CU1703

SOFTWAREreview
INFRAWORKS 360 IN ACTION
Terrain models can be developed in
minutes using the Model Builder tool,
which defines the area to be covered by
the project, and you can import GIS
information which is often freely available
from many sources. The model is then
populated with elements imported in any of
the formats listed above, or developed
from scratch using AutoCAD Civil 3D
The model is then developed using rulesbased
design, working to a set of rules and
calculations but retaining its very visual fully
rendered format. Users can click on each
of the model elements to display its
context, which is useful for exploring
different solutions - such as whether to
place a roundabout or junction where
roads cross, or where to place bridges,
cuttings and embankments.
The software goes much further than that,
though. If you have picked points to define
a road then the software knows that
horizontal curves need to have a certain
radius, or that vertical curves need a
certain length. Points of vertical intersection
and vertical curves can be adjusted in realtime,
whilst the software chips in to point
out where the design violates engineering
rules or fixes it itself - the software can be
primed to do either.
Similarly, when a bridge is placed in a
project, the user can specify the type of
structure to be used and the number of
piers, or allow the software to choose a
suitable standard structural shape based
on the length and type of span.
Other tools allow users to convert GIS
roads to design roads or to send elements
of the design to more detailed design tools
- a bridge between InfraWorks 360 and
Civil3D - or even to further structural design
by exporting the model to Revit.
BOMS AND QUANTITIES
Infrastructure projects have more
complex needs when it comes to
estimating material quantities. It's not just
a question of how much concrete you are
going to pour into a site, but also how
much earth you have to shift to create the
cuttings and embankments, build the
correct road gradients, flatten the
proposed car park. InfraWorks 360
includes tools that do the calculations for
you, working out the cut and fill required
for each bit of grading. It can even help
you specify the size of culvert required to
accommodate a stream.
AN INFRASTRUCTURAL BIM MODEL
An InfraWorks 360 model is a true 3D BIM
model, containing aggregated information
in every element, enabling it to be used for
any type of analysis, from workflow/labour
costs to road and rail sight lines to road
signs and signals. As we pointed out
earlier, there's a lot of intelligence and
processing behind the seemingly simple
application - which is why some of the
more power-hungry processes it utilises
are handled in the cloud.
GETTING MOBILE
InfraWorks 360 is not just a concept
planning tool. It is extremely useful for
presenting the same projects to the public
- and for that it needs to populate the
models with people and transport, to make
it available on viewing platforms and the
web, and even to allow the public to
navigate through the models.
Hence the release of Mobility Simulation
last year, which allows designers to
populate models with different modes of
transportation, animate them and even to
highlight hotspots showing potential traffic
congestion using coloured bars.
Mobility Simulation will feature widely in
Autodesk's plans to develop Smart Cities,
used as a multi-mode transportation
analysis and design tool - everything from
cycle lanes to taxis, buses, private cars to
trains and the airport.
It offers tools to generate drive-through
animations, and to capture views at
particular angles - a driver’s eye view as
they approach a complex road junction, for
example - or to give an idea of how a new
bridge would impact upon the views from
an adjacent building. Adding date and time
information to a model which already
knows your location adds increased
accuracy to model visualisations, showing
what they would look like at any time of the
year - day or night. And one of the most
recent features allows users to build terrain
surfaces directly from point cloud data
directly in InfraWorks 360.
PROJECT OPTIMISATION
The main benefit of using tools like
InfraWorks to plan infrastructure projects is
that they give all parties the time, means
and incentive to explore many variations,
test hypotheses, and visualise the impact
of new technologies and techniques - all
things that are inconceivable using
traditional planning methods.
www.autodesk.com
March/April 2017 17