We get a lot of questions about how the software calculates cut and fill calculations. Our software is based on a triangular prism method, which we describe in this post, along with other typical methods for calculating volumes. We hope this is a helpful resource, whether you’re using software or manual ways to determine your earthwork volumes.

1. METHOD OF CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS

By drawing the current and planned levels at regular intervals, the cross-section method can plan the project site in detail. The cut and fill areas are calculated for each of the cross-sections. By simply multiplying the average of cut or fill area of each part by the space between them, the capacity among each pair of sections may be approximated. The entire cut and fill volumes can then be computed by summing up the volumes of each pair of sections separately.

Sections that are more closely spaced improve the estimate’s accuracy at the expense of estimation time. A trade-off must be made between the accuracy of the estimate and the speed at which it is generated.

This approach has the added benefit of generating cross-sections as a byproduct. This diagram shows cut and fill depths all across the project, which is a helpful summary of the estimation. The method’s drawback is that extracting cross-sections from a drawing and determining the area of the sections can be highly time-consuming.

2. GRID TECHNIQUE

An earthworks project’s plan is laid out on a grid, with each grid node representing the current and proposed ground levels. The volume for each cell is computed by multiplying the detail by the cell area, using these values to calculate the average cutting depth or fill needed on each grid cell. The cut and fill volumes for the construction process can be estimated by multiplying the volumes of each cell.

The grid technique for cut and fill calculations have the advantage of allowing the estimate’s foundation to be completely summarized on-site drawings, making it easy for others to verify the calculations. The lack of a graphical report for the estimation is one of the drawbacks. The grid approach is also time-consuming and difficult to implement as the section method.

3. TRIANGULAR PRISMS

Another approach for determining the volume of earthwork is the triangular prism method. This is the most complicated civil groundworks software, but it is also reliable.

This procedure begins by determining the distances between points on the ground and creating a pattern of connected triangles by connecting the objects in the terrain. As the name suggests, this is a Triangulated Irregular Network, or TIN, for short. This civil groundworks software is carried out once more for the new location.