Equipment Needed For Rehabilitation Of Doncaster Quarry Site

Loading and Excavation Equipment

This is a presentation paper focuses the various equipment which will be needed during the process of rehabilitation of the Doncaster Quarry Site with an aim of converting this site into a safe community park. This presentation focuses on the equipment selected which will be used in carrying out various activities on the site such as setup of the site which includes gatehouse, signage, amenities, and boundary fence, stabilizing the rock faces, establishing a haul road, manning operations of earthwork, and dewatering hole. The hole in the quarry which should be filled has a dimension of 35 by 85 by 65 meters. The figure below shows the Doncaster Quarry Site which is to be rehabilitated:

Figure 1: The Doncaster Quarry Site which is to be rehabilitated

The selection of suitable size and type of construction equipment normally determine the amount of effort and time required and hence the productivity of the project concerning the rehabilitation of a quarry. Therefore, it is critical for the council involved in this project and the planners of construction to be conversant with the features of the key equipment types which will be used in this site rehabilitation (Army, 2012).   

Loading and excavation will be some of the processes which will be carried out during site clearing and preparation before the initial construction of structures (Army, 2011). The construction machine family which can be used for the purposes of excavation is classified broadly as crane-shovel as specified by the diversity of machines as shown in the figure below: 

Fire 2: Loading and excavation equipment

The crane-shovel comprises of three main constituents: a mounting or carrier which provides stability and mobility for the machine, a turntable or revolving neck which has the control and power units, and attachments at the front end which assists in carrying out specific duties during operations. Crawler mounting is the type of mounting for every machine above which is specifically critical for crawling over surfaces that are relatively rugged making it suitable to be used in the rehabilitation of quarry (Blaxton, 2012). Other categories of mounting include wheel mounting and truck mounting which give greater mobility which the machines are operating the rehabilitation site is regions where the surface is raged.

The revolving deck comprises of a cab which houses the individual operating the revolving and mounting deck. The categories of front end attachments which can be used in the rehabilitation of the quarry comprise of a crane with piledriver, shovel, dragline, clamshell, and hook. A tractor comprises of a non-revolving cab and crawler mounting. When an earth stirring blade is attached to the tractor’s front end, the combination is known as the bulldozer. There are numerous categories of loaders which are designed to take care of materials of different moisture content and weights (Chitkara, 2015).

Grading and Compaction Equipment

The scrapers are numerous units of blade-bucket and tractor-track assemblies with numerous combination to enable the hauling and loading if of the earthwork. The key categories of scrapers include three axle scrapers or single engine two-axle, push-pull scrapers, elevating scrapers, and twin-engine all-wheel-drive scrapers. The scrapers will be used in moving different loads within the region with an aim of clearing the site from obstacles or doing ground levelling through carrying and moving sand within the site (Day, 2014).     

The work of the equipment for compaction is to mechanically produce soil of higher density.  The primary forces utilized in the process of compaction as vibration, impact, kneading, and static weight (Edwards, 2015). The level of compaction which can be achieved is influenced by the soil properties, a method of compaction, soil layer thickness, and moisture content. The equipment which can be used during compaction of the quarry are shown in the figure below:     

Figure 3: Grading and compaction equipment (Rosignoli, 2014)

After the filling of the holes in the quarry using sand and ballast, the compaction equipment will be used so that the soil structure is strengthened to prevent uneven landscape on the site. The rollers will be used to carry extra sand away from the site in case the required strength of the soil is attained. The process of improving the soil density can also be accompanied by the use of water so as to make the soil more compact and strong to be able to support heavy structures when constructing a safe community park (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013).

The work of equipment for grading is to bring the earthwork to the elevation and shape that is desired. The primary categories of equipment for grading include grade trimmers and motor grade as shown in figure 2 above. The motor graders can be used in carrying out any work such as surface finishing and grading of the quarry after sand and ballast have been filled in the hole with the dimension of 35 by 85 by 65 meters. The grade trimmers are utilized for construction which is heavy like for this case of rehabilitating a quarry since it is of higher velocity of operation (Gransberg, 2015).

There is need of removal of some rocks which are in the quarry and should be removed before levelling the site’s earth surface (Wahls, 2011). The excavation of rocks is a special work which requires special methods and equipment. The level of difficulty is determined by the physical features of the rock which is to be removed from the site for example hardness, brittleness, weathering, and weakness of the planes.  The work of excavation of rocks involves compacting, hauling, loading, and loosening (Hannon, 2013). The process of loosening is focused for the excavation of rocks and is done through ripping, blasting, and drilling.

Blasting and Drilling Equipment

The primary equipment for drilling includes rotary-percussion drills, rotary drills, and percussion drills. A rotary-percussion drill combines the dual movements of cutting to give a quicker rock penetration. A rotary drill cut through spinning a bit against the surface of the rock.  A percussion drill cuts and enters through impact while rotating without upstroke cutting. The common categories of percussion drills are jackhammer which is held by hand as well as others which are fixed on a frame which is fixed or on a crawl or on the wagon for mobility (Hannon, 2013).  

The blasting process requires explosives such as dynamite. Usually, the caps of electric blasting are joined in a circuit with wires that are insulated. The sources of power can be blasting machine or power lines designed for firing circuits of the electric cap (Riley, 2016). There are also non-electrical blasting systems which combines the flexibility of electric blasting, precise timing, and safety of detonation. The ripper that is tractor-mounted has the ability to pry loose and penetrating the majority of the rock categories (Nawy, 2010). The ripper or blade is combined to a shank that is adjusted which regulates the tip angle of the bale which it is lowered or raised.

The frequently used lift equipment for materials during the construction process is Derricks. A derrick is composed of the mast that is vertical and boom sprouting inclined from the mast foot. The mast is positioned by individuals or connected stiff legs while a lift for topping connects the mast top and the inclined boom top. The guy derricks can simply be relocated from a particular region on the quarry to the next. The tower cranes are utilized in lifting loads to excessive heights and also facilitating the erection of steel frames form building (Organization, 2013).

The dewatering process entails controlling the water in the underground through pumping with an aim of lowering the groundwater in regions which are swampy. 

Figure 4: Dewatering process

The equipment used in the dewatering process include generator, pipework, settlement tank, and pumps. The water underground is permitted to get into the excavation where it is then collected in a sump before being pumped through pumps. Some of the techniques used in dewatering process include siphon drains, artificial recharge, and relief wells.

The haul roads are those roads which are established to serve for a short duration during the construction works. The equipment used in the construction of haul roads include tractors, rollers, and Lorries. The rollers are used in compacting the top soil during the construction of the haul roads since they have huge weights hence impacting a lot of pressure on the soil. The tractors are used in transportation of soil from one region to another during the process of soil stabilization.

Erecting and Lifting Equipment

Figure 5: Establishment of haul roads

The primary categories of equipment that can be used for paving comprise bituminous frames for pavement regions and dispensing concrete. The mixers of concrete can also be utilized for mixing Portland water, gravel, sand, and cement in batches for other construction types (Riley, 2016). A truck mixer is a mixer of concrete which is fixed on a track that has the ability to convey concrete that has been mixed already from one location of the quarry to another. A distributor of bitumen is a plant which is truck-mounted for production of materials of bituminous liquid and using them on the surface of the roads which will be used in accessing the quarry site (Patrascu, 2014). The bituminous liquids are composed of both tar and asphalt; tar is utilized in pavements while asphalt is used frequently for surfacing of the road.  

Conclusion

This is a presentation paper focusing on the various equipment required during the process of rehabilitation of the Doncaster Quarry Site to return the site into a safe community park. These equipment have been categorized depending on their work during the rehabilitation process, namely loading and excavation, grading and compaction, blasting and drilling, erecting and lifting, as well as paving and mixing. These equipment are discussed exclusively in this presentation together with their areas of applications during the rehabilitation of the Doncaster Quarry Site. 

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