelled type
 Weighing from 5 to 15 tonnes
 Used for ordinary rolling work where deep
compaction is not required
 These rollers may have one front and two rear
wheels.The rear wheels being usually larger in
diameter and the front one being winder.
 Weight of rollers may be increased by filling
water or sand ballast in hollow cylinder.
 These rollers are effective in compacting
64 granular soils, such as sand, gravel and crushed
stone.
4.3.2.2 Sheep-foot rollers
 It consist steel cylindrical drum with projection
extending radial direction outward from surface of

cylinder & may be propelled or towed by tractor. It is
suitable for silty & clay sand, medium and heavy clay.
These gives best result in compaction when the soil is
clay or predominantly cohesive and impervious.
 For compacting earth work in embankments and
canals (where compaction deep into the layer of the

earth is required)
 As roller moves over the surface, the feet penetrate
the soil to produce a kneading action and a pressure

65
to mix and compact the soil from bottom to top layer.
4.3.2.3 Pneumatic-tyred rollers
• It gives kneading action as well as compression to the soil underneath. It is suitable for
moderately cohesive silty, clayey, gravelly and sandy soils. More suitable for
compacting fine-grained soil and well graded sands.
 Major advantages are the ability to control the ground
contact pressure by:
 Altering the weights of machines,
 Increasing the number of wheels,
 Increasing the tyre width
 Changing the contact area of the tyre by altering
the contact pressure.
 As roller moves over the surface, the feet penetrate the
soil to produce a kneading action and a pressure to mix

and compact the soil from bottom to top layer.
66
4.3.2.4 Rollers Production Estimating
 The compaction equipment used on a project must have a production
capability matched to that of the excavation, hauling, and spreading
equipment.
 Usually, excavation or hauling capability will set the expected
maximum production for the job.
 The production formula for the compactor is:
Reading Assignment: How to determine the compacted area per

67 hour for a given area
Exercises
 A self-propelled tamping foot compactor will be used to

compact a fill being constructed of clay material. Field tests
have shown that the required density can be achieved with
four passes of the roller operating at an average speed of 1.5
mph. The compacted lift will have a thickness of 5in. The
compacting width of this machine is 7ft. One bcy equals 0.83
compacted cubic yards. The scraper production estimated for
the project is 510bcy per hour. How many rollers will be
required to maintain this production?
68
4.3.3 HAULING EQUIPMENTS
4.3.3.0 General
 The equipment used for transportation of
material are known as hauling equipment or

simply haulers.It transports the earth, aggregate,
rock, ore, coal and other materials.
 Road vehicles used for haulage on construction
work are two types.

 On Highway Vehicle-Design to be used on Public
Highways
 Off Highway Vehicle-Designed to be used

construction sites & designed and manufactured to
preclude there use on their use on public roads and
they may or may not comply highway limitation.
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4.3.3.1 Truck
 They have high mobility, good speed and
adoptability. The truck capacity varies from

0.4 Cum to 20 Cum & speed vary from
10kmph to30 kmph.
70
4.3.3.2 Dump Truck
 These are the trucks which are fitted with
automatic unloading devices. The loading is

normally done by loading shovels or loaders. The
trucks have capacity as high as 53 tones. These
trucks can be rear dump truck.
 These are heavy duty trucks with strongly built
body which is hinged on the truck chassis at the

rear end and one side respectively, and can be fitted
to the rear in the case of rear dump and to the
hinged side in case of the side dump, through the
action of hydraulic jacks.
 These trucks are suitable for use in hauling wet clay,
71 sand, gravel, quarry rocks etc.

4.3.3.3 Dumper
 A dumper is a vehicle designed for carrying bulk
material, often on building sites. Dumpers are

distinguished from dump trucks by configuration: a
dumper is usually an open 4-wheeled vehicle with
the load skip in front of the driver, while a dump
truck has its cab in front of the load.
 The skip can tip to dump the load; this is where the
name "dumper" comes from. They are normally

diesel powered. A towing eye is fitted for secondary
use as a site tractor. Modern dumpers have payloads
of up to 10 tones and usually steer by articulating at
the middle of the chassis.
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4.3.3.3 Tripper
 A truck or lorry the rear platform of which
can be raised at the front end to enable the

load to be discharged by gravity also called
tip truck.
 Tippers are suited for the rough and tumble
of mining & quarrying operations, as well as

for carrying bulk loads in construction and
infrastructure industries. Complete
maneuverability, high performance and long-
term endurance are common to all trucks,
resulting in lower operating costs.
73
4.3.3.3 Trailers
 A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle
pulled by a powered vehicle.
 Commonly, the term trailer refers to such
vehicles used for transport of goods and

materials.
74
Productivity of Haulers
 The productivity of a hauler unit can be computed by using

Equation 4 – 3. However since hauling units involve travel of
excavated materials; computing the travel time is the most
important step in computing the productivity of the hauler.
 Estimating Equipment Travel Time
In calculating the time required for a haul unit to make one
complete cycle, it is customary to break the cycle down into

fixed and variable components
Cycle time = Fixed time + Variable time Equation 4-8
 Fixed time represents those components of cycle time other than travel
time. It includes spot time (moving the unit position to begin loading),
load time and dump time.
 Fixed time can usually be closely estimated for a particular type of
operation from manufacturers guide
 Variable time represents the travel time required for a unit to haul material
to the unloading site and return. And it depends on the vehicle’s weight
and power, the condition of the haul road, the grades encountered, and the
altitude above sea level.
 In this section methods of calculating a vehicle’s resistance to movement,
its maximum speed, and travel time will be discussed.

Resistance
 To determine the maximum speed of a vehicle in a specific situation, it
is necessary to determine the total resistance to movement of the
vehicle.
 The resistance that a vehicle encounters in traveling over a surface is
made up of two components, rolling resistance and grade resistance.
Estimating Travel Time
Estimating Travel Time (Cont…)
 A second method for estimating travel time over a section of haul
route is to use the travel time curves provided by some

manufacturers.
 Separate travel‐time curves are prepared for loaded (rated payload)
and empty conditions, as shown in Figures 2 ‐ 12 and 2 ‐ 13. As you

see, travel time for a section of the haul route may be read directly
from the graph given section length and effective grade
Determining the number of haul units needed
 In operation of construction equipments balancing the excavator and
hauler will yield an efficient operation. The components of the hauler

cycle time are fixed time (spot, load, maneuver, and dump) and variable
time (haul and return).
 The fixed times can be estimated by using tables and the loading time
can be calculated using Equation 2 – 16 and 2 ‐ 17

Determining the number of haul units needed (Cont…)
 The reason for using an excavator loading rate based on 100 %
excavator efficiency in the above equation is that excavators have

been found to operate at or near 100 % efficiency when actually
loading.
 Thus the use of the 100 % efficiency loading rate is to provide an
adequate number of trucks so that the excavator will not have to

wait for a truck.
Determining the number of haul units needed (Cont…)
 The number of trucks theoretically required to keep a loader or
excavator fully occupied and thus obtain the full production of the
loader or excavator may be calculated by the use of Equation 2 – 18
and 2 ‐ 19.
Example 4.9
86
87
Example 4-10
Estimate the productivity of a 631 D single engine two – axle tractor scraper,
whose travel time curves are shown in Figure 2 – 12 & 2 ‐ 13 and fixed cycle
time shown Table2 ‐ 8, based on the following information:
 Maximum Heaped Volume = 24 Lm3
 Maximum Pay Load = 34,020 kg
 Material Density = 1,898 kg/Bm3 or 1,571 kg/ Lm3 (Sandy Clay)
 Rolling resistance = 50 kg/t
 Job efficiency = 50 min/Hr
 Operating Conditions = Average
 Pusher Type = Single Pusher
 Use g = 10 m/s2
Haul Route:
• Section 1 – Level loading area
• Section 2 – Down a 4% grade ( L = 610 m)
• Section 3 – Level Dumping Area
• Section 4 – Up a 4% grade ( L = 610 m)
• Section 5 – Level turn around ( L = 183 m)
90
91
Important tables and charts
Table 2 ‐ 8: Scraper Fixed Time (min)

Exercises
(On how to determining Travel Time using performance curve)
Using the performance Curve on Figure 4-2, determine the maximum

speed of the vehicle if its gross weight is 150,000lb (68,000kg), the
total resistance is 10% and the attitude de-rating factor is 25%
95
96
Average Speed Factor Table
Exercise
Solve problem 4.10 using average speed method and the

performance curve. (Refer Figure 4.2 and Table 4.3 above).
4.3.4 HOISTING EQUIPMENTS
4.3.4.0 General
 Hoisting is lifting a weight from one location and moving it
to another location which is at a reasonable distance.
 These equipments are used for lifting the loads, holding
them in suspension during transfer from one place to other

and placing them at designated location. Big projects such as,
construction of dams, industrial buildings etc. require
hoisting equipment.
 Hoisting equipment includes jacks, winches, chain hoists and
cranes. Crane is the only single machine which, as a single

piece, is capable of providing three-dimensional movement
of a weight.
100
4.3.4.1 Forklifts
 A forklift truck (also called a lift truck, a
fork truck, a forklift, or a tow-motor)

is a powered industrial truck used to lift and
transport materials.
 Forklift trucks are available in many

variations and load capacities. In a typical
warehouse setting most forklifts used have
load capacities between 1 to 5 tons. Larger
machines, up to 50 tons lift capacity are used
for lifting heavier loads.
101
4.3.4.2 Hoist
 A hoist is a device used for lifting or lowering a
load by means of a drum or lift-wheel around

which rope or chain wraps. It may be manually
operated, electrically or pneumatically driven
and may use chain, fiber or wire rope as its
lifting medium. The load is attached to the hoist
by means of a lifting hook
 Also known as a Man-Lift, Buck hoist,

temporary elevator, builder hoist, passenger
hoist or construction elevator, this type of hoist
is commonly used on large scale construction
projects, such as high-rise buildings or major
102
hospitals.
4.3.4.3 Crane
 A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped
with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that

can be used both to lift and lower materials and to
move them horizontally. It is mainly used for lifting
heavy things and transporting them to other places.
 It uses one or more simple machines to create
mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond

the normal capability of a man. Cranes are
commonly employed, in the construction industry
for the movement of materials and in the
manufacturing industry for the assembling of heavy
equipment.
103
4.3.4.3 Crane
Factors affecting the selection of cranes are
1. Building Design
 Building Height
 Project Duration
2. Capability
 Power Supply
 Load lifting frequency
 Operators Visibility
3. Safety
 Initial Planning and Engineering
104
4.3.4.2 Mobile Crane
 These cranes are mounted on mobile units which is
either crawler type or wheel type
 Truck cranes have high mobility while the crawler
mounted cranes move slowly.
 Crawler mounted cranes are capable of moving on
rough terrain.
 Adequate for all types of structures (up to 107 m)
 Used for shorter projects duration (less than 4
months).
 Not considered to be very safe due to lack of safety
devices or limited switches to prevent overloading.
 Can operate in muddy terrain but requires good
ground conditions.
 Needs adequate operating clearance
105
4.3.4.3 Overhead or Gantry Crane
 large service area,
 freedom from floor obstructions
 and three-way mobility,
 Widely used in erection, foundry, steel plants,
storage yards and different types of industrial
works.
 These type of cranes consist of two main parts
i.e., the bridge and the crab.
 The bridge consists of two main girders fixed
at their end to end and capable of moving on
gantry rails.
 The crab consists of the hoisting gear mounted
on a frame.
 The frame itself is mounted on another set of
wheels and capable of travelling across the
main girder.
106
4.3.4.3 Tower Crane
 Tower cranes are actually a derrick crane mounted
on a steel tower.
 Tower cranes are usually used for industrial and
residential high-rise buildings.
 These are commonly used for assembly of
industrial plants with steel structures.
 The main parts of tower crane are under carriage,
slewing platform, tower with operator’s cabin and
jibs.
 The tower has a truss structure welded from steel
bars and channels.
 Preferable for high-rise (over 107 m).
 Used for longer project duration.
 Considered to be very safe due to the presence of
limit switches.
 Can operate where ground conditions are poor.
107 Does not need adequate operating clearance.
4.3.5 CONVEYING EQUIPMENTS
4.3.5.0 General
 A conveyor system is a common piece of
mechanical handling equipment that moves materials

from one location to another. Conveyors are
especially useful in applications involving the
transportation of heavy or bulky materials.
Transporting material from one place to another over
a stationary structure.
 Caries material in continuous stream with its distinct
feature such as endless chain or belt.
 Conveying are mainly used in mining, construction
and in some of the industries. In construction

industry, conveyors are mainly used for concreting
108
purpose.
4.3.6 CONSTRUCTION PLANTS
4.3.6.0 General
Asphalt mixing plant

Aggregate production plant
Ready mix concrete plant

4.3.6.1 Aggregate Production Plant
 The production of crushed-

stone/ aggregate involves:
 Drilling
 Blasting
 Loading
 Transporting
 Crushing
 Screening
 Product handling and storage

Production line of stone crusher
TYPES OF CRUSHERS
 Crushers are classified according to the stage of crushing which
they accomplish, such as:

 Primary
 Secondary
 Tertiary
 A primary crusher receives the stone
directly from a quarry after blasting, and
produces the first reduction in size.
 The output of the primary crusher is then
fed to a secondary and tertiary crusher,
which further reduces the stone size.
 Crushers are also classified by their method
of mechanically transmitted fracturing
energy to the rock.
 Jaw, gyratory, and roll crushers work by
applying compressive force.
 Impact crushers such as single rotor and
hammer mill apply high-speed impact
force to accomplish fracturing
JAW CRUSHERS
 Jaw crushers operate by

allowing stone to flow into the
space between two jaws, one of
which is stationary while the
other is movable .
Gyratory crushers
 Gyratory crushers provide
continuous crushing action and
are used for both primary and
secondary crushing of hard,
tough, abrasive rock.
ROLL CRUSHERS
 Roll crushers are used for

producing additional reductions in
the sizes of stone after the output of a
quarry has been subjected to one or
more stages of prior crushing.
 A roll crusher consists of a heavy cast
iron frame equipped with either one
or more hard-steel rolls, each
mounted on a separate horizontal
shaft.
SCREENING AGGREGATE
 Screening of crushed stone is necessary in
order to separate the aggregate by size ranges.
 Most specifications covering the use of

aggregate stipulate that the different sizes shall
be combined to produce a blend having a given
size distribution.
HANDLING CRASHEDSTONE AGGREGATE
 After stone is crushed and screened to provide
the desired size ranges, it is necessary to

handle the stone carefully or the large and
small particles may separate, thereby
destroying the blend in sizes which is essential
to meeting graduation requirements.
 If aggregate is permitted to flow freely off the
end of a belt conveyor, especially at some

height above the storage pile, the material will
be segregated by sizes.
4.3.6.2 Asphalt Production Plant
Cold Feed Systems
 Cold feed bins provide aggregate
surge and a uniform flow of

properly sized material for mixing.
The individual bins can be fed from
sized aggregate stockpiles by
front‐end loader, clamshell, or
conveyor
Drum Dryer
 The purposes of a drum dryer are to heat and dry the aggregates of
the mix.
Hot Screening
 This enables gradation control of four aggregate sizes into four
different hot bins

Hot Bins
 The aggregates from the hot screens are stored in the hot bins until
the plant is ready to make a batch of asphalt concrete.

Weight Hopper
 Aggregate from the hot bins is dropped into a weight hopper situated
below the bins and above the pugmill. The weight hopper is charged
one hot bin at a time to control the gradation of the blended aggregate.
The aggregates are weighed cumulatively in the hopper. After
charging, the weight hopper gates are opened to discharge the
aggregate into the pugmill.
Asphalt‐Handling System
 The asphalt cement is stored on site in a heated tank. The asphalt is
pumped to the weight tank, ready for discharge into the pugmill. After
the aggregates are added to the pugmill, the asphalt cement is pumped
through spray bars into the pugmill to coat the aggregates.
Pugmill Mixing
 Most plants use a twin shaft pugmill for mixing the batch. To achieve
uniform mixing, a pugmill’s live zone should be completely filled with
mix
Material transfer device
 A material transfer device can receive multiple
truckloads of asphalt concrete, remix the

asphalt concrete, and deliver it to the paver
hopper
Asphalt distributor
 When applying an asphalt prime, tack, or seal Asphalt distributor
coat, a specially designed distributor truck is
utilized
Asphalt paver
 This equipment that is used to pave the
asphalt on the road

Asphalt Paver
4.3.6.3 Concrete Production Plant and Concreting Equipments
 Concrete consists of cement, water, and aggregate that are mixed
together, placed, consolidated, and allowed to solidify and harden.
 Concrete batching plant consists the equipments used for batching,
mixing and placing,
 Batch control (controls the proportion of ingredients )
 The ingredients are introduced into a concrete mixer and mixed for a
suitable period of time until all the ingredients are adequately

blended together
 Ready-mix concrete is a type of concrete that is manufactured in a
factory or batching plant, according to a set recipe, and then delivered

to a work site, by truck mounted transit mixers . This results in a
precise mixture, allowing specialty concrete mixtures to be developed
and implemented on construction sites. The first ready-mix factory was
built in the 1930s, but the industry did not begin to expand significantly
until the 1960s, and it has continued to grow since then.
 Ready-mix concrete is preferred over on-site concrete mixing because
of the precision of the mixture and reduced work site confusion.

However, using a pre-determined concrete mixture reduces flexibility,
both in the supply chain and in the actual components of the concrete.
 Ready Mixed Concrete is also referred as the customized concrete
products for commercial purpose. the Ready-mix Concrete Company

offer different concrete according to user's mix design or industrial
standard.
 Ready Mixed Concrete, or RMC as it is popularly called, refers to
concrete that is specifically manufactured for delivery to the

customer's construction site in a freshly mixed and plastic or
unhardened state.
 Concrete itself is a mixture of Portland cement, water and aggregates
comprising sand and gravel or crushed stone.
 In traditional work sites, each of these materials is procured separately
and mixed in specified proportions at site to make concrete.

 Ready Mixed Concrete is bought and sold by volume - usually
expressed in cubic meters. RMC can be custom-made to suit

different applications.
 Ready Mixed Concrete is manufactured under computer-
controlled operations and transported and placed at site using

sophisticated equipment and methods. RMC assures its customers
numerous benefits.
132
Mixing
 There are two types of concrete‐mixing
operations in use:
(1) transit mixing and
Central – mixed concrete plant
(2) central mixing
Transit – mix truck

Equipment for transporting (placing) concrete
Placing of concrete
Once the concrete arrives at the project site, it
Concrete buggy
must be moved to its final position without
segregation and before it has achieved an initial
set.
Concrete pump
(through pipe)
Chute
Bucket
(Concrete (Large & massive
transported to lower construction. Handled by
level) crane) Wheelbarrow
Transporting concrete with concrete pumps
Transporting concrete with chutes
Transporting concrete with various means
Reading Assignment
Read about Pile-driving equipment
141
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Heavy Construction Equipment and

Bahir Dar University

TADESSE AYALEW (PhD)

Concreting Equipment and Construction

Hauling and Hoisting Equipments

 It is a common fact to find a wide variety of construction

machines on every construction sites, which make the

 Equipment are used for highway projects, irrigation, buildings,

power projects etc. In construction 15-30% of total project cost

 The selection of appropriate type and size of construction

equipment for specific use often affects the required amount of

 Depending on the application, construction machines are classified

 Aggregate production equipment

 Equipment's used in Concrete Construction.

Excavators are used in many ways:

actor, is a piece of excavating equipment or

 Backhoes are mainly used to clean up construction

areas, to dig holes in the ground, to smooth

 It is used to excavate below the natural surface on

which it rests. Generally used to excavate

 It is used to excavate earth of all classes except hard

 Basics parts of power shovel including the track

 It is having bucket of two halves which are hinged together

 This is so named due to resemblance of its bucket to a clam

 The front end is essentially a crane boom with a specially

 The capacity of a clam shell bucket is usually given in cubic

2 Excavation in wet soil or mud Poor Poor Modera Moderately good

4 Loading efficiency Very good Good Modera Precise but slow

tractor) equipped with a substantial metal plate

 They are used for moving earth up to a distance of

about 100m and act as a towing tractor and pusher

 The heavy blade attached to the tractor pushes the

material from one place to another.

simultaneously, transport it over required

 The scraper can transport its load to the fill area

where the blade is raised, the back panel of the

 They are used for site levelling, loading, hauling

over distances varying between 150m-900m.

 In civil engineering, the grader's purpose is to "finish

 Graders are commonly used in the construction and

 It is self propelled or towed machine motor grader, Used

17 spreads the loose material..

called, are similar to excavators in the sense that

 Trenchers can come in two types: ladder

trenchers and wheel trenchers, and can dig

pulling and pushing the other equipment.

 Tractors may be classified as

 Crawler type tractor- Used to move bull

dozers, scrapers. The crawler has a chain by

 Wheel type tractor- The engine is

mounted on four wheels. The main

 Once the equipment needs for an activity have been

identified, the next step is to conduct an equipment

 The objective is to determine the number of units and the size

of equipment that would permit the contractor to accomplish

 The basic relationship for estimating

Component of the cycle time

 Productivity of an equipment can be classified as peak or

theoretical and actual;

design limitations only.

equipment after due consideration of the differently influencing

 From productivity concept equipments can be broadly classified

A. Cyclic Operating Equipments