Global Costs

Global costs are applied everywhere in the study area, and include:

Note: Global costs cannot be varied locally.

To view or edit global costs, select the Global tab:

Pavement costs (road)

Quantm Desktop software assumes that the pavement material is imported from outside the study area.

The pavement cost is the cost of placing one cubic meter (yard) of pavement and compacting it to the specified thickness.

Note: The width and thickness of the pavement can vary locally and are determined by the template specified in the geometry data.

Rail costs (rail)

The Ballast cost is the cost of placing one cubic meter (yard) of Ballast and compacting it to the specified thickness.

Note: The height and width of the ballast is determined by the template specified in the geometry data. The sleepers are assumed to be embedded in the ballast, so the top of the sleepers and the top of the ballast coincide.

Earth movement costs

The global earthmoving costs relate to the movement of materials. The alignment will reuse materials when possible. If material is reused there are costs involved in transporting the soil to a point on the alignment where it is required (Haul). Sometimes, material is purchased and hauled from outside the site (Borrow). There is also a cost associated with removing excess or unusable material from the site (Dump).

In the Earth movement costs group, you can specify the cost of:

Haul

Haul is the cost of transporting one meter cubed of usable material along the alignment to the point where it is needed.

Dump

Dump is the cost of removing excess or unusable material.

Borrow

Borrow is the cost of purchasing material and transporting it from an external site.

Note: Borrow and Dump include the cost of transporting the material to or from the site but do not include the cost of hauling the material along the alignment. 

The cost of transporting excess or unusable material to a dump site or transporting borrowed material to the point where it is needed is covered in the haul costs.

Fill

Specify the following in the Fill Costs group

Rate The cost of placing and compacting the fill. The cost of hauling and purchasing the material is covered in the Earth Movement Cost settings.

Side slope If the height of the side slope is greater than the step height, a step will be placed into the slope.

Step height Height stepping will be in Fill.

Step width Width stepping will be in Fill.

Note: The cost of fill is constant whereas the cost of cut is affected by the geology of the area.

Geotechnical costs

The cost of geotechnical data takes into account the structure and properties of geological materials and the geological types located across the study area. Entering the costs of geological materials and their relationship to the study area is a two-step process that uses the Material and Geology tabs in the Cost Parameters window.

Material costs

Use the Material tab to define the different geological material types within the study area. You can define as many different material types as required. You must create at least one material type. This cost is for materials contained on that side that are used for cut and fill only. Materials for template construction are brought in separately and handled in the Template Materials tab.

Select the Material tab to enter or edit the costs associated with geological materials:

Specify the following:

Note: There is no default setting option for material, but at least one material type must be generated.

Geology

The Geology type defines the actual layers of material (type and thickness) within the study area and the vertical separation and width of benches when cutting into the specified geology.

To enter or edit the Geology type, select the Geology tab.

The list on the left shows the geological types and the benching requirements associated with geological formations. Benches are stepped upward from the finished surface of the road or rail alignment to the natural surface.

The list on the right of the Geology tab, shows the strata for the selected geological type. By adding various material types to this table it is possible to create a detailed picture of the nature of the geology within the study area.

Add a new geology type

1. Right-click in the Name list to access the shortcut menu, and then select New.

2. Click twice on the new geology type to enter edit mode.

3. Enter a name for the geology type and then press [Enter].

4. In the list on the right, click the first row of the Material column.

5. A list with the materials previously defined in the Material tab appears. Select the material closest to the natural surface first.

7. Enter the thickness of the material.

8. To add a new layer to the geology type, right-click in the table on the right to access the shortcut menu, and then select New.

Note: The software always shows the thickness of the deepest stratum as 9999.0 when in metric or 32805.12 when in imperial units.

9. To remove a geology type, right-click the list on the left to access the shortcut menu, and then select Remove.

The global default geology type, indicated by a blue check mark, is used where a geological type is required but none is specified. At least one geology type must be defined. By defining more than one geology type within the study area it is possible to create local geological zones, where the materials encountered differ from the general geology within the study area. For example, a mountainous region may be completely compiled of various rock types. Geometry can be localized by creating a local default zone. See Local defaults zone. To change the default geology type, right-click the geology type to access the shortcut menu, and then select Default.

When estimating earthworks, Quantm software models cross sections at 20 m (or 50 ft in imperial units) intervals and calculates the areas of fill and cut through different materials.

Each cross-section consists of a list of multi-dimensional points that mark changes in direction of the finished surface or changes in strata. The cross-section must indicate the limits of the various strata that must be excavated to form the finished surface or to provide solid foundations for the roadway and/or fill.

Example

The finished road surface (black) on the left in the figure below requires fill. The geological material forming the natural surface (green) is unsuitable for foundations, so to reach usable material (red), unwanted material must be removed: Only then can the fill or pavement be placed. In this case, the area of fill is between the finished surface and the usable material.

The finished surface on the right above requires cut. The area of cut is between the finished surface and the natural surface, unless the cut underlies the pavement, in which case additional cut may be required to accommodate the pavement (and subgrade).

Template Materials

This tab is used to define the cost per m3 (ft3) of each material that is created in the templates defined and also which material is used for each template element. A single template material can be used in multiple template elements.

The top window is for a Road project; the bottom window is for a Rail project. The section on the left is where you define the Template Materials (type and cost). On the right are all the template elements in the project from all templates defined in the template editor. To assign a template material to a template element:

1. Create the material on the left and give it a cost.

2. On the right select the desired material from the drop-down list under Type.

Caution: Any template materials listed with an undefined type will have no costs associated with them and as a result when used, there are no template materials being considered in the scenario.

Note: Duplicated templates do not carry any Template Material costs with them and, as a result, all elements in a duplicated template will need to be reassigned.

Next topic: Geotechnical Costs