Cross-Sections

Run the function from the following locations:

MOUS_ICO Novapoint Road task > Design > Cross-sections

MOUS_ICO Road Modeler > View > Cross-sections

The dialog box Cross-section Viewer will start.

The dialog box has three main areas;

• Toolbar

• Cross-section Presentation

• Properties Area

Use this function to:

• View and analyze the cross-sections (road and terrain cross-sections) of a road model.

• Access editing functions for the road model descriptions on the active road task, or Road/Railway tasks added as 'Calculation Basis' or 'Illustration Symbols' from the graphic area by right-clicking on the data.

The data from the descriptions will update the cross-section in the Cross-section Viewer when pressing the button Apply inside the description dialogs.

Note: The result objects of the road model will be deleted when using Apply as only one cross-section is calculated and updated. To get the result back, calculate the road through Preview, Finish or Refresh all chainage.

Having the Cross-section Viewer and a 3D view in Quadri for Windows active makes for a powerful tool when optimizing the alignment (horizontal and/or vertical) and surface descriptions.

Calculated cross-sections will show the active road model cross-section and how it relates to the data added as 'Calculation Basis' and 'Illustration Objects'.

In addition, it can show:

• Design Objects

• Illustration Symbols

All the surfaces are displayed according to the Color and Linetype Setup in the Toolbar.

When selecting one of the road model surfaces in the Cross-section Viewer it will blink steadily. Data from the surface will be displayed in the Properties Area together with key information from the general cross-section.

View the cross-sections by:

• Using the scroll bar on the right side of the dialog enables you to browse through the cross-sections

• Using the arrow button at the field Chainage of the dialog

• Entering the chainage value in the field Chainage

• Using the arrows keys or page up/page down keys on the keyboard

The size of the window can be adjusted manually or can be maximized.

• The last sizing is automatically displayed every time the dialog is activated.

Toolbar

The Toolbar consists of a few handy tools to operate the Cross-section Viewer.

Number 1: Refresh all chainage - Use this function to recalculate all chainages.

Number 2: Refresh current chainage - Use this function to recalculate only the active cross-section in the viewer.

• This icon performs the same operation as that of the Apply button on the dialogs

• The result objects for the road model stored in the Quadrimodel is deleted as the data is now updated

This option is an effective tool when repeatedly editing only one road cross-section. Scrolling through the road model will now be slow as each chainage is recalculated.

Number 3: Toggles layers ON/OFF - Use this function to toggle layers on and off in the Cross-section Viewer:

• • Current Road - pavement, sub-surface layers, and boundary lines

  • Terrain surface

  • Other Elements (wireframes, alignments, objects, and external models

  • Information

  • Illustration Objects

The viewer will be updated dynamically in relation to layer selection.

Number 4: Step length - Use this function to toggle what calculated cross-sections to view. By default, the quantity calculated chainages will be shown in the viewer.

This can be modified by selecting Walk along these chainages and:

• With interval as given for the cross-section calculation

• Intermediate chainage (defined in Design > Settings > Chainage)

• Chainage at surface break points (for every chainage with change in the road surface description or alignment elements)

Number 5: Toggles the ruler on/off - Use this function to turn the horizontal and vertical rulers on/off.

Tip: There is an option to display the vertical ruler relative to reference alignment elevation or absolute elevations by pressing the icon between the horizontal and vertical rulers.

Number 6: Toggles the grid on/off - Use this function to turn the horizontal and vertical gridlines in the graphical area of the viewer on/off. The grid size varies on zoom level.

Number 7: Toggles properties on/off - Use this function to turn the Properties Area on/off in the bottom part of the viewer.

Number 8: Measure distances - Use this function to measure diagonal, horizontal, vertical distances, and gradient.

• Pick the first point and move the cursor to the second point (don't pick the second point)

• Activate the AutoSnap to points to get an accurate measure

Number 9: Locate a point in plan coordinate - Use this function to obtain the global coordinates in XYZ for any point in the cross-section.

• • Activate the AutoSnap to points to get an accurate measure

Number 10: AutoSnap to points - Use this function to activate different snap modes.

• • Snap to Endpoints (snaps to a surface endpoint)

  • Snap to Midpoints (snaps to a surface midpoint)

  • Snap to elevation symbol (snaps to an alignments vertical elevation)

Number 11-16: Panning and zooming - Use these functions for various panning and zooming alternatives.

• Pan

• Zoom (press anywhere on the graphical view and move the cursor to zoom in and out)

• Zoom all (zooms to show the full cross-section with all available terrain and elements)

• Zoom window (zooms to a defined rectangle)

• Zoom road (zooms to show the calculated road model)

Number 18: Colour and Linetype Setup - Use this dialog to set up the colors and line types for the graphical area (background, road model surfaces, grid, terrain, and other elements).

Tip: Be careful not to select a background color for the viewer that will mask other elements with the same color.

Cross-section Presentation

In the middle, we see the cross-sections presented graphically perpendicular to the reference alignment, as calculated. These cross-sections are the input to the production of 3D results that appear inside the Quadri model.

The colors, line types, and background can be managed from the Color and Linetype Setup, and data can be turned On/Off from Toggles layers ON/OFF.

Left-click

Left-click to select the cross-section data. Information about the selected data will be presented in the Properties Area at the bottom part of the Cross-section Viewer dialog.

Right-click

Right-click cross-section data for the active road model to access the design description dialogs and tables. This is a natural way of working with the cross-section and input data in tandem.

Right-clicking a Road/Railway task used as Calculation Basis (from now named 'Road/Railway task in Calculation Basis') to access the design description dialogs and tables for this task. For projects on a Quadri server, the function requires that the 'Road/Railway task in Calculation Basis' you want to edit is reserved.

Apply and see changes in the 'Road/Railway task in Calculation Basis'

To apply and see the changes in the 'Road/Railway task in Calculation Basis' as part of the cross-sections for the active road model, then you need to: 

1. Apply changes to the descriptions of the 'Road/Railway task in Calculation Basis'.

2. Close the design description dialog for that task.

3. Right-click the 'Road/Railway task in Calculation Basis' and choose Build from the drop-down menu.

4. Wait for the 'Road/Railway task in Calculation Basis' to complete the build (build progress can be viewed in Process Info inside Quadri for Windows).

5. Rebuild the active road task.

6. The results from the 'Road/Railway task in Calculation Basis' should be updated in the cross-sections for the active road task.

Note: This method replaces the function External model found in Novapoint 20 and earlier versions.

Cross-section information and messages

In the lower left-hand side, there will be some information and messages.

Section information will tell if the section is a part of the defined cross-section interval (Interval section), or if the section is an extra section related to changes in the road design or extra chainages to calculate defined by the user (Intermediate section).

Messages can also appear telling if the section has warnings or errors. These should be resolved.

A list of common messages and how you may solve them can be found here.

Properties Area

At the bottom of the Cross-section Viewer is the Properties Area showing data connected to the cross-section in the graphical area depending on what surfaces are selected.

The Properties Area can be switched On/Off by pressing the icon Toggles properties on/off from the Toolbar, or by double-clicking on the top border of the properties area.

When hovering over the different data in the Properties Area with the mouse a description of the field is displayed.

Properties Area Information and Settings

Number 1: Chainage: Displays the cross-section chainage.

1. • Enter the desired chainage number to view that cross-section.

   • If the desired cross-section is not previously calculated, this is done before it is displayed.

   • Any desired cross-section can easily be calculated with this function by entering the chainage value. The cross-section is not added to the road model, but only generated for viewing.

   • When a full cross-section calculation is performed these profiles will disappear.

Number 2: Subgrade type: This field displays the Subgrade Type of the active cross-section derived from the Soil/Rock usage in Pavement.

Number 3: Level of vertical alignment: The vertical elevation of the Reference Alignment in this cross-section.

Number 4: Gradient of vertical alignment: Gradient of vertical alignment.

Number 5: Horizontal position of pointer: Horizontal distance of the cursor pointer according to the horizontal ruler.

Number 6: Vertical position of pointer: Vertical distance of the cursor pointer according to the vertical ruler.

Number 7: Additional scarifying (the slider): Toggle surfaces to the left or right within the selected Surface group.

1. • Useful if there are surfaces with small widths in the cross-section.

Number 8: Name of selected object: Name of the active surface.

1. • For Illustration Objects the TaskName will show when hover-over.

Number 9: Surface group/type: There are different surface groups/types available in the road model. Select the desired surface from the pull-down menu.

Number 10: Width: Width of the horizontal projection of the active surface.

Number 11: Slope: Cross-slope of active surface in meter/meter.

Number 12: Level: The elevation on the outer edge of the active surface.

Number 13: Horizontal distance: The horizontal distance from the alignment to the outer edge of the active surface.

Number 14: Vertical distance: The vertical distance from the alignment to the outer edge of the active surface.

Next topic: Road Surfaces