Original ground - Provides a model of the surface before construction work has begun. If necessary, the model can be reset.
Current ground - Provides a digital model of the current terrain. CAESultra updates this file as the machine is operating.
Elevation design - Provides the target surface
When an operator views a "Plan" window with a color-coded map of the work that is to be performed, the operator is actually looking at both the Current Ground file and the Elevation Design file.
When only an Elevation Design file is configured, then the operator will see a gray colored "Plan" window.. As the machine tracks over the terrain, a Current Ground file will be generated. This file updates the grayed-out areas and provides the color-coded map of the work that needs to be performed.
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| Illustration 1 | g01191555 |
(1) Original Ground (2) Current Ground (3) Elevation Design | |
Digital terrain information is stored in files with a "*.cat" extension. Application packages and/or manual operations are used to generate the *.cat files. Illustration 2 provides an overview of both methods.
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| Illustration 2 | g01191778 |
Original Ground
Original Ground files can be produced automatically by a machine that is equipped with CAESultra.
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| Illustration 3 | g00989531 |
If the automatic method is not used, then the Original Ground file is created from a series of ground survey points (4). The points are obtained using either a site design software package or else a surveyor software package.
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| Illustration 4 | g01191368 |
Original ground survey points | |
The original ground points will typically be used to create a Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) (5) of the area.
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| Illustration 5 | g01191573 |
Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) | |
The CAESultra system uses a grid system (6) in order to represent both the original ground and the current ground. A combination of the overall area, the size of the machine, and the resolution that is required for the Surface Model, all affect the spacing of the established grid.
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| Illustration 6 | g01191606 |
(6) Grid arrangement (7) Grid cell centers | |
The TIN uses a set of Cartesian coordinates to define the center points, (x) and (y), and the elevations (z) of the cells within the grid.
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| Illustration 7 | g01191581 |
Grid arrangement with cell center elevations (8) | |
CAESultra then uses these coordinates to create an "Internal surface" grid cell model (9) that represents the original ground. This model will be used for operations and calculations.
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| Illustration 8 | g01191643 |
(9) Cell grid representation of Original ground surface | |
Current Ground
The current ground (2) is the surface that is continuously updated as the machine traverses the area. Typically, the initial Current ground and the Original ground are identical. Current ground files can be produced automatically by a machine that is equipped with CAESultra.
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| Illustration 9 | g01191665 |
(2) Current ground | |
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| Illustration 10 | g01191656 |
Illustration 11 depicts the process for updating the terrain model. The actual topography of the terrain is used as a starting point for the model. As the machine traverses the terrain, an updated terrain model is produced. The terrain elevations cannot be updated until the machine traverses the area. Once the dozing operations are completed, the terrain model can be accurately updated.
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| Illustration 11 | g01191686 |
Updating the Terrain Model Elevations (10) Actual topography (11) Updated terrain model (12) No terrain elevations until machine traverses the area (13) Dozing operations are complete. Terrain model can now be updated. | |
Design
The design can be created by using a "site design" software package.
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| Illustration 12 | g01191707 |
Elevation design created with software package | |
CAESultra requires Elevation Design files that are in the TIN format.
Reference: Refer to the METSmanager manual for supported formats.
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| Illustration 13 | g01191708 |
Elevation design in TIN format | |