Design Fill Surface

This command creates fill pile where the sides are a series of slopes with benches. The side slopes start from a closed polyline. The perimeter polyline is the toe of the pile, and the slopes will be up and in from the footprint of the pile. Different slopes can be used for different sides of the fill. The fill is drawn as 3D polylines and the fill volumes are reported.

Before starting this command, the  perimeter should be drawn as a closed polyline, 2D at zero elevation, or at 3D elevations draped onto a surface. You also need a grid file for the existing ground surface. Design Fill Surface starts with the dialog shown below where you specify the grid file name.

• Ground Surface: This is the grid or triangulation surface to place the fill pile on.
• Use Elevations From Perimeter 3D Polyline: This will use the elevations on the polyline as the toe of the fill pile to start the design.
• Write Output Grid File: This option will create a grid file (GRD) of the fill. It includes the original ground surface grid file, with the fill pile built onto it.
  
• Round Exterior Corners: This option will create rounded corners on the outside edges of the pile for a more realistic design. When this is off, the corners are sharp and angular.
• Create Road: This option carves a rough road into the pile design. In the dialog, the road Direction, Road Width and Road Slope % are specified along with a Road Color for the road polylines to create. When this option is active, the program will prompt for a road starting point along the pile perimeter. The cut slopes are shifted to make room for the road. The Bench Stop Distance is for suspending the bench as it crosses the road to avoid combining the road and bench widths at the crossing which tends to shift the cut slopes too much. Within the Bench Stop Distance, the bench has a zero width. The Bench Stop is centered at the road crossing. The Bench Taper to the distance that the bench transitions from full width to zero at the Bench Stop. The Berm Height adds a berm and makes the road wider to fit the berm. The slope of the berm matches the cut slope.
• Horizontal & Vertical Interval: These settings control the distance to draw the 3D breakline polylines. The horizontal interval will run down the slope, and across the bench. The vertical interval will run parallel with the benches. It should be a factor of the bench height if possible, but not required.
• Min Bench Height: The bench is not created when the side slope depth is less than the specified amount.
  
• Side Layer: This is the layer of the 3D polylines drawn perpendicular to the benches, and running down slope.
  
• Pile Layer: This layer  is applied to the 3D polyline break lines running parallel to the benches.
  
• Draw Side Slope Polylines: This option chooses whether to draw the 3D polylines running perpendicular to the benches, and down slope.
• Use Bench Name for Layer Suffix: This option adds the bench name to the Pile Layer so that each bench can have a unique name which can be useful for having different colors for each bench for visualization or for isolating benches by layer.
  
• Bench Color: This puts the bench 3D polylines in the Pile Layer on a different, specified color so they stand out against the slope breaklines.
  
• Bench Taper At Surface Tie: When a bench meets the Ground Surface, this option tapers the bench width to zero over this specified distance.

• Fill Slope Format: The slope angle can be defined in percent, ratio or degrees. This is what is entered in the Fill Slope.
  
• Slope Group: Four different sets of slope schemes can be defined. To define the another slope scheme, select other Slope Group tab. The set of slopes are currently being edited is indicated by the selected tab. If different sets of slopes are defined, then the program will prompt to pick which sides to apply each set of slopes to. All sides are assumed to be slope type one. it is only necessary to select types two, three and/or four. If only one slope group is defined, then it will not prompt to select any additional sides. 
• Fill Slope: The slope angle can be defined in percent, ratio or degrees. This is what is entered in the Fill Slope.
• Fill Target: The target to fill to for each bench can be a flat elevation, a depth above the previous surface or bench, or up to a grid file surface.
  
• Depth: The Depth must be filled in when the target is set to depth.
  
• Elevation: The Elevation must be filled in when the target is set to elevation.
• Select File: The file must be selected when the target is set to file.
• Bench Slope %: This setting will slope the benches down for drainage if desired. Normal setting for flat bench is 0.
  
• Bench Width: This is the horizontal width for the bench in feet or meters.
  
• Bench Name: This is used for pile design to name the benches for volumes. It does not have much application in the Fill version of this command.
  
• Delete: This deletes one line of data.
  
• Insert: This inserts a blank row to be filled in.
• Clear: This clears the entire slope group page, only the current group.
  
• Load: This loads a previously saved PIT file with the template saved.
  
• Save: This saves the template as shown in the window.
  
• Preview: This displays a preview of the current group to show how the cross section of the fill will look. 

Design Fill Surface with 2 benches

The report window appears at the end of the command to display the volume of the fill in CY or CM.

Prompts

Design Fill Surface dialogs
Pick pile perimeter polyline: Pick the perimeter

Pulldown Menu Location: Surface in Surface Mining Module
Keyboard Command: spoil3