Excavatability
Encyclopedia
The excavatability of an earth (rock and regolith
) material is a measure of the material to be excavated (dug) with conventional excavation equipment such as a bulldozer
with ripper
s, backhoe
, scraper and other grading equipment. Materials that cannot be excavated with conventional excavation equipment are said to be non-rippable. Such material typically requires pre-blasting or use of percussion hammers or chisels to facilitate excavation. The excavatability or rippability
of earth materials is evaluated typically by a geophysicist, engineering geologist
, or geotechnical engineer.
Regolith
Regolith is a layer of loose, heterogeneous material covering solid rock. It includes dust, soil, broken rock, and other related materials and is present on Earth, the Moon, some asteroids, and other terrestrial planets and moons.-Etymology:...
) material is a measure of the material to be excavated (dug) with conventional excavation equipment such as a bulldozer
Bulldozer
A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...
with ripper
Ripper
Ripper may refer to:* Jack the Ripper, a pseudonym given to an unidentified serial killer active in the largely impoverished Whitechapel area and adjacent districts of London in the latter half of 1888...
s, backhoe
Backhoe
A backhoe, also called a rear actor or back actor, is a piece of excavating equipment or digger consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. They are typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader...
, scraper and other grading equipment. Materials that cannot be excavated with conventional excavation equipment are said to be non-rippable. Such material typically requires pre-blasting or use of percussion hammers or chisels to facilitate excavation. The excavatability or rippability
Rippability
The rippability of an earth material is a measure of its ability to be excavated with conventional excavation equipment. A material may be classified as rippable, marginally rippable or non-rippable. The rippability of a material is often evaluated by an engineering geologist and/or geophysicist...
of earth materials is evaluated typically by a geophysicist, engineering geologist
Engineering geologist
An engineering geologist is a geologist trained in the discipline of engineering geology. Many organizations and governments have programs for the qualification, testing and certification of engineering geologists as a protection to the public....
, or geotechnical engineer.
See also
- Engineering geologyEngineering geologyEngineering geology is the application of the geologic sciences to engineering practice for the purpose of assuring that the geologic factors affecting the location, design, construction, operation and maintenance of engineering works are recognized and adequately provided for...
- Geotechnical engineeringGeotechnical engineeringGeotechnical engineering is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials. Geotechnical engineering is important in civil engineering, but is also used by military, mining, petroleum, or any other engineering concerned with construction on or in the ground...
- Rock mechanicsRock mechanicsRock mechanics is the theoretical and applied science of the mechanical behaviour of rock and rock masses;also compared to the geology, it is that branch of mechanics concerned with the response of rock and rock masses to the force fields of their physical environment.Rock mechanics itself forms...
- GeophysicsGeophysicsGeophysics is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the geological applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and...