Often there are geotechnical factors that could impact your Level AI design. Examples are:
A layer of rock that cannot be cut into
Sand or other soil conditions that would increase development cost if cut into
To add geotech data points you can either manually add Geotech cogo points
Alternatively you can import cogo points to your model and then convert them to Allsite Geotech Data points - select all points to be converted, then right click on the items and convert or use click the Allsite Draw / Convert.
After the geotech points have been created you can edit the extended data to set the the parameters based on the geotech bore log. When Level AI runs it interpolates a surface based on all of the points and uses that to provide certain limits on the design.
Geotech Settings
Setting | Description |
Max Cut / Fill | Amount of cut or fill at the bore log point. For example this could be set to the rock layer with an additional tolerance of 3ft added |
Max/Min Elevation | The elevation that provides a max / min for Level AI run |
Min/Max Grade | Recorded against the point, but not currently applied — Level AI does not limit grade from geotech points. To constrain grade over an area, set the grade limits on the parcel, road or ground control objects instead. |
Fill settlement | Provides the Level AI model with parameters that are used when determining balance on the site |
Undercut Depth | Recorded against the point for reference. Not currently applied to the grading or to earthworks quantities. |
Existing Ground Level | Filled in for you when Level AI runs, sampled off the existing surface at the point. You do not need to set it. |
Restrictions provided by geotech points and the subsequent surfaces created are additional grading restrictions to those provided by things such as parcels, roads, ground control. For example if the geotech points provided a max cut of 2ft on a parcel, but the max cut set on the parcel object was 1ft the highest restriction would be applied (ie 1ft max cut).
Soil Layers
A geotech point can also carry the soil profile from its bore log - up to five layers, counting down from the surface. Set these in the same extended data as the grading limits above.
Field | What to enter |
Soil Layer 1: Type | The material as your bore log describes it, for example TOPSOIL, SILTY CLAY, or WEATHERED ROCK. This is free text, so you can keep the log's own wording rather than fitting it to a list. |
Soil Layer 1: Depth | The thickness of that layer, in your project's units. Each layer records its own thickness, not the depth from the surface down to it. |
Soil Layer 2 to 5 | The same pair of fields for each layer below. Leave the slots you do not need blank - a layer with no type is ignored. |
Soil layers are recorded against the point so the bore log stays with the model and can be reported on. Unlike the grading limits above, they are not interpolated into a surface and do not currently change the grading Level AI produces - to hold the design out of a rock or sand layer, set Max Cut or Min Elevation on the point as well. Splitting earthworks volumes by material is planned.