Layer¶

Use this dialog to construct layers in excavations and crossings, and optionally enter values for attributes.

Where to Find the Dialog¶

On the toolbox in the terrain model drawing, select Excavation or Crossing, and then the Layer tab.

About Layers in Excavation and Crossing¶

Layers in excavations and crossings are drawn as sub-objects. You can click on individual layers in plan and 3D to display key information and attributes in the properties window.

Excavation has two calculation methods. For volume contour, only one layer is allowed, which can contain only one polygon that determines the area to be calculated. This polygon will be of the type boundary contour. Only a few of the functions in the dialog are active for volume contour.

Dialog Structure¶

The dialog contains three lists:

List of layers
List of geometry
List of attributes

1. List of Layers¶

This list contains all the layers that the intervention consists of, with various settings.

An intervention must have at least one surface layer. When you create an excavation or a crossing, this layer is included by default.

All layers receive their own GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) when created. The GUID does not change even if you edit the geometry in the layer. If you copy the excavation with Save as..., new GUIDs are generated. The GUIDs are stored in the model but are invisible to users.

Several other options are also available on the right mouse button. Among others, you will find the option Edit cut/fill parameters. This option is also available on the right mouse button for lines in the layer and therefore needs further explanation. If you enter parameters for the layer, they apply to all boundary contours and hole contours, provided you select the Auto method for the lines.

Tip

In many situations, the layer contains many boundary contours that should have the same settings, for example, a layer with many foundations. Also note that when you save templates, these parameters are saved, not those you may have created manually on each individual boundary or hole contour.

Type/No.¶

A layer consists of a layer type and layer number. There are two types:

Theo. (constructed theoretical layers)
Mass. (layers generated from an area mass type)

Use the New... option on the right mouse button to create a new theoretical layer, for example, Deep Blasting.

Def. type¶

A layer can have the definition type Simple or Composite.

The triangle net for simple layers is built from points and lines in the layer.

You can create a composite layer with New composite.... An example could be a trench, which you want to form from the lowest of the surface and reinforcement layers.

The triangle net for composite layers is built by combining triangle nets from several layers.

Show¶

With this option, you can turn off the display of individual layers on the screen.

Cut Layer¶

With this option, you can cut one layer against another.

An example is an excavation with many foundations. If you place the foundations on a separate layer, you want these to stop at the main excavation's surface. For the foundation's cut surfaces, you should use parameters for a surface that can be defined long enough and with the desired slope. In other words, do not use Cut slope soil or Cut slope rock, which stop automatically at physical layers.

Use of cut layer for foundations

Trim¶

If you select cut layer, the cut and fill surfaces will by default follow the construction rules.

In the example, you see that the layer stops at the stratum since it is below the cut layer.

With the Trim option, you can extend cut and fill surfaces to the cut layer.

Build¶

With this option, you can override the Build layer button. You can turn off the building of individual layers.

Intervention¶

With this option, you can specify which layers should make interventions in the terrain grid, as well as the intervention type: cut, fill, or all. Typically, this option is active with intervention type "all" for the excavation's surface.

Triangles¶

If you want to display cut/fill as a triangle net, you must check Triangles.

This is useful if you want to use the same material for the entire layer (treating cut/fill and main surfaces the same in render mode). Otherwise, the program uses the predefined materials for Road cut and Road fill.

Triangulation Method¶

You can choose between two methods:

Standard

Standard is the default and most used method.

Overlap

Overlap is designed for use with intervention type cut or fill. The method uses only the boundary contours in the layer and applies only to the main triangle net. The boundary contours can overlap each other. Each boundary contour is triangulated and then merged.

Overlap

For example, with intervention type cut, the triangle net will adjust the terrain grid to the lowest level.

2. List of Geometry¶

This list contains geometry and settings for the active layer.

Point¶

Select New... on the right mouse button to create new points.

Lines¶

Select New... on the right mouse button to create new lines.

You can also use Add application layer lines.... With this option, you can add one or more lines from the application layer. Select the application layer lines using the standard method for selecting objects on the screen, for example, by holding down the left mouse button while dragging to the right and down. Note that a line will be set as a break line and a polygon will be set as a boundary contour.

A third option is Add plan geometry from screen.... With this option, you drag a rectangle over the lines/polygons you want to add. Only horizontal lines/polygons are included. This function is especially designed for inserted objects in the drawing, such as IFC files. In such cases, you often want to retrieve the lowest plan as the basis for the excavation's surface.

Also note the function Create union of polygons.... With this, you can create a new polygon from several adjacent polygons, with or without extension.

Create union of polygons...

Original polygons

Union polygon (with extension 0.75)

You can also attach a vertical curvature to the line. In that case, select Create vertical curvature on the right mouse button.

There is also an option to expand or shrink closed 2D lines. Select the lines and choose Expand/Shrink 2D polygons... from the right-click menu.

The default value is 2 × minimum point distance as defined under the Options tab.

This function is useful when the starting point is two polygons (closed 2D lines) with coincident edges. These will not be triangulated in the excavation, as the routine requires a small distance between the lines.

Shrink

"Starting point: 2D closed lines"

Shrunk

The shrunken lines can be triangulated in the excavation

For lines, the list has some specific columns described below. Some of these, line type and method, can be changed collectively with the Set line settings... option on the right mouse button.

Another useful option is Copy outer line. This follows the points where cut and fill meet the terrain.

The blue line is the copied outer line

Grid¶

If you check Grid, a grid is created that you can snap to when editing the line. The grid's orientation in space is determined by the first three points in the line. You can set the grid density under Format - Grid Setting.

Line Type¶

There are several types of lines:

Guide line
Break line
Boundary contour
Hole contour
Cut line
Annotation line

1. Guide Line¶

This is not included in triangulation and is mainly used for:

Holding a line that describes a 3D plane
Lines that should only have cut/fill surfaces, and not the main triangle net. For example, for mass replacement or backfilling.

2-4. Break Line, Boundary Contour, and Hole Contour¶

For these lines, you can define cut/fill surfaces, i.e., the transition to the terrain. Check the cut/fill column to activate these.

5. Cut Line¶

A cut line is used if you want cut/fill surfaces to be cut against a line only for this layer (the lines at the excavation level are also used for all layers).

6. Annotation Line¶

Annotation lines are used to present excavation heights in plan. By default, the text is inserted horizontally and only at break points. If you want to insert heights at a given distance along the line, you can specify this under the Options tab.

Height¶

This column shows whether the line is a 2D line (height is shown in the column), a 3D line, or if the line has a vertical curvature for specifying height. Note that you can sort the columns in the list.

Cut/Fill¶

For boundary contours and hole contours, you can check this column. This will activate the parameters that build cut and fill surfaces, as well as any superstructure layers.

Method¶

By default, the Auto method is active. The parameters defined for the layer are used. Note that these parameters for the layer are updated when you select Use template... and Save template...

You can override the parameters for the layer by selecting the Manual method. Then you can have different parameters for different lines in the same layer.

Furthermore, you can edit the parameters with Edit cut/fill parameters on the right mouse button.

Triangle Net¶

The triangle net for the main surfaces (the surfaces within the boundary contour) is built by the program based on the points and lines entered in the layer.

The triangle net for cut/fill (the surfaces outside the boundary contour) is built by the program based on generated profiles where the boundary contour is the centerline. The parameters for profile generation can be found under the Options tab.

It is also possible to import triangle nets from other tools and use them, for example, in mass types. The method is to import the triangle net to an application layer and then use the standard copy/paste functions. Note that Paste becomes active for triangle nets when building is turned off.

3. List of Attributes¶

This list contains defined attributes for which you can enter values. You can link attributes to a layer in the excavation. The attributes that apply to the layers are defined in the Metadata tab.

Enter values directly in the field or select from predefined drop-down menus.

Build Layer¶

This button builds the layers in the excavation against the strata in the drawing without having to exit the properties dialog for the excavation. Note that the layers are also built automatically when you click OK in the dialog if you have made changes to the excavation.

Mass Replacement and Backfill Layers¶

If you have physical layers for vegetation, topsoil, and/or mass replacement, you can also have the theoretical mass replacement layers calculated automatically.

Check Auto-build replacement and backfill layers, and layers 03: Mass Replacement and 04: Backfill will be built.

A* = Backfill, B* = Mass Replacement

These layers inherit cut and fill parameters from layer 0: Surface. If the layers already exist, they will be overwritten without warning before new building.

Superstructure Layers¶

Check Auto-build superstructure layers, and defined superstructure layers will be created and built, for example, 60: Base Layer 1 and 70: Reinforcement Layer 1.

Where the program retrieves values for the superstructure differs in crossings and excavations:

Crossing: The superstructure in the crossing retrieves the maximum thickness from the SFI files at the crossing point and uses this throughout the crossing.
Excavation: The superstructure in the excavation retrieves the thicknesses from the cut/fill parameters for the surface, meaning you must have defined parameters for the superstructure here.