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Hill road earthwork, chainage 130-280

Short answer

Cutting = 309.82 m³, filing = 471.28 m³. Side-hill areas from given cross slopes and side slopes; volumes by average end-area, transition length prorated.

A road is to be constructed in hill areas with formation width of 8 m. Side slope in banking is 2:1 and side slope in cutting is 1.5:1. Calculate the quantities of earthwork from the following data:

ChainageDepth of cutting at centre of roadHeight of filling at centre of roadCross slope of ground
1300.7 m-12:1
1600.5 m-15:1
1900.4 m-12:1
220-0.7 m10:1
250-0.6 m15:1
280-0.8 m12:1

Given data and assumptions

  • Formation width B=8B = 8 m in both cutting and filling; side slope in cutting 1.5:11.5:1, in filling 2:12:1 (H:V).
  • Chainages are 30 m apart; cross slopes are taken as n:1n:1 (H:V), e.g. 12:1 means 12 horizontal to 1 vertical.

Method

The ground has a transverse (cross) slope n:1n:1 (H:V), so each section is a side-hill section. With centre height hh (cutting +, filling −) above/below formation level, formation width BB and side slope s:1s:1:

xu=n (B/2+sh)n−s,du=h+xunxd=n (B/2+sh)n+s,dd=h−xdnA=12Bh+12[B2(du+dd)+h (xu+xd−B)]\begin{aligned} x_u &= \frac{n\,(B/2 + s h)}{n - s},\quad d_u = h + \frac{x_u}{n}\\ x_d &= \frac{n\,(B/2 + s h)}{n + s},\quad d_d = h - \frac{x_d}{n}\\ A &= \tfrac12 B h + \tfrac12\left[\tfrac{B}{2}(d_u + d_d) + h\,(x_u + x_d - B)\right] \end{aligned}

Here xu,xdx_u, x_d are the horizontal distances of the up-hill and down-hill toes from the centre line, and du,ddd_u, d_d are the heights of the ground above formation at the toes (formulas for cutting). For a section wholly in filling the roles swap: the down-hill toe is the far one, xd=n(B/2+sh)/(n−s)x_d = n(B/2 + s h)/(n - s) and xu=n(B/2+sh)/(n+s)x_u = n(B/2 + s h)/(n + s), with hh the filling height and ss the filling slope. Where the ground line crosses the formation level inside the road width (part cutting, part filling), the cutting and filling areas are found separately from the co-ordinates of the section (toe points from the same intersection equations). Volume between sections = mean area × distance, taken separately for cutting and filling. Where the centre changes from cutting to filling between two sections and one type of area is zero at one end, the change-over point is found by proportion of the centre heights, and that area is taken over its own part of the length only: V=12A×lV = \tfrac12 A \times l.

Sectional areas

ChainageCentre ht. hh (m)Cutting area (m²)Filling area (m²)
0+130cut 0.706.6050.000
0+160cut 0.504.5270.000
0+190cut 0.403.6640.000
0+220fill 0.700.0007.188
0+250fill 0.600.0005.765
0+280fill 0.800.0008.128

Working for one section:

Take chainage 0+220: centre filling height h=0.70h = 0.70 m, n=10n = 10, B=8.0B = 8.0 m.

  • Ground height above formation at the uphill edge =−0.300= -0.300 m, at the downhill edge =−1.100= -1.100 m.
  • Toe of the side slope on the uphill side at x=4.500x = 4.500 m from the centre line (ground below formation by 0.250 m); downhill toe at x=6.750x = 6.750 m (ground below formation by 1.375 m).
  • Area from the co-ordinates of the polygon: cutting =0.000= 0.000 m², filling =7.188= 7.188 m².

Change-over between 0+190 (wholly in cutting, 0.40 m) and 0+220 (wholly in filling, 0.70 m): the zero point is 30×0.40/1.10=10.9130 \times 0.40/1.10 = 10.91 m from 0+190, leaving 19.0919.09 m in filling.

  • Cutting =12×3.664×10.91=19.98= \tfrac12 \times 3.664 \times 10.91 = 19.98 m³
  • Filling =12×7.188×19.09=68.61= \tfrac12 \times 7.188 \times 19.09 = 68.61 m³

Volumes

BetweenDistance (m)Cutting (m³)Filling (m³)
0+130 – 0+16030.0166.980.00
0+160 – 0+19030.0122.860.00
0+190 – 0+22030.0 (10.91 cut + 19.09 fill)19.9868.61
0+220 – 0+25030.00.00194.28
0+250 – 0+28030.00.00208.39
Total150.0309.82471.28

Answer: Earthwork in cutting = 309.82 m³; earthwork in filling = 471.28 m³.

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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