Engineering ToolBox - Resources, Tools and Basic Information for Engineering and Design of Technical Applications!

Soil and Rock - Bulk Factors

Soil and rock expansion - or swell - after mining.

Soil or rock from the borrow expands when dropped on the lorry or the landfill - or stockpiled. One cubic from the borrow does not translate to one cubic dump.

Soil - expansion from borrow to lorry and dump fill

Bulking or swell factors for some materials:

Soil and Rock - Bulk Factors
MaterialDensity at the Borrow
103
(kg/m3)
Bulking (Swell) Factor
(%)
Basalt 2.4 - 3.1 75 - 80
Clay 1.8 - 2.6 20 - 40
Dolomite 2.8 50 - 60
Earth 20 - 30
Gneiss 2.69 75 - 80
Granite 2.6 - 2.8 75 - 80
Gravel, dry 1.80 20 - 30
Gravel, wet 2.00 20 - 30
Gravel, wet w/clay 50 - 60
Limestone 2.7 -2.8 75 - 80
Loam 15 - 25
Quartz 2.65 75 - 80
Rock 40 - 80
Sand, dry 1.60 20 - 30
Sand, wet 1.95 20 - 30
Sandstone 2.1 - 2.4 75 - 80
Slate 2.6 - 3.3 85 - 90
Soil 1.2 - 1.6 20 - 30
  • 1 kg/m3 = 0.0624 lb/ft3

Example - Swell Factor

After excavation of 300 m3 clay with bulking factor 40% - the clay swells to

(300 m3) (100% + 40%) / 100% = 420 m3 

in the dump.

Related Topics

  • Miscellaneous

    Engineering related topics like Beaufort Wind Scale, CE-marking, drawing standards and more.

Related Documents

Search

Search is the most efficient way to navigate the Engineering ToolBox.

Engineering ToolBox - SketchUp Extension - Online 3D modeling!

3D Engineering ToolBox Extension to SketchUp - add parametric components to your SketchUp model

Add standard and customized parametric components - like flange beams, lumbers, piping, stairs and more - to your Sketchup model with the Engineering ToolBox - SketchUp Extension - enabled for use with older versions of the amazing SketchUp Make and the newer "up to date" SketchUp Pro . Add the Engineering ToolBox extension to your SketchUp Make/Pro from the Extension Warehouse !

Translate this Page

Translate this page to Your Own Language .

About the Engineering ToolBox!

Privacy Policy

We don't collect information from our users. More about

We use a third-party to provide monetization technologies for our site. You can review their privacy and cookie policy here.

You can change your privacy settings by clicking the following button: .

Citation

This page can be cited as

  • The Engineering ToolBox (2009). Soil and Rock - Bulk Factors. [online] Available at: https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/soil-rock-bulking-factor-d_1557.html [Accessed Day Month Year].

Modify the access date according your visit.

3D Engineering ToolBox - draw and model technical applications! 2D Engineering ToolBox - create and share online diagram drawing templates! Engineering ToolBox Apps - mobile online and offline engineering applications!

Unit Converter

















































3.27.8

.