Subsurface Utilities Box Structure?

Folks:

As I have recently been developing the Subsurface Utilities *.dgnlib for use at our firm, I have noticed that there does not seem to be a command set/ availability to place a Reinforced Concrete Box ("R.C.B". here in Oklahoma)  structure. Am I missing something here, or does the current version of OpenRoads Designer Connect Edition (2019 R1) not have the ability to do such? If it cannot place/ design an R.C.B., are there future plans to implement this often needed structure?

Thanks!

Mark

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  • It can.  You will need to define box shaped conduits of course. And you will need feature definitions for the various head walls. This is the worst part since box culvert head walls have so many variations. It can take a day or three to produce the variations needed.

    Then the workflow for laying out is: place the two head walls inlet and outlet, then connect a conduit between them. For large boxes at severe skew angles, the models can be less than perfect as it slices the conduit at a skew.  Just keep in mind that the models are not shop drawings. If the 3D model is too ugly for your taste then see alternate workflow below.

    For hydraulic calculations you need to go into the utility property panel and change the flag "Is Conduit" from false to true. This changes the hydraulic calcs from HEC 22 to HY8. (Oversimplified statement I am sure).  Keep in mind that for large boxes, and large flows, that you may need a more rigorous calculations engine than included in OpenRoads.

    Alternate: Layout headwalls and conduit same as above except, use generic feature definitions which are not defined for 3D details. These feature defintions need to contain all the proper hydraulic properties but for 3D just make a small dot for the head walls. Use this layout for hydraulic calcs only.  Then make the 3D model using Microstation 3D feature modeling tools. The advantage of using the MS 3D tools is that you could build dimension driven models so that you don;t have to build so many variations up front.

    Robert Garrett
    Senior Consultant

    www.envisioncad.com

  • Thank you so much for answering my call, Robert, and for providing such detailed statements of the steps involved. I will be sure to bookmark this conversation!

    Thanks Again!

    Regards,

    Mark

    Mark Anthony Plum
    Chief Technology Officer
    1601 N.W. Expressway, Suite 400
    Oklahoma City, OK  73118
     
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