Section 3 - The Template Library

THE TEMPLATE LIBRARY ORGANIZER

TEMPLATE OVERVIEW

CTDOT TEMPLATE LIBRARY

 

THE TEMPLATE LIBRARY ORGANIZER

Templates are used to define the typical section for each alignment. Multiple templates can be used to define different typical section designs, or the template geometry can be modified using a variety of corridor editing tools.

CTDOT provides a sample template library in the following folder:

...CT_Configuration\Organization-BIM\_CT_Civil Standards\Template Library\CV_ORDTypicals.itl

 

A blank ITL file can be found by default in the highway design folder …Highways/Eng_Data/Project_Typicals.itl.

Required individual templates will be copied over from CV_ORDTypicals.itl to Project_Typicals.itl using the Template Library Organizer.

Please note: Any other disciplines modeling a corridor can copy a blank ITL from …CT_Configuration\Organization-BIM\_CT_Civil Standards\Template Library\Project_Typicals.itl and paste the file into the discipline-specific folder for engineering data:

Discipline project location of ITL:

• Bridge/Eng_Data/
• Envir/Eng_Data/
• F_Civil/Eng_Data/
• Geotech/Eng_Data/
• Hwy_Man/Eng_Data/
• Hwy_Ops/Eng_Data/
• Hydro/Eng_Data/
• Illumination/Eng_Data/
• Landscape/Eng_Data/
• Public_Trans/Eng_Data/
• R_Catenary/Eng_Data/
• R_Signals/Eng_Data/
• R_Track/Eng_Data/
• Traffic/Eng_Data/
• SVY_District/_Eng_Data/
• Pavement/
• PMaps/
• SVY_Central/
• SVY_Consultant/

 

Warning:

Do not change the name or path of the Project_Typical.itl file. If this file name gets modified after Templates are placed in a Corridor the Synchronize with Library tool will not be able to update itl edited templates.  This path is also set as a variable used across all projects so your file will always be read in.

Template tools can be accessed by selecting the Corridors tab in the Create section. 

Corridors > Template > CreateTemplate

 

TEMPLATE OVERVIEW

The Create Template command generates the transverse geometry that is the central to roadway design. A template is comprised of a series of points and components that represent breakline features that are later processed using the Roadway Designer command. Roadway features that have been processed are saved to the design surface. Templates are stored in a template library (*.itl). In simple terms, the template is a “smart” typical section that you “push” along an alignment to create the proposed 3D model.An example of a template for a 2-Lane undivided highway, with cut and fill slope options, is shown below.

 

» Points and Components Definitions 

Templates are defined by inserting Points, Components.

Template Points - The points of a template represent breakline features that will be created when the template is processed using the Roadway Designer command. Points have a name and feature style; there is no limit to the number of points in a template. Once processed in Roadway Designer as features, they are saved to the design surface.

Template Components - A component is a set of points that define an open or closed shape. Each component, whether open or closed, can represent a different material or area of interest. Components are named and have an assigned feature style. There are 6 types of components created in InRoads: Simple, Constrained, Unconstrained, Null Point, End Condition, and Overlay/Stripping.

• Simple components typically represent a section of pavement. It's a closed parallelogram (4 constrained points) that are defined by the slope and thickness.

• Constrained components consist of points that are all restricted to the movement of the first point. A constrained point is typically used to manage the behavior of other points in the template. When a point (parent) is moved, any constrained point (child) also moves. This restriction only affects the offset and elevation (x,y) of the restrained point and, the relationship is unidirectional (movement of child point does not move the parent point).

• Unconstrained components are open or closed-shaped with no movement restrictions.

• Null Point is a template point that is purposely not related to any particular component. It's most often used as a reference for controlling other points.

• End Condition is a special open-shaped component that targets a surface, a feature of a surface, an elevation, or an alignment (it replaces the former Cut/Fill, Material, and Decision tables). The integrity of end conditions can now be routinely tested while the roadway template is being created.

• Overlay/Stripping components are used to handle all milling/stripping type operations and can be used to handle leveling (overlay) operations.

Once created, components can be modified as desired. There is no limit to the number of points or components in a template. When templates are paired with horizontal and vertical alignments and superelevation, they define the surface of a corridor. Templates are flexible design components that allow you to model simple constructs such as ditches and sidewalks to the more complex multi-lane highways with superelevated curves and variable side slopes.

  

» Template Creation Workflow

While the process to create templates will have many variables, the general procedure to create templates is summarized below:

1. Copy the needed CTDOT Standard Roadway Templates to the Project's Master Library. Templates can be copied from one library to another by selecting Tools > Template Library Organizer from the Create Templates dialog.
2. Create a new template or copy a template.
3. Drag and drop template backbones or individual components into the active template.
4. Create/edit the components as necessary.
5. Merge components as desired.
6. Review the point names and point name overrides.
7. Review the component names and component name overrides.
8. Test the template behavior.
9. Save the template library.

 

CTDOT TEMPLATE LIBRARY

The corridor modeling tools provide a lot of options that can be used to create very complex templates that handle a variety of design scenarios. However, care should be taken not to create overly complex “FrankenTemplates” in an attempt create a single template to account for all the design elements that occur over the length of the project. Overly complex templates can be hard to edit and even harder to diagnose when things don’t work as expected. It’s better to define a few simpler templates for specific station ranges than it is to define one overly complex template.

CTDOT provides a sample template library in the following folder:

...CT_Configuration\Organization-BIM\_CT_Civil Standards\Template Library\CV_ORDTypicals.itl

Required individual templates will be copied over from CV_ORDTypicals.itl to Project_Typicals.itl using the Template Library Organizer.

Instructions for copying the CTDOT Roadway Templates can be found here:

Copy over project specific Templates using the Template Library Organizer

 

» Point Names and Features

CTDOT provides a template library with many template components defined that can be used as the starting point for creating and editing templates for a project. The folders in this library contains various Components and End Conditions that can be used to create completed templates. These components use CTDOT Standard Point Names, Component Names and Feature Definitions. If a user decides to create templates from scratch, it's important to remember that each point and component in the template is assigned a Name and a Feature Definition. It is imperative to ensure that the points and components are named and assigned features consistent with CTDOT standards. 

Feature definitions for template points and components are defined in CV_Highway_Features_Levels_ElemTemp.dgnlib, which is attached by a configuration variable. As the template is applied to the corridor, 3D line strings are drawn in the design file by connecting the points from template drop to template drop by their Name. The symbology of these line strings is controlled by the Feature Definition that is assigned to each point. The CTDOT CONNECT DDE includes a multitude Feature Definitions that can be used for template points.

The point feature definitions can be reviewed by browsing to the following folder in the Civil Standards tab:

Libraries > Feature Definitions > Linear > Roadway Modeling > Template Library

Features can be reviewed and assigned in a variety of ways.

• The Name and Feature Definition can easily be edited the Point Properties dialog which is accessed by double-clicking the point in the Current Template window.

• The Dynamic Settings dialog can be used to define the Point Name that will be assigned to points as they are created. The Point Name field can be used to key-in a name for the point or to select a name from a predefined list as shown at right. It is recommended that you use the point names from this list when designing your templates. When a point name is selected from the list, the Point Style, which is the Feature Definition, is automatically set to the appropriate value. The Point Style list contains a list of all the Feature Definitions available in the CTDOT DDE.

 

 

An example of the standard point names with suffixes are listed below:

Point Name - Description

EOR - Edge of Road on Top Surface

EOR_b - Edge of Road on Pavement Base Course

EOR_sb - Edge of Road on Subbase

EOR_sg - Edge of Road at Subgrade

EOR_pa - Edge of Road on Processed Aggregate

 

List of Point Name (prefixes):

Prefix Point Name - Description

BCLC - Bituminous Concrete Lip Curbing

BCPC- Bituminous Concrete Park Curbing

BOC - Back of Curb

CC - Concrete Curb

CL - Centerline

CPC - Concrete Park Curb

CUT - Cut Slope Limit

DNC - Do Not Include

EOR - Edge of Road

FILL - Fill Slope Limit

GC - Granite Curb

GSC - Granite Slope Curb

SHDR - Shoulder

SNOW - Snow Shelf

TRWY - Travelway

 

» Component Names and Features

When creating new Components in the Template Library the Mesh Feature Definitions defined in CV_Highway_Features_Levels_ElemTemp.dgnlib should be used. 

The component feature definitions can be reviewed by browsing to the following folder in the Civil Standards tab:

Libraries > Feature Definitions > Mesh 

Component Names and Features can be reviewed and edited by double-clicking on a component to open the Component Properties dialog.