CHAPTER 4.

Familiarization
with
construction Equipment
 ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
OF USING EQUIPMENT
1. Large and complicated works can be carried out easily
2. Faster rate of progress
3. High quality of work
4. Equipment can work in adverse weather, climate and
topography
5. Equipment is free from social and emotional factors
6. Equipment helps to maintain construction site safer
and cleaner

1. large investment
2. non-availability of spare parts
3. trained and skilled operator required
4. replaces large number of laborers and raise unemployment
5. uses of fuel causes environmental problem
6. reselling and disposing off equipment will be a problem
 EARTHWORK EQUIPMENT
Name: Backhoe Loader / Backhoe Purpose Application Remarks
For excavation Cutting of Suitable for all
below the trenches, pits heavy cutting
ground etc., leveling
and loading
EARTHWORK EQUIPMENT Name: Excavator

Purpose Application Remarks

For excavation Cutting of Suitable for all
below the trenches, pits heavy cutting
ground etc., leveling and
loading
EARTHWORK EQUIPMENT Name: Power Shovel

Purpose Application Remarks

For excavation For cutting and Suitable for
above its own loading cutting in all
track or wheel dry soil
level
EARTHWORK EQUIPMENT Name: Dragline

Purpose Application Remarks

For bulk excavation in For canals and pits excavation, Loose soils ,marshy land
above in loose soils below cutting and desilting of ditches and water areas
its own track level
EARTHWORK EQUIPMENT Name: Clamshell or
grab
Purpose Application Remarks
For deep confined cutting Such as shafts ,pits ,wells Consists of hydraulically
in pits, trenches controlled bucket
suspended from a lifting
arm
EARTHWORK EQUIPMENT Name:
Dozer

Purpose Application Remarks

For moving earth up to a Clearing and grubbing sites, can be track-mounted
distance of about 100m, excavation of surface earth and wheel mounted
shallow excavation ,and maintaining roads
EARTHWORK EQUIPMENT Name:
Scraper
Purpose Application Remarks
For cutting and loading Comes in different varieties such as Best suited for haul distances
towed scrapers, two-axle scrapers for haul distances between
and three axle scrapers 150-900m
EARTHWORK EQUIPMENT Name:
Grader
Purpose Application Remarks
For spreading fill and Grading and finishing the upper Usually operate in forward
fine trimming the sub- surface of the earthen direction
grade. formations and embankments
 Transportation constitutes very important part
in earth moving work especially when large
scale cutting and embankment construction is
involved.
Also it is equally important when material
including earth, gravel and other materials have
to be transported from borrow pits.
Railway wagons
They are used when large quantity of material
has to be transported to large hauling distance.
In case of tunnel excavation, even for shorter
distance and relatively smaller quantities
railway wagons are used to transport excavated
materials.
Dump Trucks or Trippers
They are ordinary trucks capable of dumping the load
automatically by lifting the body with the help of hydraulic
attachment controlled through the drivers' cabin and move
while dumping is in progress. They are found in different
sizes and shapes with capacity up to 120 tons.
Flat –bed trucks
They are ordinary trucks capable of transporting various
types of load. They are not suitable for earthwork as they
cannot self-empty the load as tippers can do. But they are
easily to be loaded manually. Unloading in this case is
done manually with the help of shovels and spades.
Mini Dumpers
They are small front end dump trucks with small capacity (about
1 cum) bowl in the front. They can dump or unload the content
automatically, hence very handy to use at construction sites.
They are used when material to be transported is of very small
quantity to a relationally small distance – may be a km or 2.
Loaders
As discussed under excavating equipment, front end loaders
are primarily the equipment to load loose earth into a truck
or other transporting device or into bins of crushers or
mixers. They are also used to excavate soft soil and
transport it while excavating to a short distance say 50-100
meters.
Conveyor belts
They are generally fixed type of material transporting system and
used when material to be transported from one place to another is
in large quantity and takes relatively long period, to be transferred.
Therefore they are mostly used at sand and gravel quarries.
Loading to these belts can be done by loaders.
Bucket conveyers
They are efficient means of transporting loose materials
vertically. Therefore when earth is to be transported vertically
they are commonly used. Generally steel buckets in a steel chain
revolve around vertical structure. Loading is done manually or
mechanically and emptying is done automatically.
Ropeways
They are very efficient and reliable means of material
transportation and may be used when material to be transported
is from a fixed location to a fixed location. Rope way buckets
are loaded manually or by machine. They can empty the load
automatically. This is more often used in quarrying operation.
 • Compaction of earth meant to remove the air entrapped
in the soil and making it denser.
• The device use to remove the air from the soil mass is
called compacting equipment.
• Though soil will compact itself naturally, but the process
is very slow and it may take years together to reach
desired density
• Sheep Footed Roller
• Grid Compactor
• Padded Rollers
• Three Wheel Rollers
• Vibrating Rollers
• Tandem Rollers
• Pneumatic Rollers
• Frog Hammer
• Plate Compactors
• Hand Held Roller
Sheep Footed Roller
These are the types of rollers with small projection
from its drums to allow maximum pressure in the
earth. They are suitable for clayey soil. They are made
of steel drum either self-propelled or tractor towed
type.
Grid Compactor
These are ordinary steel wheel vibratory rollers. The drum
of this roller is covered by steel chain grids which gives
more pressure on the surface to be compacted. These
compactors are used on granular materials when size of the
grain is relatively larger.
Padded Rollers
These are steel drum type rollers in which small
rectangular pads are projecting out of the steel drums to
create more soil pressure. From a distance they look
similar to sheep footed Roller.
Three Wheel Rollers
These are suitable for the mixed type of the soil and
commonly used to compacted thinner layer of fills.. These
are commonly found in 8/10 tons type. They are conventional
type roller used almost on all types of soil. However it is
found less effective on uniformly graded material.
Vibrating Rollers
Ordinary vibrating rollers are single drum type steel wheel
rollers to be towed by tractors. Main feature of this type of the
roller is providing vibrating effect on the material layer to be
compacted. It is suitable for granular soil. This is suitable when
depth of fill is relatively greater than 200mm.
Tandem Rollers
They are 2 wheel steel drum type rollers, generally self-
propelled. Some tandem rollers are available in 3 axles
having 3 steel drums rolling in tandem. They are called
"Three Axle Tandem Rollers". This may be with one
wheel vibrating or both wheel vibrating.
Pneumatic Rollers
This type of the roller has rubber tyres, generally it consists of 3 in the front and
4 in the rear. They are suitable for clayey soil. They can be ballasted by adding
water or sand on the body tank of these rollers to increase the dead load of these
rollers. They are non-vibrating types. These rollers are suitable for the
compaction of the bituminous pavement because they do not crush the
aggregate. Also they are most suitable in asphalt concrete paving work-
especially for back rolling of the finished surface.
Frog Hammer
It is also called monkey jumpers these compactors are very useful
and handy when area to be compacted is very small. They are
generally used to compact backfilling around the manhole, back
filling of the culvert approach or on corners of the structures where
other compacting equipment cannot reach. The equipment is hand
held by the operator to move from one place to another. A small
engine on the top of the rammer gives the jumping effect.
Plate Compactors
These are small hand held equipment used in compacting
small area. Fill depth layer of earth to be compacted but
this equipment should not exceed 100mm. This
equipment has small vibrating plate generally
600mmx600mm or less.
Hand Held Roller
These are small drum rollers, generally vibrating and self-
propelled, but may also be push type. Pushing off these
rollers become easy when they are vibrating. Therefore
they are considered as self-propelled, even with only on
drum.
 AGGREGATES PRODUCTION AND HANDLING
Screening Plants
Screening is necessary in order to separate the aggregates by size. Screening plants are selected
depending upon the specification of aggregates that are required for the work. In aggregate production,
sieving plays an important role. The following two types of screens are generally in use.
▪ Revolving Screens
These are the most common types of screens used to wash and screen sand and gravel. The operating of
this type of screens is simple and slow. Therefore maintenance and repair costs are low as compared to
other type of screens. Streams of water may be sprayed on the aggregates as it moves through the
screen. Aggregates are separated by size and stored temporarily in bins below the screen. These
aggregates are then transferred to stock pile yard.
 AGGREGATES PRODUCTION AND HANDLING

Vibrating Screens
It is the most widely used screens for aggregate production for their efficiency and capacity to
handle large amount of materials. These plants come under multiple deck type. Screens are
installed one above another. Each screen is called deck. A vibrating mechanism is filled to the
steel frame which holds the screens. Therefore all the screens vibrate simultaneously.
 CRUSHING MACHINE
A crusher is a machine designed to reduce large rocks into smaller rocks, gravel, or rock dust.
Crushers may be used to reduce the size, or change the form, of waste materials so they can be more
easily disposed of or recycled, or to reduce the size of a solid mix of raw materials (as in rock ore), so
that pieces of different composition can be differentiated.
Jaw crusher

This crusher is very popular and

employed as a primary unit as is has
a very large energy storing flywheel
and high mechanical advantage. It
operates by allowing stone to flow
into the space between two jaws, one
of which is stationary, while other is
movable.
Impact crushers involve the use of impact rather than pressure to crush material. The material is
contained within a cage, with openings of the desired size to allow pulverized material to escape.
This type of crusher is usually used with soft and non-abrasive material such as coal, seeds,
limestone, gypsum or soft metallic ores. There are two types of impact crushers: horizontal shaft
impactor and vertical shaft impactor.
Impact Crusher
A cone crusher breaks rock by squeezing the rock between an eccentrically gyrating spindle which
is covered by a wear resistant mantle. As rock enters the top, it becomes wedged and squeezed
between the mantle and the bowl. Large pieces are broken once, and then fall to a lower position
where they are broken again. This process continues until the pieces are small enough to fall
through the narrow opening at the bottom of the crusher. A cone crusher is suitable for crushing a
variety of mid-hard and above mid-hard ores and rocks.

Cone Crusher
 CONCRETE MIXING
a. Hand mixing-unimportant work and very small works
b. Machine mixing- efficient, economical, quick
-Produces homogeneous concrete
i. Tilting drum mixer
ii. Non-tilting drum mixer
Some may be hand feeding and some are machine feeding
Hand fed

Mechanically
Fed
Machine mixing- efficient, economical, quick
i. Tilting drum mixer
ii. Non-tilting drum mixer
ROAD CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT
ROAD CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT
ROAD CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT
ROAD CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT
 ROAD CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT
Water trucks are in the construction industry
which uses them for compaction and dust
control.

Asphalt distributors are used to apply prime or

tack coats on a surface in preparation for paving.
A paver (paver finisher, asphalt finisher, paving machine) is a machine
used to lay asphalt on roadways.
 CRANES FOR LIFTING
Mobile cranes
Main advantage of this crane is move around
i. Crawler-mounted cranes on site and perform each lift with little set-up,
ii. Self-propelled rubber -tyred wheels cranes since the crane is stable on its tracks with no
outriggers. In addition, a crawler crane is
iii. Truck-mounted cranes
capable of traveling with a load. Since these
Tower cranes cranes are on tracks, they need to be trucked
-Stationery cranes from job site to job site.
-Travelling cranes
-Climbing cranes

Crawler
mounted
crane
CRANES FOR LIFTING: MOBILE CRANES

Self-propelled
rubber -tyred wheels
cranes
CRANES FOR LIFTING: MOBILE CRANES

Truck Mounted
Crane
Tower cranes
 Tower Crane:
Stationary cranes
Tower Crane: Travelling cranes
Tower Crane: Climbing cranes
 TUNNEL CONSTRUCTION
Sequence of operations for Drilling and Blasting Method
i. Set up drill machine and make hole
ii. Loading holes and shooting the explosives
iii. Ventilating and removing the dust following the explosive
iv. Loading and hauling muck
v. Removing ground water if necessary
vi. Erecting support for roof & sides if necessary
vii. Placing reinforcing steel
viii. Placing the concrete lining
METHODS OF TUNNELING Full face method
METHODS OF TUNNELING Heading and benching
METHODS OF
TUNNELING
Drift method
METHODS OF TUNNELING Pilot tunnel method
 TUNNEL BORING MACHINE (TBM) METHOD
TBMs are used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of
subterranean(below ground) matter, hard rock, sand or almost anything in between.as TBM moves
foreword , the round cutter heads cut into the tunnel face and splits off large chunks of rock. The cutter
heads carves a smooth round hole through the rock-the exact shape of a tunnel. Conveyor belt carry
the rock shavings through the TBM and out back of the machine to a dumper.
A tunnel boring machine generally is a device for excavating a tunnel in such a way that the material
to be removed is disintegrated by a continuous rotation of a group of cutting tools thrust against the
surface of the material at the working face. The cutting tools are mounted in an arrangement suitable to
excavate a tunnel of the required diameter.
The machine is mounted immediately behind the cutting head and remains stationary while the cutting
head excavates .The machine body contains mechanisms to provide the required torque and thrust to
the cutting head as excavation progresses and maintain its stationary position or move itself forward,
as required.

tunnel construction video.MP4

Tunnel Construction _ SFMTA
Central Subway TBM.MP4
 HYDRAULIC STRUCTURES CONSTRUCTION

Weir-flow regulated by its crest height

Barrage-flow regulated by gates
Canal
Dam
Spillways
Construction of
Dams
Construction of
Canal
Construction of Canal
Construction of Spillways
 SELECTION OF APPROPRIATE EQUIPMENT
Factors considered for selection are
• What type of equipment the project requires
• Economic considerations
• Site –specific
• Site conditions –both ground condition as well as climatic
conditions
• Cost of repair and maintenance
• Economic life of construction equipment
• Cost and availability of spare parts
• Labor consideration-availability or non availability of trained
manpower
• Quality and speed