Table Drains

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 ARD – Road Design Fundamentals

Advanced Road Design

Table Drains

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All Rights Reserved

This publication, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form, by any method, for any purpose,
without the express written consent of Civil Survey Solutions Pty Ltd.

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Workbook Authors: Shane O’Rorke BE (Civ) Hons

Grant Lyons
Cameron Smith BE (Civ) Hons

Civil Survey Solutions

1/29 Business Park Drive
Notting Hill Victoria 3168

14 Copeland Street
Liverpool New South Wales 2170

Ph: 1300 254 004

Fax: 1300 351 003

www.civilsurveysolutions.com.au

ARD-RDF-2013.1 – Jan 2013

 ARD – Road Design Fundamentals

Table Drains
Table drains can be created using the dedicated Table Drain tool in the Design Data form, or using codes
on the cross section with conditional deletions.

Starting Template
This is the starting template for design. Note that the left side has codes included for the table drain, and
the right side does not.

Left Table Drain Sections

Assuming that the left side table drain should always occur, it would make sense to include the table drain
in the cross section template. There are three components to this table drain, the fore slope, the bottom
and the back slope, however we only need to create the fore slope and the bottom as we can used the
batter to create as the back slope.

Step 1: Using the sample methodology as the previous section, create the following sections on the Left
side of the template:

Fore slope Section Bottom Section

 New Code = T1  New Code = T2
 Width of Section = 2m  Width of Section = 0.5m
 Select Vertical Distance  Select Vertical Distance
 Vertical Distance = -0.5m  Vertical Distance = 0m
 Select Side to Apply = Left  Select Side to Apply = Left
 Plot Code? = Ticked On  Plot Code? = Ticked On

Important Note: Ensure you select Left for the Select Side to Apply option.

The completed template will look like (cut situation shown):

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Automatic Table Drains – Table Drain Tool

To do the automatic table drain read below:

This table drain is only required when the road cross section is in cut and as such we can use the Table
Drains data entry in the Design Data Form to automatically control when the drain is applied to the cross
section, specifically when the 'invert' (end of fore slope/start of the bottom) of the table drain is in cut. The
geometry of the drain is the same as previously created in the template. It is made up of two sections,
fore slope and bottom, with the right batter forming the back slope.

Step 2: From the Design Data Form, select the Table Drains Data Heading and click on the button
to add a new entry.

Step 3: In the Table Drain form enter the following type of

inputs:

 Start Chainage = 0m
 End Chainage = 10000m
 Depth Tolerance = 0m
 Start Right Section 1 – Horizontal = 2m
 Start Right Section 1 – Vertical = 0.5m
 Start Right Section 2 – Horizontal = 0.5m
 Start Right Section 2 – Vertical = 0m
 Constant Width = Ticked
 Right Insertion Condition = When End of
Section 1 is in Cut
 Click on Add/Update to apply the table drain to the right of the road.

Notes: 1 The software considers down as positive when entering Section 1 and Section 2.
2 Leaving the Left/Right entries blank will OMIT the table drain on that side.
3 For more information about the various Left/Right Insert Conditions, refer to the ARD help
system.

Step 4: Click on the button to close the Design Data Form.

Cycle through the cross sections in the CSW to review the changes:

Experiment: To explore the functionality of the table drain, graphically raise/lower a cross section (by
changing the vertical design) to see the table drain on the right side automatically appear and disappear.

Important Note: The codes inserted into the cross section via the Table Drains control (LT1/RT1 &
LT2/RT2) cannot be manipulated using any of the variation controls. This is also true for the batter codes
(LBAT & RBAT).

Step 5: Close the VGE and CSW by clicking the OK and buttons respectively.

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Automatic Table Drain using Conditional Delete

Rather than using the Table Drains data entry to insert a table drain, the Conditionally Delete Sections
variation could be used to achieve a similar result. The advantage is that the table drain can consist of
any number of sections and can be further controlled using other variations.

The Conditionally Delete Sections variation works in a similar fashion to the Table Drains data entry
allowing for the cut/fill depth of a code to be checked but provides the flexibility of specifying an optional
additional depth check and the ability the define which codes of the cross section are removed.

To apply this methodology as the control for the LEFT table drain, you would need to:

1. Remove the existing Table Drains entry in the Design Data Form
2. Make sure your template includes codes for the table drain (in our example, LT1 & LT2
codes/sections on the LEFT side of the template
3. Add a Conditionally Delete Sections variation with the
following settings:
 Start Chainage = 0m
 End Chainage = 1000m
 Code to Trigger Variation = LT2
 Delete if Code = LT1
 Has Condition = Fill Greater than
 with Value = 0m
 Delete from Code = LT1
 to Code (Inclusive) = LT2

Note: The Code to Trigger Variation must be outside (looking

from the C.L.) or the last code to be deleted by the variation and can NOT be the batter code
(LBAT/RBAT) or any other automatic software inserted code (Conditional Batters, Table Drains etc.)

You with then have exactly the same behaviour as the Table Drain command, applied to Codes in your
template. These codes can have Variations applied to them (unlike the codes added with the Table
Drains command).

Grading the Left Table Drain

The left table drain needs to be independently graded to ensure that the sufficient drainage of the road.
To achieve this, we need to create a string/profile which will have a separate alignment and vertical
grading to the road. This string will then be used to control the invert of the left table drain. To maintain
the integrity of the table drain we also need to maintain the fore slope.

Create the Left Table Drain String

An offset alignment can easily be created from the Road Centreline Alignment (or you can manually
create alignment geometry for the drain invert location) and can then be used to create the string to
control the left table drain. When grading the table drain you have two options:

1. Keep the foreslope of the drain and change the offset to set the invert elevation onto an
independently graded string
2. Keep the offset and elevation of the string and set the invert of the table drain to use both the
horizontal and vertical aspects of the string.

In the below example the foreslope is being maintained.

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Step 6: Click on the Design Panel  String/Profile Command and select the drainage alignment
created.

The Add Road form will open:

Make sure the the Road Type is set to String/Profile. Usually you
would opt to not include a template onto this string (set and the
Template to None) however it is acceptable to apply a template and use
that to adjust the cross sections of the main road centreline.

Step 7: Set the Tangents/Straights spacing and click Create/Update

to create the string.

The VGE will open to show the automatic vertical design of the drain
invert string

Apply the Left Table Drain String

Step 8: Click on the Select Panel  Design Data Form Command and select the main road
alignment.

From the Design Data Form, select the Variation Data Heading and click on the button to
add a new entry.

The Variation Selection List will open:

Step 9: Select Set Code Offsets &/or Levels to String and click OK

This will allow you to take a code from the current road cross sections and get it to adopt the
elevations and/or offset of another string (in this case the invert drain).

Step 10: In the Set Code Offsets &/or Levels to

String form enter the following:

 Code = LT1
 Start Chainage = 0m
 End Chainage = 10000m
 Select Method = Hold Slope – Change
Offset
 String = Princess Hwy-Left-6.500

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 Click on Add/Update to apply the entry

From the Design Data Form click on the Rebuild Models button to update the surface.

Step 11: Close the Design Data Form by clicking on the button.

Important Note: The Hold Slope - Change Offset Select Method will maintain the slope of the code
being varied thus resulting in a horizontal shift of the code relative to the alignment that defines the string.
This needs to be taken into consideration when adjusting the vertical design of the drain invert string as
the existing surface information shown in the VGE will NOT represent the existing surface of the code as
its horizontal location varies.

Grade the Left Table Drain String

Now that we have setup the relationship between the left table drain (LT1) and the Princess Hwy-Left-
6.500 string, we can grade the string adjust the grade of the table drain.

Step 12: If not already open, open the VGE and a CSW for Princess Hwy (Select Panel  Open
Vertical Grading Command and right click to open a CSW).

Adjust the vertical grading of the Princess Hwy-Left-6.500 string as required to grade the left
table drain on Princess Hwy

Hint: Whilst a CSW

of Princess Hwy is open you will be able to adjust the vertical design of the Princess Hwy-Left-6.500
and see the effect on cross section(s) of Princess Hwy dynamically.

Step 13: Once you are satisfied with the vertical design of the Princess Hwy-Left-6.500 and
subsequently the left table drain, close all open VGE’s and CSW’s by clicking the OK and
buttons.

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