Importing Road Models¶

Introduction¶

To describe a road in Gemini Terrain, we can use designed data from consultants. Currently, we support import of deliverables in the following formats:

VIPS project (horizontal and vertical geometry, as well as road parameters)
Anpakke (horizontal and vertical geometry, as well as road parameters)
LandXML 3D lines
TIT/NYL (horizontal and vertical geometry)
SBG (horizontal and vertical geometry)

How we handle these formats is described in more detail below.

VIPS Project¶

A VIPS project can contain the following elements:

Horizontal curvature
Vertical curvature
Road parameters and cross sections
Extra lines

The following files must exist if we are to import a VIPS project:

VIPS databases from NovaPoint version 21 and later:

DMI
DMR

Earlier VIPS databases:

GEN
VRT
VPR
HOR

In addition, we have files for theoretical and physical layers from road construction in VIPS. The file .VEG contains the resulting road body, and the file .TER contains VIPS terrain. These two files do not need to be included. Input data from the design is imported to the tables under Road parameters (manual method).

Procedure for Importing a VIPS Project¶

Procedure

Select File - Import...
Select File type, VIPS database (*.DMI, *DMR, *.GEN)
Browse to the folder with the project files
Select the file(s) and click Open
Accept or change the name of the SFI model and click Save

Note

In this import, we can perform import of one or more VIPS models simultaneously, depending on whether we select one or more files for import. When the import is completed, the horizontal curvature and road body (VIPS theoretical) are automatically inserted into the drawing.

From the VIPS project, we read:

Geometry:

Horizontal curvature
Vertical curvature
Extra lines (side boundary and surface boundary lines)

Input data:

Table: Surface descriptions
Table: Surface boundary lines
Table: Side boundary
Table: Rock shelf
Table: Min. ditch depth
Table: Superstructure
Table: Special leveling
Table: Deep blasting
Table: Removal of topsoil and vegetation
Table: Mass replacement
Table: Ground leveling

Road result from VIPS calculation:

VIPS theoretical profiles

Terrain from VIPS calculation:

VIPS physical profiles

Note

We do not import all tables that exist in VIPS, but only the most relevant ones. This means that in some situations, we cannot build the layers exactly like VIPS does. Among other things, we do not read rehabilitation data from VIPS. If the VIPS project contains such data, we will receive a message about this in the log.

The VIPS Miscellaneous Layer Type¶

Physical VIPS layers not used in construction/mass calculation are imported to the layer type VIPS miscellaneous. These layers are also listed in the log file for the import of the VIPS project.

The layer type is only displayed in the profiles if the option All layers or VIPS layers is checked under Drawing options for longitudinal and cross sections.

If you want to build or calculate masses against VIPS miscellaneous, this can be done after either giving the layer a new name or copying it to a physical layer.

Error Messages¶

Unable to load resource DLL''\Resources\road.rc..dll'' because it does not exist!  
Novapoint also tried to load ''\Resources\road.rc.eng.dll'', but this was not found either.

There may be several reasons for this message:

The folder where the VIPS project is located is write-protected. A typical situation is that the project is on a server to which you do not have write access. Another situation is if the device on which the data is located is write-protected.
The path to the folder where the VIPS project is located is too long or contains Norwegian characters (ÆØÅ).
Files are missing in the VIPS project.

Warnings¶

Warning

It is important to check the log that appears after exporting VIPS. Here you can get useful information about tables that are not supported and changes in VIPS that can affect the construction of Gemini theoretical layers.

Example

Some deep blasting depths are less than the standard of 0.75 m. If this is an old VIPS project, then the reference layer should be Trench.

In this case, we may need to change the reference surface from Surface to Trench in the deep blasting table.

Anpakke Project¶

An Anpakke project can contain the following elements:

Horizontal curvature
Vertical curvature
Road parameters and cross sections

The following files must exist if we are to import an Anpakke project:

VL1 (horizontal curvature)
LPL (vertical curvature)

The TVV file provides surface descriptions, while the OVB file contains superstructure and deep blasting for Road parameters (manual method). The JRD and JR4 files contain the physical layers of soil and rock. The program places the built road surface from Anpakke on VIPS theoretical, while terrain used in Anpakke is placed on Gemini physical. No separate layer types have been created for Anpakke as for VIPS.

Note

With Anpakke import from File - Import..., horizontal curvature and road body (VIPS theoretical) are automatically inserted into the drawing.

VIPS ASCII Format¶

With this option, we can import:

TIT (horizontal curvature)
NYL (vertical curvature)

Manual Entry of Road Data¶

If we do not have a digital description of the road model, we can enter data manually. Horizontal and vertical geometry can be entered manually in separate dialogs. The same applies to the tables that describe the road body (road parameters).

Procedure for Manual Entry¶

Procedure

Create an SFI model (manual method)
Enter horizontal curvature
Generate longitudinal profile
Enter vertical curvature
Generate cross sections
Enter road parameters (manual method)
Build surfaces

This is the same procedure that we use when designing roads in Gemini Terrain, but then we choose road parameters (parametric method).

Often we have variants of this, for example, parts of the road model digitally in the form of horizontal and vertical geometry. Then you can import this data and enter the rest manually.