CEE 4708

Quantity Surveying
Topic: Earthwork Excavation

Prepared by

Anika Tahsin Nabila

Lecturer

Department of CEE, IUT

Lecture Outcomes:

Students will be able to

➢ Define different terms related to earthwork excavation alongside types of estimation methods
➢ Differentiate between the applicability of the various methods
➢ Compute volume of earthwork
➢ Estimate cost for earthwork

Course Outcomes:

Refer to the course outline (CO1, CO2)

When planning the design and construction of a buildings, roads, railways, earth dams, canal buds etc.
civil engineers need to consider the existing conditions of the site first. Most often, the given site is not
level and must be modified before any construction can begin. So, the cut and fill process is typically one
of the first construction processes to take place on a site that refers to earthwork excavation.
 EGL

Longitudinal
Slope

EGL (Existing Ground Level) or GL (Ground Level): The existing earth surface.
FL (Formation Level): The proposed level of roadway.
Longitudinal Slope/ Gradient: The rate of rise or fall along the length of highway.
Side Slope: Side slope is defined as the rate of rise or fall of the shoulders of the pavement.
Methods of Estimation

Measurement from cross section is a

universally applicable method also
easier.

Whereas measurement from spot levels

are applied sometime for large
excavation and in case of
measurement for contours rough
estimates of volume may be made by
treatment of the contour line and not
much used in practice.
The cross-sectional area along the line is first calculated by standard formulae and the
volumes of the prismoids between successive cross-sections are then calculated by following
methods:

1) Formulae of Mid-section method/ Average height method.

2) Formulae of Trapezoidal method/ Average end area method/ mean-sectional area method.

3) Formulae of prismoidal method according to Simpson’s one-third rule.

 Earthwork Computation Table
(Mid-section / average height method)
 Mid-section formulae (Average Height Method)
Width of section

davg = (d1 + d2)/2

Depth section (2)

Average depth

Depth section (1)

sdavg sdavg
Area of mid-section
Amid = (1/2) sdavg 2+ bdavg + (1/2)
sdavg 2
=(b+sdavg) x davg
Volume of earthwork between these two consecutive sections
V1-2 = Aavg x L
V1-2 = (b+sdavg) x davg x L (may be cut or fill)
A 1 km road is to be constructed in existing ground level having reduced levels 54.1, 53.8, 53.5, 53.5, 54.3, 54.6,
54.9, 54.5, 54.7 and 54.3 meters at 100 m intervals. A required reduced level at station 1 is 55 meter and the
downward gradient is 1 in 1000. The reduced level at station 11 be 54 m.
The width of the road at formation level is 8 meter. Slopes to be maintained at cutting and filling are 1:2 (V: H)
and 1:3 (V: H) respectively. Calculate the volume of Earthwork.
Volume of total
cutting = 1688.18 m3

Volume of total filling

= 4824.56 m3
 Fill Cut

Length of Cut and Fill between station 5 & 6.

 Earthwork Computation Table
(Trapezoidal/ Average end area method/
Mean sectional method)
 Trapezoidal Formula
Area at end 1, A1 = (b+sd1) x d1
Area at end 2, A2 = (b+sd2) x d2

Mean sectional area, A mean = (A1+A2)/2

Volume of earthwork between these two consecutive sections

V1-2 = A mean x L (may be cut or fill)
 Area Volume of fill Volume of
Station FL EGL Depth Remark s Length Avg Area Volume
(b+sd) x d (m3) cut (m3)

1 55 54.1 0.9 Fill 3 100 9.63

2 54.9 53.8 1.1 Fill 3 100 12.43 11.03 1103

3 54.8 53.5 1.3 Fill 3 100 15.47 13.95 1395

4 54.7 53.5 1.2 Fill 3 100 13.92 14.70 1469.5

5 54.6 54.3 0.3 Fill 3 100 2.67 8.30 829.5

0 0 Fill 3 75 0 1.34 100.125 4897.125 1710.25

6 54.5 54.6 0.1 Cut 2 25 0.82 0.41 10.25

7 54.4 54.6 0.2 Cut 2 100 1.68 1.25 125

8 54.3 54.9 0.6 Cut 2 100 5.52 3.60 360

9 54.2 54.5 0.3 Cut 2 100 2.58 4.05 405

10 54.1 54.7 0.6 Cut 2 100 5.52 4.05 405

11 54 54.3 0.3 Cut 2 100 2.58 4.05 405

Earthwork Computation Table
(Prismoidal method)
 Prismoidal Formula
Area at end 1, A1 = (b+sd1) x d1
Area at end 2, A2 = (b+sd2) x d2

Mean sectional area, A mean = (A1+A2)/2

Volume of earthwork between these two consecutive sections

V1-2 = (A1+ 4Am + A2)/6 x L (may be cut or fill)
 Volume of Volume of
Station FL EGL Depth Remark s Length Area (A1+ 4Am + A2)/6 Volume
fill (m3) cut (m3)

1 55 54.1 0.9 Fill 3 9.63

1_2 1 Fill 3 100 11.03 11.03 1103
2 54.9 53.8 1.1 Fill 3 12.43
2_3 1.2 Fill 3 100 13.95 13.95 1395
3 54.8 53.5 1.3 Fill 3 15.47
3_4 1.25 Fill 3 100 14.695 14.695 1469.5
4 54.7 53.5 1.2 Fill 3 13.92
4_5 0.75 Fill 3 100 8.295 8.295 829.5
5 54.6 54.3 0.3 Fill 3 2.67
5_0 0.15 Fill 3 75 1.335 1.335 100.125
0 0 0 0 Fill 3 0
0_6 0.05 Cut 2 25 0.41 0.41 10.25 4897.125 1710.25
6 54.5 54.6 0.1 Cut 2 0.82
6_7 0.15 Cut 2 100 1.25 1.25 125
7 54.4 54.6 0.2 Cut 2 1.68
7_8 0.4 Cut 2 100 3.6 3.6 360
8 54.3 54.9 0.6 Cut 2 5.52
8_9 0.45 Cut 2 100 4.05 4.05 405
9 54.2 54.5 0.3 Cut 2 2.58
9_10 0.45 Cut 2 100 4.05 4.05 405
10 54.1 54.7 0.6 Cut 2 5.52
10_11 0.45 Cut 2 100 4.05 4.05 405
11 54 54.3 0.3 Cut 2 2.58
Comparison between the methods

➢ Most accurate is the prismoidal method

➢ Prismoidal method gives accurate measurements even in case of irregular
sections.
➢ Calculations of mid section methods are easier than the others though it
serves less accuracy. But due to ease of calculations, this method is mostly
adopted for estimation of earthwork.