Other material classifications use the following categorizations:

Material type - A.- It is a soft or loose material that can be excavated with a shovel of
adequate capacity to be pulled with a tracked tractor. This type of materials considers
soils with little or no cementation. The most commonly classified materials
of this type are agricultural soils, silts and sands.

Material type - B.- It is the material that, due to its difficulty in extraction and loading,
can only be efficiently excavated by a crawler tractor with a variable inclination blade or
a mechanical shovel without the use of explosives. The most commonly classified
materials
They are highly altered rocks, moderately cemented conglomerates, soft sandstones and
tepetates.
Material type - C.- It is the material that, due to its difficulty in extraction, can only be
excavated by using explosives. Among the classified materials are basaltic rocks,
sandstones, strongly cemented conglomerates, limestones, rhyolites, granites and healthy
andesites. There are also some correlations with respect to the standard penetration test,
but they are not representative when gravel and gravel are present.

Another classification is based on field tests by the standard penetration method.

The percentages in which the different classifications intervene, within a defined soil
depth, are determined with numerical scales constructed from tests carried out in the
field depending on the physical characteristics mentioned. Below are the types of
material regarding this classification:

MATERIAL “A” I : A soft or very loose material is 100% material “A”, when its
foundation (cohesion) measured in a standard penetration test is equal to or less than 25
blows necessary to drive 300 cm. Inside the soil a standardized sampler. Generally,
cultivated soils, silts and sands and soils with little or no cementation with components
of 7.5 cm are considered as material “A”. of size.

MATERIAL “B” II : A material of solid consistency is 100% material “B” when its
foundation (cohesion) measured in a standard penetration test is equal to 60 blows
necessary to drive 30 cm. inside the soil a standardized sampler. In addition, material
“B” is considered to be made up of loose stones between (75) seventy-five and (7.5)
seven point five cm., highly altered rocks, moderately cemented conglomerates, soft
sandstones and tepetates.

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“C” III MATERIAL : A material is 100% “C” material when the number of blows is
equal to or greater than 160 blows in the standard penetration test necessary to drive 30
cm. inside the material a standardized sampler. Material “C” includes basaltic rocks,
sandstones and strongly cemented conglomerates, limestones, rhyolites, granites and
healthy andesites, loose stones larger than (75) seventy-five cm. or that to be extracted it
is necessary to use explosives.

In addition to these classifications, two other intermediate ones can be established

as required by the case and according to the number of blows indicated by the graphs in
standard penetration tests.

The classification of materials according to the General Construction

Specifications of the Second Part Book (Secretariat of Public Works, 1976), is as
follows:

Material A is soft or loose, which can be efficiently excavated with a shovel of adequate
capacity to be pulled with a tracked tractor, from ninety (90) to one hundred and ten
(110) horsepower on the bar, without the help of plows or tractors. pushers, although
both are used to obtain higher yields. In addition, soils with little or no cementation, with
particles of up to seven point five (7.5) centimeters (3”) are considered as Material A.
The materials most commonly classified as Material A are agricultural soils, silts and
sands.

Material B is that which, due to the difficulty of extraction and loading, can only be
excavated efficiently by a crawler tractor with a variable inclination blade, from one
hundred and forty (140) to one hundred and sixty (160) horsepower on the bar, or with
mechanical shovel with a minimum capacity of one (1) cubic meter, without the use of
explosives, although for convenience these are used to increase performance, or that can
be loosened with a six (6) ton plow pulled with a tracked tractor , from one hundred forty
(140) to one hundred and sixty (160) horsepower at the bar. Additionally, loose stones
smaller than seventy-five (75) centimeters and larger than seven point five (7.5)
centimeters (3”) are considered as Material B. The materials most commonly classified
as Material B are highly altered rocks, moderately cemented conglomerates, soft
sandstones and tepetates.

Material C is that, due to its difficulty in extraction, it can only be excavated using
explosives. In addition, loose stones with a dimension greater than seventy-five (75)
centimeters are also considered as Material C. Among the materials classifiable as
Material C, they are found in basaltic rocks, sandstones and strongly cemented
conglomerates, limestones, rhyolites, granites and healthy andesites.

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 Materials that present greater extraction difficulty than those described as Material
A, but less than those described as Material B, and those that present greater extraction
difficulty than those described as Material B, but less than those described as Material C,
are will establish an intermediate classification, according to the difficulty they have
presented for their extraction and loading, assigning percentages of Material A and B or
B and C respectively, in proportion to the average characteristics of the material in
question.

Also according to the General Construction Specifications of the Second Part Book
(Secretariat of Public Works, 1976), the following provisions will be observed:

A) To classify a material, the difficulty it has presented in its extraction and loading
will be taken into account, assimilating it to the corresponding Materials A, B or
C. The three (3) types of Material will always be mentioned, to clearly determine
which one it is; For example, a soil with little or no cementation, with particles
smaller than seven point five (7.5) centimeters, will be classified 100-0-0, the first
figure corresponding to Material A and the zeros to Materials B and C. For a
material that presents a greater difficulty of extraction than Material A, but less
than Material B, the corresponding intermediate classification must be assessed,
assigning the percentage of Materials A and B according to their lesser or greater
difficulty of extraction and loading. ; For example, a precisely intermediate
material would be classified 50-50-0. A material that, under similar conditions,
would be between Materials B and C, will be classified 0-50-50.

B) If the cut to be classified is composed of materials of different degrees of

difficulty for extraction when they show defined separation, each material will be
classified separately, taking into account the partial volumes; Subsequently, the
resulting general classification will be computed for the total volume, always
considering the three (3) types of Material A, B and C. Thus, for example, a layer
of Material A that corresponds to a 100-0-0 classification, with a volume
equivalent to thirty percent (30%) of the total, placed on a material that represents
a classification on the average between B and C , that is, 0-50-50, the total
volume will be classified 30-35-35. If in the same case, the inferior material is C,
that is, 0-0-100, the resulting general classification will be 30-0-70 and if it is B,
that is, 0-100-0, the total volume will be classified 30- 70-0.

C) When it is not possible to make a separate classification of each of the materials

found, a classification representative of the difficulty of extraction and loading
will be set for the entire volume of the cut, always considering the three (3)
Materials A, B and C, even when zero (0) corresponds to any of them.

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 When the cut to be classified is made up of Material C, alternating in layers or with
bags of others of less classification, in such a proportion that Material C constitutes at
least seventy-five percent (75%) of the total volume, the whole It will be considered as
Material C. In those cases in which the arrangement of the materials and the thickness of
their layers is such that they can be attacked efficiently in isolation, the different volumes
will be classified separately, even when the volume of Material C is equal to or greater
than seventy-five percent. percent (75%) of the total volume of the cut to be classified.

When making cuts, particularly when explosives are used, loosening of the material
on the slopes beyond the theoretical surface set in the project will be avoided as far as
possible. If this is not the case or if there are construction defects, all material that
collapses or is unstable on the slopes will be removed and the work repaired. (General
Construction Specifications of the Book Part Two (Secretariat of Public Works, 1976))

In the cuts in Material C and when established by the project in those made in
Materials A and/or B, the excavation will be done to an average depth of thirty (30)
centimeters below the project subgrade, to form the bed, with no rock protrusions less
than fifteen (15) centimeters below the subgrade ; In special cases, the Secretariat may
increase and/or decrease the average depth of the over-excavation. All material from the
additional excavation below the subgrade must be carried out of the cut and deposited in
the place indicated by the project. (Secretary of Public Works, 1976).

We frequently encounter natural materials that, due to their consistency and/or

hardness, make us doubt whether it is necessary to exploit them with explosives or
directly with the equipment. In this case it is advisable to carry out a geophysical
investigation in order to see the most economical way to attack these banks. There is an
intermediate possibility for attacking this type of materials, which is plowing or ripping.
The condition of the rock or soil determines the ease with which its structure can
be broken by the plow; Sedimentary rocks are the most easily attacked and, in contrast,
volcanic and metamorphic rocks offer more difficulties, although decomposed granites
and other volcanic or metamorphic rocks subjected to the action of the elements are
usually attacked by plowing at low cost, especially if It is compared to the alternative of
excavating with explosives.
As the hardness and consistency of the material is the important point to consider
to define whether this method can be used or not, and the observation of the material to
be attacked is not easy, since numerous tests would be required on the bench to define
whether it is usable or not. the plow and what type of plow and tractor should be used,
we need to use indirect methods to define the attackability of the materials. The most

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common method is to correlate the type of rock or soil with the seismic velocity, which
is quite safe and economical.
In materials with seismic velocity greater than 6000 ft/sec (1830 m/s) or greater,
with the DIIR, and 4,000 ft/sec (1220 m/s) or greater, with the DIIOR, D9R and D8R,
the production figures. It must be kept in mind that seismic refraction velocity is only an
approximate indicator of scarification; much of it also depends on the specific conditions
of the site and the skill and experience of the operator.

Refraction Seismograph: Since the late 1950s, the idea of using replacement
seismographs arose to define the arability, tearability or scarification of the materials to
be excavated. In general, this method measures the speed of seismic waves at depth from
the surface, indicating consolidation, hardness, stratification and weathering, and relating
this speed and type of material to be attacked with its attackability by plowing.

The speed of the seismic wave is determined as indicated in Graph No. 1

generating a wave and measuring the time in which it reaches several recording devices
called geophones. With the data on the arrival of the waves and the distance, the speed of
the waves in each layer can be obtained, since the waves are reflected and refracted in
the continuity solutions that separate different layers. A geophysical engineer or a
specialized engineer supported by a geological survey can separate the layers and give us
the transport speeds of the waves in each layer, also giving us the depth of the layers and
the type of rock or soil, with which we have all the data to define the attack method.

Graph No. 1

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 In Graph No. 1 we see the arrangement of the wave emitter, the geophones and
the trajectories of the waves caused by the refraction and reflection of the continuity
solutions. With this data and the type of rock or soil in question, tractor and plow
manufacturers have prepared performance tables that correlate the type of soil and rock,
the speeds of the seismic wave and the thresholds where they separate the attackable
rock, the doubtful and the one that cannot be economically broken with a plow and
requires explosives. There are, of course, similar tables with different performance and
efficiency criteria and factors.

The values in the tables are generally affected by efficiency factors when the
equipment is not new , because even when care and operation have been taken, and the
machines are in acceptable condition and capable of continuing to work, they are subject
to to certain limitations, especially with regard to its efficiency, power and therefore,
productivity and economic operation, so its efficiency will undoubtedly be reduced with
respect to new equipment.

Any work can be executed through various construction procedures and using
different equipment; Logically, to execute a certain job there will always be some
procedure and certain equipment, through which the contractor's operations are carried
out optimally from the point of view of the economy.

On the other hand, the construction market offers a wide variety of machinery of
different brands, models, capacities and quality specifications. Therefore, careful studies
must be carried out in order to determine which is the most convenient machinery for the
optimal execution of the work or works in which the construction organization is
committed. The time of use of the equipment in relation to economic factors has
generated the concepts of useful life and economic life.

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