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Subassembly Composer - Ditch Depth in Fill Condition

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Message 1 of 50
jblackwood
5622 Views, 49 Replies

Subassembly Composer - Ditch Depth in Fill Condition

I am trying to create a custom subassembly using SAC 2012 that will place a 1' deep ditch at the bottom of the slope in a fill condition.  The trouble I am having is how to hold a consant 1' depth on the backslope and vary the foreslope since the daylight offset and elevation is variable depending on the slope of the existing ground.  I need the attachment point to be the edge of the shoulder so it seems like a loop that varies the foreslope length would be required but loops are not allowed.  I will also have the option to target a profile but I also need the ability to hold a constant ditch depth.

 

Has anyone tried to model something similar or have any idea on how to model this condition.  Any help would be appreciated.

 

Jim Blackwood

49 REPLIES 49
Message 2 of 50
KMercier_C3D
in reply to: jblackwood

I have an idea but a sketch would be helpful as well as what input parameters you would expect the Civil 3D end user to provide. 

 

Input Parameters:

Ditch Depth (1')

Backslope (?:1)

Ditch Bottom Width ?

 

Target Parameters:

Daylight Offset

 



Kati Mercier, P.E. | LinkedIn | AutoCAD Civil 3D Certified Professional
Pronouns: She/Her
Co-author of "Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013"
AU2019 Speaker::: CES321590: Analyze and Revise Existing Subassembly Composer PKT Files for AutoCAD Civil 3D
AU2017 Speaker::: CI125544: Analyze and Devise in Subassembly Composer
AU2012 Speaker::: CI3001: Reverse Engineering with Subassembly Composer for AutoCAD Civil 3D
AU2011 Speaker::: CI4252: Create Subassemblies That Think Outside the Box With Subassembly Composer for AutoCAD® Civil 3D®

Message 3 of 50
fcernst
in reply to: jblackwood

 "hold a consant 1' depth on the backslope and vary the foreslope"

 

No, you do not need a loop. You want to vary the foreslope to achieve your 1 foot depth relative to the backslope daylight point. 

 

You will have to supply either the desired ditch CL Offset or the desired Backslope Offset. Both of these could also be targeted Alignments, Feature Lines, or Polylines.

 

This is a well defined system  ( # independent eqn's = #unknowns) if you supply one of the above, so no loop required.

 

Or, if you decide you want to Hold the forelsope and let SAC push around the Ditch CL or the Backslope Offset to satisfy the 1' depth requirement, you could do that also.



Fred Ernst, PE
C3D 2024
Ernst Engineering
www.ernstengineering.com
Message 4 of 50
jblackwood
in reply to: jblackwood

I have attached a drawing of the situation I am trying to model.

 

The input parameters will be:

 Foreslope slope (X:1)

Backslope slope (X:1)

Ditch depth (ft)

Ditch width (ft)

 

Target Parameters:

Daylight Surface

 

Constants:

Foreslope Slope

Backslope Slope

Backslope width

 

Variables:

Ditch bottom offset

Daylight point offset

 

What I need is foreslope and backslope slopes to remain constant and have the length of the foreslope vary so that length of the backslope results in a ditch that matches the ditch depth input parameter exactly.  Setting target offsets for the ditch bottom and daylight point will not work in this case because the ditch bottom offset will vary depending on the height of the fill and the slope of the existing ground.

 

My current way of doing this is to draw linework into the corridor section editor at each station to manually find out the required ditch elevation at each station and then creating a ditch profile for the entire corridor.  I then use the LinkSlopetoElevation and Link SlopetoSurface subassembly to draw in the ditch.  This process is time consuming on projects that are several miles long so I figured that creating a subassembly to do the work for me would save a lot of time.

Message 5 of 50
doni49
in reply to: jblackwood

Just to be clear, you want to make sure the bottom of ditch elev is 1 foot below where it eventually daylights?  Or 1 foot below the EG (dimension X in the attached screen shot)?

 

Ditch.png



Don Ireland
Engineering Design Technician




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Message 6 of 50
KMercier_C3D
in reply to: doni49

I think you are going to need to have some sort of loop or sequence of test scenarios since you want the depth measured in comparison with the unknown daylight elevation. 

 

Based on your sketch, what I would do is set the following Input Parameters: 

Foreslope slope (X:1)

Backslope slope (X:1)

Ditch depth (ft)

Ditch width (ft)

Start Test Ditch Offset (ft) (ex. 5')

Test Ditch Increment (ft) (ex. 1')

 

Then use auxiliary points and auxiliary links to create a ditch using the starting ditch offset with the foreslope and backslope. If it works (AL2.ylength>=1) then you create a point and link, if it doesn't work then you test the next offset using the incremental value. I would set it up to do somewhere between 5-10 iterations. 

 

Now when you are using this subassembly in Civil 3D you can either be happy with your ditch jumping at 1' increments or you can finesse it once you know a certain range is all putting the ditch at 5' with 1' increments then set the range to start at 4' (Ditch offset - increment) and set an increment of 0.1 (increment/iterations), using the Section Editor->Parameter Editor Override. This will help smooth the offset of your ditch. 

 

(Edited to spellcheck)



Kati Mercier, P.E. | LinkedIn | AutoCAD Civil 3D Certified Professional
Pronouns: She/Her
Co-author of "Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013"
AU2019 Speaker::: CES321590: Analyze and Revise Existing Subassembly Composer PKT Files for AutoCAD Civil 3D
AU2017 Speaker::: CI125544: Analyze and Devise in Subassembly Composer
AU2012 Speaker::: CI3001: Reverse Engineering with Subassembly Composer for AutoCAD Civil 3D
AU2011 Speaker::: CI4252: Create Subassemblies That Think Outside the Box With Subassembly Composer for AutoCAD® Civil 3D®

Message 7 of 50
doni49
in reply to: jblackwood

Assuming that it's exactly as you've sketched it, look at what you know:  the foreslope (4:1) and backslope (6:1) form two sides of a triangle and since the slopes don't vary, you know the angle between them doesn't vary either.

 

So now you know the angle between an imaginary line (red line labeled "Aux Slope" in the following sketch) -- or at least you can figure out the angle ONCE. 

 

Given a line at this Aux slope from the attachment point, you can target the EG.  That will give you a first test point (if the ditch won't fit at that point then see if continuing on this slope will eventually find the EG again (maybe this imaginary line will cross the EG multiple times).

Ditch.png



Don Ireland
Engineering Design Technician




If a reply solves your issue, please remember to click on "Accept as Solution". This will help other users looking to solve a similar issue. Thank you.


Please do not send a PM asking for assistance. That's what the forums are for. This allows everyone to benefit from the question asked and the answers given.

Message 8 of 50
KMercier_C3D
in reply to: doni49

@doni49:

But you don't know the slope of the aux line just by knowing two slopes (you would need a 3rd piece of information like the xlength of both legs of the triangle). If the ditch is offset by 5' or by 10' then these are going to be two different aux slopes per your sketch. So as you said making an aux slope would just be a first test scenario, you still need to do some sort of iteration in order to obtain an answer. 

 

 



Kati Mercier, P.E. | LinkedIn | AutoCAD Civil 3D Certified Professional
Pronouns: She/Her
Co-author of "Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013"
AU2019 Speaker::: CES321590: Analyze and Revise Existing Subassembly Composer PKT Files for AutoCAD Civil 3D
AU2017 Speaker::: CI125544: Analyze and Devise in Subassembly Composer
AU2012 Speaker::: CI3001: Reverse Engineering with Subassembly Composer for AutoCAD Civil 3D
AU2011 Speaker::: CI4252: Create Subassemblies That Think Outside the Box With Subassembly Composer for AutoCAD® Civil 3D®

Message 9 of 50
doni49
in reply to: KMercier_C3D

But you don't know the slope of the aux line just by knowing two slopes (you would need a 3rd piece of information like the xlength of both legs of the triangle).

 

Sure you do.  The Aux slope will never change.  The LENGTH of the aux slope line will change.  If you go from the attachment point at this aux slope and target the EG, you will eventually hit the EG (if you're in fill as the OP stated). 

 

I haven't actually used them myself but I have seen conditional subassemblies.  Can't you go from this EG/AuxSlope point and work backwards to see if the ditch will fit and if it doesn't fit, continue on with using the same aux slope and target the EG again?

 

This is just basic geometry, if you know the slopes of the back and fore slope then you know the angle between them.  That angle can't change and as such the angle between Aux Slope and foreslope can not change and neither can the angle between Aux Slope and backslope.



Don Ireland
Engineering Design Technician




If a reply solves your issue, please remember to click on "Accept as Solution". This will help other users looking to solve a similar issue. Thank you.


Please do not send a PM asking for assistance. That's what the forums are for. This allows everyone to benefit from the question asked and the answers given.

Message 10 of 50
KMercier_C3D
in reply to: doni49

Please see my attached 15 second sketch. As you stated the slopes of the foreslope and backslope remain unchanged. The length of the backslope will remain constant since that is defining the 1' depth however the length of the foreslope (and therefore the "aux slope") will vary as shown. 

 2-4-2013 1-33-47 PM.jpg



Kati Mercier, P.E. | LinkedIn | AutoCAD Civil 3D Certified Professional
Pronouns: She/Her
Co-author of "Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013"
AU2019 Speaker::: CES321590: Analyze and Revise Existing Subassembly Composer PKT Files for AutoCAD Civil 3D
AU2017 Speaker::: CI125544: Analyze and Devise in Subassembly Composer
AU2012 Speaker::: CI3001: Reverse Engineering with Subassembly Composer for AutoCAD Civil 3D
AU2011 Speaker::: CI4252: Create Subassemblies That Think Outside the Box With Subassembly Composer for AutoCAD® Civil 3D®

Message 11 of 50

What if you went up first for the backslope (using slope and Delta Y) and then do a Aux point to the surface. Then from that daylight point, go down for the ditch bottom and then back up to the hinge point.

 

In the sketch AL1 is 6:1, AL2 is what every slope you want for the foreslope, AP2 is the daylight, P2 is the ditch bottom where L2 is at 6:1, and L1 is at the foreslope. P2 is 1' below P3.

 

Regards,

 

Peter Funk

Autodesk, Inc.



Peter Funk
Autodesk, Inc.

Message 12 of 50
fcernst
in reply to: peterfunkautodesk

Very clever!  Thank you for showing...



Fred Ernst, PE
C3D 2024
Ernst Engineering
www.ernstengineering.com
Message 13 of 50

Brilliant!

 

Never thought about pulling about my geometry book and looking at similar triangles!

Message 14 of 50
premj
in reply to: peterfunkautodesk

FYI

Many similar tips & tricks are covered in my SAC training book and for details feel free to visit:

 

http://www.solidcad.ca/training/civil/autocad-civil-3d-subassembly-composer/

 

 

Regards,

PJ

Message 15 of 50

So how wuold I set this up to be a condtional situation where in cut I want a ditch to be 18" deep from the edge of shoulder and in fill to have a ditch at the toe as described.

Message 16 of 50

You would check to see if the P1 point is above or below the target surface and then branch the SA for cut/fill. In the cut branch, you would create the ditch down 18" at your slope, and they daylight up to the surface. In the Fill, you would use the method described above.

Cheers,

Peter Funk
Autodesk, Inc.


Peter Funk
Autodesk, Inc.

Message 17 of 50

Ok.  So I am completely new to SA composer how would this look in the composer?

Message 18 of 50

OK.  I think I have the subassebly created in SA composer, but the preview is only displaying the false condition (cut).  Is there a way to display the true condition (fill) so I can check the input?

Message 19 of 50


@jefferyheinrich3734 wrote:

OK.  I think I have the subassebly created in SA composer, but the preview is only displaying the false condition (cut).  Is there a way to display the true condition (fill) so I can check the input?


On the Target parameters tab, set the surface's Preview Value to a negative number. 

 

SAC TargetSurface.png

 

EDIT:  After posting this, I thought maybe it would be helpful to explain that a little further.  The "surface" that the preview displays is flat and is shown as though it's at this "Preview" elevation.  If you have an end condition that is dependent upon being a specific distance above or below the surface, then change this preview value such that you're able to see what happens at the various elevation changes.



Don Ireland
Engineering Design Technician




If a reply solves your issue, please remember to click on "Accept as Solution". This will help other users looking to solve a similar issue. Thank you.


Please do not send a PM asking for assistance. That's what the forums are for. This allows everyone to benefit from the question asked and the answers given.

Message 20 of 50

Thanks, but I must not have something correct because it still only displays the false condition (cut).

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