CIVIL ENGINEERING

TECHNOLOGY AND
MEASUREMENTS

UNIT 1 – EARTHWORKS – MS. S. SIMPSON AND

MR. P. RODNEY
CONTENT

• Formation Level
• Dredging
• Cuttings
• Foundations
• Borrow Pits/General Excavations
• Drainage blankets
• Pitching and beaching
FORMATION LEVEL
WHAT IS FORMATION LEVEL?
FORMATION LEVEL

• The surface level of (or elevation) of the ground surface after all digging and filling but before concreting
(Penguin Dictionary of Civil Engineering).

• The deepest point of an excavation; the starting level, usually expressed as a depth below ground level, for
the construction of a structure, foundation, structure, sub-grade.

• Where excavations ends and construction begins.

• A flattened surface of ground on which the pavement is settled. A non-structural surface on which the
pavement is settled.
FORMATION LEVEL CONT’D
DREDGING
WHAT IS DREDGING?
DREDGING

• Dredging is the operation of removing material from one part of the water environment and
relocating it to another.

• Excavation, below water level, with a Dredge (Penguin Dictionary of Civil Engineering).

• The operation is usually undertaken by a specialist floating plant known as a dredger.

• Dredging is usually undertaken to recover material that is of value or to create greater depth of
water.
DREDGING CONT’D

• Dredging is a four part process: it includes loosening the material, bringing the material to the
surface (together extraction), transportation and disposal.

• The material can be brought to the surface via suction or mechanical means.

• Disposal can be local, transported by barge in a liquid suspension through kilometre long
pipelines.

• The material can be used for construction purposes, for example to replenish eroded soils, to
create seawalls, or to create new land.
DREDGING CONT’D

• Purposes of Dredging

• Maintenance

• Land reclamation

• Capital dredging

• Preparatory

• Winning construction materials

• Contamination remediation

• Flood prevention
CUTTING
WHAT IS CUTTING IN CIVIL ENGINEERING?
CUTTINGS

• An excavation for carrying a canal, railway, road or pipeline below ground level in the open.

• As per the CESMM 3 Excavation in or under an embankment executed prior to placing of fill,
shall be classed as excavation for cuttings.

• An embankment refers to a volume of earthen material that is placed and compacted for the
purpose of raising the grade of a roadway (or railway) above the level of the existing
surrounding ground surface.

• A berm is a horizontal ledge in the sloping surface of an embankment or cutting.

CUTTINGS CONT’D
FOUNDATIONS
WHY ARE WE DISCUSSING FOUNDATIONS “AGAIN”?
FOUNDATIONS

• The soil or rock upon which a building or other structure rests

• The structure or brick, stone, concrete, steel, wood, or iron which transfers the
building load to the ground.
• Foundation Types commonly found in civil engineering
• Piles (can be made from different materials)
• Caissons
• Drilled belled piers
• Natural foundation
FOUNDATIONS CONT’D
BORROW PITS
WHAT IS A BORROW PIT?
BORROW PITS

• In construction and civil engineering, a borrow pit, also known as a sand box, is an area where
material (usually soil, gravel or sand) has been dug for use at another location.

• Material from borrow pits is usually used for embankments, filling, brick making, gravel to be
used for concrete works, etc.

• As per the CESMM 3, Excavations from within Borrow pits shall be called general
excavations
BORROW PITS– MERTON BORROW PIT CONT’D
BORROW PITS– MERTON BORROW PIT CONT’D
DRAINAGE
BLANKETS
DO YOU THINK PERFORATED PIPES ARE DRAINAGE BLANKETS?
DRAINAGE BLANKETS

• It is the permeable layer that is placed directly above the foundation material to facilitate easy
drainage of water from foundation below the structure e.g. retaining wall, embankment, under a
dam or roadway.

• Drainage is the process of water removal from the soil near the foundation and it will prevent
foundation failure occurring due to seepage.
DRAINAGE BLANKETS CONT’D

• In retaining wall, the drainage blanket will have to prevent hydrostatic stress by decreasing the
lateral force and minimum saturation of back fill soil.

• The drainage blanket material used are graded rock and Geosynthetics blankets.

• The drainage blanket for an embankment is placed below the foundation and over the soft soil
at the base of embankment.
DRAINAGE BLANKETS CONT’D
PITCHING (PENNING
OR SOLING) AND
BEACHING
WHAT DO YOU THINK PITCHING AND BEACHING IS IN CIVIL TECHNOLOGY?
PITCHING (PENNING OR SOLING) AND
BEACHING
• Large stones 180 – 450 mm deep placed on the edge and wedged by small stones called spalls
(or rolled) to form a road foundation or revetment to protect an earth slope from scour.

• Embankment or river bank pitching should be placed on about 230 mm of quarry rubble, chips
or pebbles (beaching).

• Beaching consists of loosely graded stone from 70 – 200 mm in size used in a layer 300 mm –
600 mm thick for revetting reservoirs and embankments below the level of the pitching.

• For heavy waves the stones should be at least 500 mm deep and at least 150 mm wide.
PITCHING (PENNING OR SOLING) AND
BEACHING
RECOMMENDED VIDEOS/READING

• Wick Drain installation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q5aucmcI34

• Drainage blankets - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smwoxUgrrIg
• Palm Jumeirah, Dubai UAE - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BXGh0EYJtE
• Revetment construction - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te-gKZOka7M
QUESTIONS
OR THOUGHTS?