ABSTRACT
Adobe 1914 3230 Ashes 610 1030 Asphalt, rock 2400 4050 Basalt 2933 4950 Bauxite: alum ore 2619 4420
Borax 1730 2920 Caliche 1440 2430 Carnotite 2459 4150 Cement 1600 2700 Chalk (hard) 2406 4060
Cinders 759 1280 Clay: dry 1908 3220 Clay: wet 1985 3350 Coal: bituminous 1351 2280 Coke 510 860
Conglomerate 2204 3720 Dolomite 2886 4870 Earth: dry 1796 3030 Earth: moist 1997 3370 Earth: wet 1742 2940
Feldspar 2613 4410 Felsite 2495 4210 Fluorite 3093 5220 Gabbro 3093 5220 Gneiss 2696 4550
Granite 2690 4540 Gravel, dry 1790 3020 Gypsum 2418 4080 Hardcore (consolidated) 1928 120 Lignite broken 1244 2100
Limestone 2596 4380 Magnesite, magnesium ore 2993 5050 Marble 2679 4520 Marl 2216 3740 Peat 700 1180
Potash 2193 3700 Pumice 640 1080 Quarry waste 1438 90 Quartz 2584 4360
Material kg/m³ lb/cu yd
Sand: dry 1707 2880 Sand: wet 1831 3090 Sand and gravel – dry 1790 3020
– wet 2092 3530 Sandstone 2412 4070
Schist 2684 4530 Shale 2637 4450 Slag (blast) 2868 4840 Slate 2667 4500 Snow – dry 130 220
– wet 510 860
Taconite 3182 5370 Topsoil 1440 2430 Trachyte 2400 4050 Traprock 2791 4710 Water 1000 62
Type of vehicle Capacity of vehicle
Payload Heaped capacity
Wheelbarrow 150 0.10 1 tonne dumper 1250 1.00 2.5 tonne dumper 4000 2.50 Articulated dump truck (Volvo A20 6 × 4) 18500 11.00 Articulated dump truck (Volvo A35 6 × 6) 32000 19.00 Large capacity rear dumper (Euclid R35) 35000 22.00 Large capacity rear dumper (Euclid R85) 85000 50.00
Machine type Cycles per minute Volume per minute (m3)
1.5 tonne excavator 1 0.04 2 0.08 3 0.12
3 tonne excavator 1 0.13 2 0.26 3 0.39
5 tonne excavator 1 0.28 2 0.56 3 0.84
7 tonne excavator 1 0.28 2 0.56 3 0.84
21 tonne excavator 1 1.21 2 2.42 3 3.63
Backhoe loader JCB3CX excavator 1 0.28 Rear bucket capacity 0.28m3 2 0.56
3 0.84
Backhoe loader JCB3CX loading 1 1.00 Front bucket capacity 1.00m3 2 2.00
Machine type Loads per hour Volume per hour (m3)
1 tonne high tip skip loader 5 2.43 Volume 0.485m3 7 3.40
10 4.85
3 tonne dumper 4 7.60 Max volume 2.40m3 5 9.50 Available volume 1.9m3 7 13.30
10 19.00
6 tonne dumper 4 15.08 Max volume 3.40m3 5 18.85 Available volume 3.77m3 7 26.39
10 37.70
Type of soil Approximate bulking of 1m3 after excavation
Vegetable soil and loam 25-30% Soft clay 30-40% Stiff clay 10-20% Gravel 20-25% Sand 40-50% Chalk 40-50% Rock, weathered 30-40% Rock, unweathered 50-60%
Type of soil Approximate bulking of 1m3 after excavation
Clay 10% Gravel 8% Gravel and sand 9% Loam and light sandy soils 12% Loose vegetable soils 15%
Material m3 of voids/m3
Alluvium 0.37 River grit 0.29 Quarry sand 0.24 Shingle 0.37 Gravel 0.39 Broken stone 0.45 Broken bricks 0.42
Type of soil Degrees
Clay – dry 30 – damp, well drained 45 – wet 15-20
Earth – dry 30 – damp 45
Gravel – moist 48 Sand – dry or moist 35
– wet 25 Loam 40
Ratio of base to height Angle in degrees
5:1 11 4:1 14 3:1 18 2:1 27 1½:1 34 1:1 45 1:1½ 56 1:2 63 1:3 72 1:4 76 1:5 79
Degrees Percent Degrees Percent
1 1.8 24 44.5 2 3.5 25 46.6 3 5.2 26 48.8 4 7.0 27 51.0 5 8.8 28 53.2 6 10.5 29 55.4 7 12.3 30 57.7 8 14.0 31 60.0 9 15.8 32 62.5
10 17.6 33 64.9 11 19.4 34 67.4 12 21.3 35 70.0 13 23.1 36 72.7 14 24.9 37 75.4 15 26.8 38 78.1 16 28.7 39 81.0 17 30.6 40 83.9 18 32.5 41 86.9 19 34.4 42 90.0 20 36.4 43 93.3 21 38.4 44 96.6 22 40.4 45 100.0
Ground conditions Bearing power
kg/m2 lb/in2 Metric t/m2
Rock, broken 483 70 50 solid 2415 350 240
Clay, dry or hard 380 55 40 medium dry 190 27 20 soft or wet 100 14 10
Gravel, cemented 760 110 80
Sand, compacted 380 55 40 clean dry 190 27 20
Swamp and alluvial soils 48 7 5
Ground conditions Feet (ft) Metres (m)
Compact soil 12 3.66 Drained loam 6 1.83 Dry sand 1 0.3 Gravelly earth 2 0.61 Ordinary earth 3 0.91 Stiff clay 10 3.05
