TO GENERATE THE EXISTING GROUND CROSS SECTIONS

(CLASSIC GEOPAK 98 METHOD)

FIRST OF ALL YOU MUST HAVE THE FOLLOWING:

A .TIN file.
A .DGN file containing your "pattern lines" (explained later)

Copy one of the 2D files listed below from the F:\Resource\Seed directory to your working directory (name it whatever you want) and get into it. I would suggest renaming this file something like PATTERNS.DGN.

Metric_2D.dgn (metric 2D file)

English_2D.dgn (english 2D file)

A horizontal alignment stored in COGO. You'll need to know the name of the stored chain.
A .DGN file to create your "existing ground cross sections" (explained later)

Metric_XS.DGN (Metric XS file)
English_XS.DGN (English XS file)

The working units for the metric file must be set to 1,000 and 10.

The working units for the english file must be set to 10 and 10,000.

Open the .DGN file that you set up for creating "pattern lines." You should reference your .DGN file that contains your chain to this file just to be able to see what's going on. Execute the MicroStation command, FIT REF. Your chain (from the reference file) should now be in full view. Now...

APPLICATIONS > GEOPAK ROAD > CROSS SECTIONS > DRAW PATTERNS BY STATION RANGE

This brings up the "Draw pattern lines" dialog box. This application will simply draw normal MicroStation line elements perpendicular to your chain at user specified increments, station ranges, and widths and at user specified color, level, weight and style. After filling in all fields in the dialog box...press APPLY. You should now have a multitude of lines perpendicular to your referenced chain. Later, Geopak will use these lines to generate existing ground cross sections from the 3D .TIN file.

NOW...

Open the .DGN file that you set up for creating "existing ground cross sections" and invoke the Ground Cross Sections dialog...

To invoke the old "Classic 98" method... type MDL LOAD TINXS in the "key-in browser" (MicroStation).

I suggest setting your element style selection to one, rather than zero. This way you can tell the existing ground from proposed finish grade.

NEXT...

There is a toggle on the GEOPAK GROUND CROSS SECTIONS dialog box, for creating existing ground cross sections two different ways:

Pattern by "Station"
Pattern by "DGN File" (FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS...THIS IS THE PREFERRED OPTION). Trust me on this one. It is much easier to add extra sections, skewed sections etc... with this method. Geopak also uses this method almost exclusively. I always place my pattern lines in a file named Patterns.DGN THE ONLY THINGS IN THIS FILE SHOULD BE PATTERN LINES!!!

When the dialog box appears, enter the name of the .TIN file, the job number, chain name, etc... As with all Geopak dialog boxes...all fields must be filled in correctly, or information you're asking for will not be found and Geopak will not work. For example...the center of this dialog box asks for "Design file." Click on FILES and select the name of the file that contains your pattern lines. Toggle on Line and key in the levels, colors, weights and line styles of the pattern lines that you want Geopak to use.

The "Distance Between Cross Sections" should be set as follows whether you have an english or metric design:

Horizontal = 1,000 Vertical = 500

The "Filter Tolerance" should be set as follows:

METRIC:

Horizontal = 0.10 Variance = 0.03

ENGLISH:

Horizontal = 10,000 Variance = 0.20

When finished entering the information, press APPLY.

A handy tool to review the cross sections when they're finished is the CROSS SECTION NAVIGATOR. To access this:

APPLICATIONS > GEOPAK ROAD > CROSS SECTIONS > NAVIGATOR

... or use the Tools icon shown below:

With this tool you can step through, section by section or simply select the section (from a pick list) that you want to review and you will see it immediately. For more information on this tool see "Pavement Definitions, Cross Sections & Earthwork", Part II, Chapter 8 in the Geopak 2001 Manuals.

For my condensed explanation... see "The Cross Section Navigator"

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