1 Lesson 1: Introduction to PowerCivil WELCOME! This document has been prepared to assist you in the exploration of and assimilation to the powerful civil design capabilities of Bentley PowerCivil. Each document in the PowerCivil Tutorial series is a self-contained PDF file with written instructions on how to use the product including video clip guides which are hyper-linked directly to the document. In addition, each lesson comes delivered with the data set so that you can watch and then try the tools yourself. In this tutorial, you will find many useful tools for the design and analysis of a commercial land development project. Before starting any of the ensuing lessons, it is recommended that you read this first lesson to become familiar with the capabilities of the PowerCivil and to better understand how this tutorial is composed. We are confident that you will learn many of the necessary skills needed to begin your own project utilizing PowerCivil within this tutorial. So let s get started! LESSON OBJECTIVES In this lesson, the topics covered include: Topic 1 Tutorial Layout documents, video clips and data sets Topic 2 PowerCivil Capabilities INTRODUCTION This Lesson will show you how the tutorial is composed, helping you to navigate to specific topics covered. You will also gain an understanding of the general capabilities of the PowerCivil product. By knowing more about the product and the composition of this tutorial, you will be able to target the particular tools that can have the greatest impact on your existing design workflows. In addition, the following tutorial lessons are structured to follow, generally a typical project workflow. TUTORIAL LAYOUT Each lesson of the tutorial is presented as its own document with corresponding video clips and data set. x The zip file delivered with this tutorial must be extracted to the C- Drive of the PC in order for all configurations of the PowerCivil tutorial to work properly. 1-1
Tutorial Layout When the original data was unzipped from its delivered form, a hierarchical directory structure should have expanded from the C drive on the PC. The directory structure begins at C:\ and expands out from there. If you utilize the Windows Explorer to examine the contents, you should see the following: Inside each folder you will find a PDF document, a Video_Clips sub-directory and the data files needed to begin the lesson and a folder containing the starting state for the lesson data. For example, in Lesson 2, the folder contains the following contents: x The video clips provided in this tutorial require the installation of a video codec. This is an instruction file (named TSCC.exe ) located in the Standards folder of the tutorial which needs to be run. Please take a moment now to install the codec. 1-2
The PDF document for each lesson will hyper-link to the video clips stored in the sub folder for that particular lesson. When a video clip is available for viewing, you will see an icon in the margin that represents the play button on a video player. By clicking on the button, you will launch the video clip associated with the portion of the lesson that corresponds. The following is an example: This is a sample video that explains the layout of the tutorial directory structure. POWERCIVIL CAPABILITIES The video clips are stored as AVI files and Windows Media Player is the recommended program for viewing. Each AVI is produced at a resolution of 1024 x 768. As you progress through the tutorial, you will have the opportunity to watch the video clips and then try the exercise yourself. Each tutorial folder includes the data required to work on the lesson. Additionally, there is a StartData folder which can be used to refresh the lesson data files. In order to do so, simply copy the contents of the StartData folder into the root folder of the lesson. This will overwrite data files in the lesson root folder. There is also a Standards folder in the directory structure. You will find this folder in C:\Data\Geo\Site\. The folder contains sample preference files and libraries used throughout the tutorial. PowerCivil is a unique solution for civil engineers. By combining civil specific design functions along with a powerful cad engine, the result is a highly capable software solution that can produce design deliverables in an incredibly short amount of time. In order to realize the power, you need only to consider how long it may take you to produce any type deliverable, be it a steep slope analysis, detention pond stage discharge report, or maybe a drainage network report. With that in mind, consider the difficulty that you may have in editing the same deliverable. With PowerCivil, you have the state of the art in civil design automation. Production of deliverables and modification of the data that produces deliverables has never been easier. To best describe the capabilities of PowerCivil, it makes sense to break up the functionality into two general classifications CAD Environment and Civil Design. We will explore the capabilities of each and learn how the two interact while performing design and production workflows. Let s take a look at the CAD Environment and learn what capabilities are at our disposal while working with PowerCivil. The following is a list of key features that will be utilized in later lessons within the tutorial: DWG Interoperability PowerCivil can read, write and reference files stored in AutoCAD data formats up to and including AutoCAD 2005. If you prefer to work with DGN files, PowerCivil can alternatively save your work as DWG (many versions of DWG are supported), DXF or a V7 version of DGN. Level (Layer) Controls 1-3
PowerCivil allows nearly 4 billion levels/layers controlling the levels that are used is an absolute necessity. The use of a DGN Library that is specific to civil design can greatly enhance the user experience by providing a neatly structured naming standard with all level symbology (i.e. color, weight and line style) predetermined. Composing Sheet Drawings The use of Sheet Models (or view ports) is an excellent way to build plot-ready drawings that meet deliverable requirements such as size & scale. With Sheet Models, the user can place text with an annotation lock that will automatically scale the text based on the drawing scale. File Referencing (X Refs) The ability to attach another cad file as a reference is an absolute must for organization of design data. The referencing capabilities of PowerCivil allow for a multitude of adjustments to references and can even nest references attached to an existing reference manipulating design data has never been so flexible. Print to PDF PDF is growing more and more as the de facto standard for digital submittals. PowerCivil allows you to create detailed plans and print to paper or directly to PDF. DGN Models Storing various types of drawing data in multiple locations makes good sense, but storing these all in the same file can make even more sense. PowerCivil allows the user to create multiple data containers called Models within the same DGN file. You may want to use the models to store the plan layout in one model, the contours in a different model, and maybe the drainage design in another. And much, much more. Let s now take a look at the Civil Design capabilities of PowerCivil. The following is a list of key features of PowerCivil which will be explored in this tutorial: Creating Surface Data PowerCivil allows the user to create surface data from almost any source. You can process raw data from many of the industry leading survey data collectors, from an XYZ data file (GPS Data), or perhaps by extracting the 2D or 3D data from contours inside a CAD file. 1-4
Digital Terrain Model Analysis Once the surface data is created, there are many tools that can be deployed to analyze or edit the DTM. From a simple height query to detailed thematic mapping and camera view navigation - the analysis options are very flexible. If the surface requires editing, there are various DTM editing functions that will interactively manipulate the data allowing you to graphically see the alteration before committing the change. Interactive Terrain Modeling The proposed grading design for a given site is really just a compilation of surface objects that are merged into the base surface. Having complete control over how the objects merge together and into the base surface is the key to effective interactive terrain modeling. PowerCivil gives the user absolute control over grading objects, enabling unprecedented design capabilities. And having the ability to modify the objects and their relationships to each other makes PowerCivil truly state-of-the-art. Modeling Wizards Most surface modeling follows a discrete set of rules related to object elevation, side slope definition and how the object relates to the base surface. Given these parameters, PowerCivil has modeling wizards that allow for design of grading objects by stepping through a sequence of definition dialogs. There are wizards for various objects like buildings, ponds, channels and roads. Model Analysis and Editing Much like the ability to edit and analyze the base surface, PowerCivil can provide for detailed analysis of the design surface. Cutting a profile is as simple as striking a line through the model. Radial line-of-sight can be determined by placing a data point. Assistance for drainage considerations is easily obtained. Should you need to make modification to your model, moving elements or editing design parameters can produce significant surface changes. If you need to compare alternatives, multiple models can be produced that share objects and changes can be made to validate design criteria. Drainage, Water & Sewer Networks PowerCivil also provides complete design tools for the required elements of civil utility design. Drainage networks can be laid out and designed, pipes profiled and detailed reports produced; water and sewer networks can also be created with water connections/service and sewer profiles. Plans Preparation and Production Sometimes, producing the plans for permitting and construction can be as much work if not more than the design effort itself. PowerCivil has many tools that will help in the preparation of data and the production of drawings. From using the flexible display settings of the Site Modeler to producing plot-ready profiles for roads and drainage facilities, PowerCivil will cut down the time-tocompletion on the most challenging projects. 1-5
Computing Quantities PowerCivil comes equipped with a Design & Computation Manager that will compute plan based quantities based on the level symbology that is followed by designers. From linear feet of curb, to tons of asphalt, or the number of catch basins, the D&C Manager can compute just about any thing that you can draw, saving estimators much time that would be spent counting by hand. SUMMARY The main points to remember are: The tutorial is structured in a Lesson by Lesson manner. All documents and data are stored in the lesson folders. PowerCivil is capable of detailed civil design as well as complete CAD production. 1-6