Breaking up is hard to do

By John A. Koski

No matter how they do it, excavator-mounted concrete

demolition attachments are quick and efficient

achine-mounted hydraulic impact hammers

work with speed and efficiency. Like a journeyman boxer
delivering a series of stinging jabs,
the staccato whap, whap, whap of
their hardened steel tools striking
solid concrete makes short work
of pavements, bridge decks, abutments, and other concrete structures.
Concrete crushers, on the other
hand, are more deliberatebut no
less efficientin their work. Often
resembling a contented elephant
chewing a mouthful of hay, they
close powerful hydraulic jaws
over concrete barrier walls and
floor decks of multistory build-

ings. Like smoke from the nostrils

of a dragon, they emit puffs of
dust as their jaws untiringly
crunch and pulverize concrete.
No matter whether its hammer
or crusher, excavator-mounted attachments demolish concrete methodically and efficiently. Using
them effectively and economically,
however, requires knowing which
type of demolition tool is best for
the job, what size tool is needed,
and how to properly match tool to
excavator. Here are some guidelines.
Hydraulic hammers
For years, hand-held jackhammers were one of the most widely

used concrete demolition tools.

However, as hydraulic excavators
gained popularity in the 1970s,
contractors realized that mounting
a hammer on the end of an excavator boom provided greater mobility and allowed bigger hammers to
be used. As a result, productivity
was greatly increased.
For example, it is estimated that
a man using a hand-held jackhammer can break up about 8 cubic
yards of unreinforced concrete per
day. In contrast, excavator-mounted hammers can have production
rates of more than 1,100 cubic
yards of unreinforced concrete per
day, with 50 to 250 cubic yards per
day being typical for mid-sized

Whether mounted on a backhoe-loader or an excavator, hydraulic hammers combine mobility and

impact power to demolish concrete quickly and efficiently.

hammers.
In addition, hydraulic hammers
can be equipped for underwater
and remote-control operation, and
create less physical stress on operators. Rather than leaning over a
bone-rattling jackhammer for 8
hours, an excavator operator using
a boom-mounted hammer sits in
an enclosed cab and can break up
more concrete, and do it more efficiently and safely even in inclement weather.
In addition to demolishing concrete, many hammers can be fitted
with special tool shapes that allow
them to drive piles and sheeting,
compact soil, edge trenches, penetrate frozen ground, and cut asphalt.
Rating hammers
Hammers usually are rated in
terms of their impact energy, measured in foot-pounds. This number
also is used to indicate a hammers
class. For example, a hammer delivering 5,000 foot-pounds of impact energy is a class 5,000 hammer.
Smaller hammers, such as class
125 and 150 hammers, weigh 135
to 200 pounds, deliver 450 to 1,000
blows per minute (bpm), and require a hydraulic flow of 2 to 6
gpm at 1500 to 2000 psi. Tool
shanks are 1 to 2 inches in diameter. Because of their smaller size,
they usually offer greater versatility in carrier choice. Most can be
mounted on a mini-excavator,
backhoe-loader, or skidsteer
loader.
Class 10,000 hammers weigh
7,500 to 11,500 pounds, deliver 250
to 500 bpm, and require 60 to 85
gpm at 2200 to 2700 psi. Tool diameter is about 7 inches. A class
10,000 hammer requires an excavator weighing from 100,000 to
150,000 pounds.
Hammers up to 750 foot-pounds
usually are adequate for demolish-

ing bridge decks, pavements,

slabs, and unsupported concrete.
Hammers of 1,000 foot-pounds
and larger are needed for thicker,
reinforced concrete applications
such as highways, piers, and abutments.
Hammer productivity
Productivity, measured as the
amount of material demolished,
varies depending on a variety of
factors. They include:
Type of concrete: Variables include strength of the mix, concrete thickness, and the amount
and placement of reinforcement
Accessibility: Productivity decreases when the excavator cannot be positioned properly
Operator skill: An experienced
operator takes advantage of
joints, cracks, and imperfections
in the concrete to demolish it as
efficiently as possible; an experienced operator can greatly increase productivity
Hammer operation
Some simple techniques can
help excavator operators use hammers more effectively and efficiently:
Apply adequate downforce on
the hammer: This can be done
by lifting the front of the excavator about 4 to 6 inches off the
ground. Doing so helps reduce

Excavator-mounted concrete crushers

come in various shapes and
configurations. Features include: two
self-contained cylinders with
dual-acting jaws (1), single
self-contained cylinder with a powered
jaw acting against a fixed jaw (2 and
3), turntable for 360-degree head
rotation (1 and 2), and hydraulic power
supplied by the excavators bucket
cylinder (4).

recoil, reduces the need to continually crowd the boom, and

lets the hammer tip follow
through as it penetrates the concrete.
Place the tool properly: Whenever possible, place the tip of the
too so that it is breaking toward
an open face. Placing the point
of the tool too far from the edge
increases the time needed to
fracture the concrete. If the tip is
too close to the edge many small
fractures are created, decreasing
the hammers efficiency. Also,
make use of cracks, joints, and
imperfections to help initiate
fractures.
Align the tool: Make sure that
the direction of the force applied
to the boom is in line with the
tool. Make necessary adjustments as the work proceeds. Because they can damage the tool,
hammer bits should not be used
to scrape or pry material loose;
some models come equipped
with claws on the hammer
housing that can be used to
move material.
Hydraulic Crushers
Crushers, also called smashers,
densifiers, processors, secondary
crushers, and pulverizers, reduce
concrete into manageable pieces.
In addition, they often are used to
separate reinforcement from concrete and to reduce concrete into
smaller, recyclable pieces. Smaller
models can be mounted on
mini-excavators and skid-steer
loaders. For jobsite versatility,
many hydraulic crushers also can
be used for loading materials such
as reinforcement, slab sections, and
other construction debris onto
trucks.
Crushers receive their hydraulic
power in two basic ways. The jaws

on the first type of crusher are

powered by an arm or other device connected to the bucket cylinder on the dipperstick. As a result,
the force applied to the jaws is limited by the capabilities of the bucket cylinder. On this type of crusher,
the lower jaw is fixed and acts as
an anvil against which material is
crushed and sheared by the powered, upper jaw acting against it.
The crusher is positioned using the
boom and dipperstick.
The second type of crusher receives power from the excavators
auxiliary hydraulics. These crushers have one or more built-in cylinders. The configuration can consist
of one fixed jaw and one movable
jaw powered by one or two cylinders, or two movable jaws, each
powered by one or more cylinders.
Maximum crushing forces can exceed 350 tons.
Crushers having hydraulic
cylinders can be more versatile because the bucket cylinderin addition to the boom and dipperstickcan be used to position the
jaws. Some of the largest crushers,
however, are mounted in place of
the dipperstick, with the jaws being positioned using the boom and
dipperstick cylinder.
In addition, many models with
self-contained hydraulic cylinders
also have a hydraulic turntable
that permits the crusher head to
rotate 360 degrees. This allows the
jaws to be quickly and precisely
positioned for optimum crushing
speed and efficiency.
It is difficult to estimate production rates using a concrete crusher.
They vary widely based on composition of materials being demolished, presence and type of structural steel, type and amount of
reinforcement, accessibility to the
structure, and other factors.

Jaw choices
Some crusher models feature interchangeable jaws that allow the
attachment to be used more efficiently:
Concrete cracking jaws usually
have a wide jaw opening and
are designed for removing large,
thick pieces of concrete, such as
walls or pier caps; they often
come equipped with shears at
the back of the throat
Shear jaws often are used on projects where there is a large quantity of structural support steel to
demolish; they also are used on
reinforced concrete
Pulverizing jaws produce minimal vibration and can quickly
separate concrete from rebar, allowing both to be recycled; they
also often come with shears at
the back of the throat
Some crushers are referred to as
secondary concrete crushers. These
crushers usually have some type
of pulverizing jaws and are used
on jobs where primary demolition
is accomplished by hammers,
crushers, blasting, ball and crane,
or sawing. The primary demolition work creates large quantities
of concrete rubble which the secondary crusher further reduces,
separating concrete from reinforcement.
Many models feature replaceable steel blades at the back of the
jaws for cutting reinforcement. In
addition, various types and configurations of jaw teeth can be used to
optimize the crusher for the job.
Crusher operation
When demolishing large sections of concrete, such as walls and
slabs, start at an end. Doing so provides an open space for concrete
being crushed to expand into as it

is broken. Starting at the center of

the concrete work may cause material to be compressed rather than
broken.
For demolishing multistory
buildings, use a long-reach boom.
This allows attachments of all
types to work on buildings at
heights 120 feet above ground level, depending on excavator size
and capability.

... and the walls come tumbling down

Described as a hammer arm
attachment, a unique excavatormounted demolition tool relies

an excavator or backhoe-loader
dipperstick and uses the bucket
cylinder to create the downward
momentum needed to break

Three-way positioningusing the backhoeloaders boom, dipperstick and

bucket cylinderallows this breaker to be quickly and accurately positioned.

on gravity and momentum to

break concrete. The tool consists
of a cylindrical, hammer-like
breaking head mounted on the
end of a flexible arm. Weights
can be added to the breaker
head to accommodate the size of
the excavator or the thickness of
concrete being demolished.
The tool attaches to the end of

PUBLICATION #C930474
Copyright 1993, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved

concrete. In practice and principle, it resembles a blacksmith

working a piece of hot steel with
a hammer and anvil. The flexible
hammer arm and an internal
heavy-duty spring are used to
reduce vibration and shock to
both operator and machine. A
separate model is designed for
attaching to skid-steer loaders.