Math wizards question

Math wizards question

RobertEVs
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Message 1 of 27

Math wizards question

RobertEVs
Advisor
Advisor

How would you determine "X" and "Y" when you have a 1% slope or anything except 0%? 0 would be easy to determine.

 

2024-04-26_09-14-33.png

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Message 2 of 27

Jeff_M
Consultant
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x= y/(g+s)

slope_calc.png

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Message 3 of 27

Joe-Bouza
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0.5/0.075= 6.67'

 

Joe Bouza
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Message 4 of 27

RobertEVs
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"0.5/0.075= 6.67'"

 

Me thinks you missed the 1% Flowline grade part. 

It actually comes out to 1% running slope with curb height of 0.5'

 

Ramp UP 7.692'

(100*0.5)/((7.5-1.0)*100)*100

 

Ramp DOWN 5.882'

(100*0.5)/((7.5+1.0)*100)*100

 

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Message 5 of 27

RobertEVs
Advisor
Advisor

X= y/(g+s)

and

Y= y/(g-s) for down grade

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Message 6 of 27

fcernst
Mentor
Mentor

The way I read your diagram is that you need to drop 0.5' at a rate of 7.5ft/100ft = 0.075 ft/ft to complete the small triangles...the flowline grade is irrelevant. The 0.5' perpendicular segment rotates continuously relative to the flowline at a constant 90 degrees.

 

0.5ft/7.5ft/100ft = 50ft^2/7.5ft = 6.7ft



Fred Ernst, PE
C3D 2026
Ernst Engineering
www.ernstengineering.com
Message 7 of 27

Jeff_M
Consultant
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Well, using the formula I posted: 0.075 + (-0.01)  You just plug in the negative slope value.

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Message 8 of 27

Joe-Bouza
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I don't think so. the height of the curb ramp does not care about the slope of the road. Ped ramp wings rise 1 on 12 8% they don't care what the slope of the road is

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joe Bouza
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Message 9 of 27

Joe-Bouza
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That the way I read it too

Joe Bouza
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Message 10 of 27

RobertEVs
Advisor
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0.5ft/7.5ft/100ft = 50ft^2/7.5ft = 6.7ft

 

I'm confused a bit here I'm trying to understand where you are coming from but If I take a featureline that is @-1% grade and set an elevation point then offset another to 6.7ft from that I do not wind up with a 7.5% grade but 8.47% instead. Also, that puts the top elevation at 0.4' and not 0.5'. Therefore, the flow grade is relevant, not to mention that the offsets at 7.5% are both different dimensions when using a grade for a flowline. In my case Ramp UP=7.692ft. and Ramp Down=5.882ft.

 

RobertEVs_0-1721854914713.png

 

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Message 11 of 27

fcernst
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Assuming those are two right triangles each with a height of 0.5’ .. the 0.5’ height segments maintain a constant relative 90 degree relationship with their base (i.e. flowline here) regardless of the absolute rotation angle of their bases.. making the i.e. flowline slope irrelevant in their base length calculations. 



Fred Ernst, PE
C3D 2026
Ernst Engineering
www.ernstengineering.com
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Message 12 of 27

fcernst
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Assuming those are two right triangles each with a height of 0.5’ .. the 0.5’ height segments maintain a constant relative 90 degree relationship with their base (i.e. flowline here) regardless of the absolute rotation angle of their bases.. making the i.e. flowline slope irrelevant in their base length calculations. 



Fred Ernst, PE
C3D 2026
Ernst Engineering
www.ernstengineering.com
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Message 13 of 27

Pointdump
Consultant
Consultant

Hi Robert,
Figure is misleading. It looks like "X" is measured along the 1% slope flowline, which would be 7.698078'. I think what you're really looking for is horizontal alignment length, which would be 7.692694.
Dave

Dave Stoll
Las Vegas, Nevada

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Message 14 of 27

Joe-Bouza
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Typica ADA requires the maximum rate of the flare to be 8% 1:12 which is 6’ for a 6” rise. The ped ramp does care about the slope of the road.

Joe Bouza
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Message 15 of 27

Joe-Bouza
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This not what the original diagram shows. The throat is the same level as the flow line and rises independently of the flow line

Joe Bouza
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Message 16 of 27

RobertEVs
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Am I missing something here? Would not one ramp be longer on one side than the other when there is a gutter flowline true slope? When I lay these out, they tend to come out that way. In other words, 6.67' will not yield 7.5% ramp. If you come off a landing and head towards the upward side of the sloping sidewalk a ramp at 7.5% is going to take a bit longer to achieve than the downward side.

 

4rcr26a.jpg

 

 

Message 17 of 27

RobertEVs
Advisor
Advisor
What is a throat joe? If that is the landing 2% is max or 1.5% design in any direction
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Message 18 of 27

CahaLF7RX
Advocate
Advocate

Hello again.

Joe is correct.  the curb height is 0.5 ft and that is and both ramp ends.

it has to be or else your sidewalk is not matching the roadway slope.

(and that is a design nightmare)

best of luck,

nonbeard13

Message 19 of 27

Jeff_M
Consultant
Consultant

This illustrates what @RobertEVs is saying. 

2024-07-25_14-58-50.png

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Message 20 of 27

fcernst
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Those aren’t 6” drops as shown in the original diagram though..



Fred Ernst, PE
C3D 2026
Ernst Engineering
www.ernstengineering.com
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