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Abstract
In trench construction, one of the tasks for engineers is to select a suitable route to minimize construction cost and
obstructions. This paper discusses the development of a Geographic Information Systems GIS.-based system to automate
the process of routing and design of an underground power supply system. In the system, surface and underground utilities
are represented in several coverages. Using network analysis, the system determines the optimal paths for routing the
utilities. Through database queries and spatial operations, the construction conflict points between the basic coverages and
the selected route are not only identified, but a reallocation schedule is also determined. q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All
rights reserved.
Keywords: GIS; Automating; Utility route
1. Introduction
Unlike most civil engineering projects, trenching
schemes are not confined within a recognized site
but by their nature, lie between widely spread out
points of connection and can involve working in a
variety of rural and urban environments. For most
electrical supply system tunnel projects, construction
sites are often in close contact with existing public
utility lines and structures. The underground apparatuses of most public utilities include live systems and
principal services, thus, water and gas can be dangerous to trench operatives when damaged or fractured.
Especially in urban areas, obstacles such as existing
)
Corresponding author. Tel.: q886-2-27376596; fax: q886-227376606.
E-mail address: myc@hp.ct.ntust.edu.tw M.-Y. Cheng..
0926-5805r01r$ - see front matter q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 9 2 6 - 5 8 0 5 0 0 . 0 0 1 0 3 - 5
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required for route planning is limited and the designer has to accomplish his work based on incomplete information. In the construction phase, due to
the lack of accurate existing underground utility
information, the constructor is apt to damage and
fracture existing utilities and cause construction delay. The conventional approaches of electricity supply route planning rely on heuristic strategies and
rules of thumb based on an individuals knowledge
and experience gained from previous problem solutions. The complexity of the problem involves the
need to process spatial data such as road and circuit
maps, public utility records, and construction plans.
In the classic manual approach, it is difficult for the
planner to identify the spatial relationship between
different data layers which usually results in an
overdesigned, costly and non-standardized solution.
Summarizing the drawbacks of the current approach for electricity route planning and design,
Geographic Information Systems GIS., a technology
for spatial data analysis, seems to have significant
potential in solving these problems. By using GIS,
planners can integrate and organize ill-structured
construction information such as circuit maps and
records, road maps and associated attributes, construction maps, and other spatial information more
efficiently. Due to its spatial operation capability,
GIS helps planners identify the spatial relationships
between different data layers. In addition, GIS not
only stores the spatial features and attributes, but can
also be used as an analysis tool. GIS-ArcrInfo provides an internal macro language for users to automate their system design and the ability to interface
with other application softwares. Hence, heuristic
methods and algorithms can be developed to solve
utility route planning and design as an ill-structured
problem.
and dimensions for the underground utilities to minimize the influence on existing utility lines and structures; 3. identify the conflict points between the
designed route and the existing utilities; 4. integrate
construction schedule and design information to create a reallocation schedule for existing public utilities; and 5. provide distribution information for the
existing underground utilities to reduce potential
damages or fractures caused by construction excavation.
2. Research objectives
3. Scope definition
The system, RoutePlan, is developed to assist
engineers in selecting a suitable route to minimize
construction cost and obstructions. In this study, the
system is mainly focused on route planning and
design of an electric utility line, and the open trench
method is the construction method used in excavation. However, using the same methodology and
algorithms with appropriate modifications, RoutePlan
can be applied to a variety of different public utility
design and construction methods.
4. System development
4.1. Knowledge acquisition and data preparation
4.1.1. Knowledge resources
This study reviewed the field practice and identified contemporary state of art route planning. To
obtain the experts knowledge and experience in
power supply route design, four resources were compiled and reviewed: 1. interviews with experts, 2.
previous research, 3. design handbooks, and 4.
standard construction practice.
509
510
Tk s
Wi
1.
is1
IVk s D k =
1
Tk
2.
II R j s
IVk
3.
ks1
Objective function:
II s Min II R j . ,
4.
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the road network see Fig. 3.. Considering the constraints and selection criteria, routes which do not
512
called impedance index II. is developed to determine the optimal route. The II is calculated by
summing the product of the length and relative
weighting of the road sections. The route with least
impedance between two nodes is identified as the
optimal route.
4.3.3. Locating conflict points
This section is to identify the conflict points
between the selected route and the existing public
utilities see Fig. 4.. The selected route is first
buffered based on the width of excavation. The
existing facilities such as underground utility lines,
railways, canals, motorways, etc., within the excavation depth are selected and represented as a coverage. Using the ArcrInfos Overlay functions, the
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Language SML.. A set of the application user interface objects, including pull-down menus, pop-up
menus and forms, was developed for the system.
These objects were designed for the specific application and provide a non-command-driven user interface. The command user interface is a simple command language, similar in purpose to operating system command languages found in Unix, MS-DOS,
and other operating systems. In addition to automating the system design and directing the program flow
of control, the command user interface is also used
to integrate ArcView and the Excel spreadsheet. The
program data interface writesrreads the information
torfrom the associated databases. In this way, the
data files which are stored in a standard dBASE file
format act as the communication media.
The systems prime components include Visual
Basic, CAD, ArcrInfo, ArcView, Excel spreadsheet,
and wARCx prompt. The user communicates with the
system components through a custom interface developed in Visual Basic. The CAD software AutoCAD is used to create the site geometry. Using the
ArcrInfo functional modules such as Starter Kit,
Arcplot, Overlay, Tables, and Network, the route
plan and design is mapped out. ArcView is used to
perform the graphical query and display the analysis
results. Excel spreadsheet is used to add additional
tabular attributes and calculate the impedance index.
5. Conclusions
This papers endeavor focuses on developing an
automated routing system to assist engineers in selecting a suitable route to avoid existing obstacles
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Further reading
J.K. Budleigh, Trench Excavation and Support, Billing and Sons,
Worcester, UK, 1989.
M.Y. Cheng, J.T. OConnor, Site layout of construction temporary
facilities using enhanced-Geographical Information System
GIS., Autom. Constr. 3 1994. 1119.
M.Y. Cheng, Automated site layout of temporary construction
facilities using Geographic Information Systems GIS., PhD
Diss., Department of Civil Engineering, University of Texas,
1992.
M.E. Helander, E. Melachrinoudis, Facility location and reliable
route planning in hazardous material transportation, Transp.