Overview
The execution of embankment works in general, and of those for road construction in particular, must be undertaken in such a way as to ensure the necessary stability, durability, and bearing capacity for the least investment and the maximum mechanisation rate.
Based on the specific features of construction and exploitation, the location and local relief, climate, hydrological, geological, pedological and vegetation conditions, the most appropriate solutions are adopted through a project, concerning:
- the movement of land masses;
- the execution technologies;
- the establishment of the optimum technological parameters for land compaction (compaction humidity, maximum thickness of the stratum laid, number of crossings, working speed, etc.).
Where the embankment structure contains layers of heavy clay, all the aspects outlined receive special attention, as a result of the known difficulties regarding their compaction.
The compaction technology needs calculation or determination of certain parameters in accordance with the types of equipment used (even metallic rolls with cramps or wheels with tiers). These parameters include:
- maximum land compression stress;
- compaction depth; specific linear charge;
- geometric elements of the compaction modalities;
- length of the working sector;
- width of the compaction area and the manoeuvre space;
- number of crossings, etc.
The first step is to obtain experimentally the main variables of the compaction process in accordance with the land typology in question, trying to establish as many mathematical correlations as possible between compaction parameters and the nature of the compacted lands. A compaction technology project will be established to consider the experimental data.
After this phase, within the framework of certain on-site works on the part of the project partner, the viability of the technology will be checked after which the data obtained will be compared with the experimental ones.