Profile Mode

The Profile Mode is used for designing a cross-section by connecting strata, applying hatch patterns to strata, drawing water table, etc.

To enter Profile Mode:

Getting Started

The first time you switch to Profile page for a new cross-section, the page shows the stick-log of the boreholes in Profile view; The location of boreholes along the cross-section profile is based on their coordinates entered on test hole data entry page. The following describes the main components of the user interface for Profile page:

• Property Grid: Each 'object' has its own properties (e.g. text, color, font size, transparency etc). To view the properties of an object, click on the object to select it:
  • Object Properties: the upper portion of the Property Grid shows the properties of the selected object.
  • Global Settings: shows general settings that determine how the boreholes, hatch patterns, and lines will appear on screen.
  • Points: determines the appearance of points (vertices) for all polygons. By default, points are shown by red squares. The points may be moved around by grabbing (mouse click & hold) and dropping them at the desired location.
  • Section Axis: allows changing the text and font of the horizontal and vertical axes of the viewport.
  • Scaling: select different horizontal and vertical scale factors for the cross section.
• Design Area: Shows the boreholes and the polygons. A polygon could be drawn using the Draw Soil / Rock Layer button on the top toolbar. A polygon may be connected to a borehole or could be completely independent of a borehole (e.g. to show a buried utility).
• Legend Box: A legend box comprises all soil and rock types used in drawing the cross section. The hatch patterns of all soil and rock types will be presented in individual boxes along with a generic description of that type. A legend box can display data in multi-column format.

Design Area

The Design Area shows all project boreholes and their stratigraphy. If a borehole has field test data (e.g. SPT or Vane shear test) the field test will be plotted beside the borehole.

• The horizontal and vertical axis of the Design Area show Distance (along the soil profile) and Elevation of boreholes, respectively.
• Click on a borehole, polygon or line to select it. The upper portion of the Property Grid shows the properties of the selected object.
• Use mouse to zoom and move the model in Design Area.
• Double-click on an object to zoom to that object.

Borehole Locations

The first borehole is placed at Distance = 0 and the Distance of other boreholes along the profile is measured relative to the first borehole. Therefore, the Design Area shows an 'unfolded' view of the cross-section. The 'break lines' show the location of any break along the cross-section polyline.

Drawing Scales

User can select different horizontal and vertical scales for the profile using the Scaling section at the lower portion of the Property Grid. This is especially helpful when dealing with a linear project where the borehole depths are significantly smaller than the plan extent of the project.

Points

Points are used to shape polygons and polylines, and by default they are shown as red squared in Cross Section Designer. General properties of points may be set from the Points section of the property grid. Points are automatically generated when you draw a line or polygon, however, a new point may be added to an existing line or polygon (see how).

• Fixed Points: These points are added to the top and bottom of each layer on a borehole. These points cannot be deleted or moved because they are linked to stratigraphy data entered for a test hole.
• User-Defined Points: These points are added during drawing a polygon or line by clicking anywhere on screen. In the screenshot shown below, several points are added to the top of Fill Material layer to represent the ground surface topography adjacent to AH20-1

Moving a Point

To move a user-defined point, click on the point and drag it with mouse.

Deleting a Point

to delete a Point, select the point. Then, from the Property Grid click on Delete button.

Adding a Point to an Existing Line / Polygon

To add a point to an existing line or polygon:

1. From the top toolbar click on Add New Point button.
2. Hover on desired spot on a line segment. The subject line segment will be highlighted.
3. Click where you want to add the point.

Merging Points

Points may be merged by dragging a point and dropping it on another point.

Ground Surface Options

Ground surface line is shaped based on the collar elevation of boreholes and the topmost stratum on the cross-section (see example below). During drawing the polygon for the topmost stratum add as many points as required to model the ground surface topography in between the boreholes.

Approximate Ground Profile

The estimated ground surface profile along the cross-section may be obtained from the map servers. In order to obtain the approximate ground surface profile:

1. Click on Import from the top toolbar.
2. select Ground Surface Profile from the menu.
3. This will add an orange polyline to the Design Area. Depending on the elevations obtained for the ground surface, this polyline may be inserted above or below the expected elevation. Select the ground surface polyline and move it around as needed.

Showing Field / Lab. Tests

Each test hole may have data for multiple field tests or lab tests. These test results may be presented on the left or right side of each test hole in Profile Mode, either as a Graph or as a Table. In order to determine which test results should be shown:

1. Click on a borehole to select it. This will refresh the upper portion of the Property Grid with properties of the borehole.
2. At the top of the list find the Test Data property.
3. Click to open the dropdown, and select the desired tests from the list.

Styling and Appearance

By default, the test data is shown as a Graph. To edit the style and properties of a test (e.g. colors, fonts etc.) click on the graph and edit its properties on the property grid.

If you selected to show only one test for a test hole, the graph or table may be dragged around by grabbing it with mouse and moving them to either side of the borehole. If two tests are selected, the Anchor property is automatically set for the Graph or Table and they cannot be moved.

Source Column

Each graph only presents data for one parameter. Use the Data Column property to choose the data source.

Drawing a Stratum

Soil or rock layers are modelled by drawing a polygon and applying a specific color or hatch pattern to that polygon. There are two option for drawing a stratum:

Draw a Polygon

This option is more flexible than connecting multiple layer by clicking. In order to draw a polygon:

1. Click on the Draw Soil/Rock Layer from the top toolbar to start drawing a polygon.
2. Click anywhere on screen to add the first point of the polygon.
3. Polygons are drawn by connecting points (red squares) together. Click anywhere to add a new point.
4. Add more points as needed.
5. Double click on the last point (or press Enter) to close the polygon.

Connect Multiple Layers by Clicking on Them

This option is faster than drawing a polygon, however there is less flexibility with the shape of the polygons created:

1. Click on the Create New Strata By Connecting Layers button from the top toolbar.
2. Click on the first layer on the first borehole,
3. Click on the next layer in the next borehole. Repeat this step as needed.
4. When you select a layer in a borehole note the preview of the strata is shown with a dashed red polygon.
5. Press Enter after adding the last layer.

Adding a Point

In order to add a point to an existing line or polygon:

1. Click on the Add New Point button from the top toolbar.
2. Hover on the line segment and location that you could like to add a point; The line segment will be highlighted.
3. Click to add the point.

Groundwater Options

To show groundwater levels in your cross-section design, use the Groundwater Options menu under Global Settings section of the property grid:

Groundwater Level Observed During Drilling

In test hole data entry page (General tab) user enters data for groundwater observed during drilling. In Profile Mode you can show the groundwater depth on test holes. The type of water symbol (filled / hollow) may be selected using the options in During Site Investigation section.

If you do not wish to show the groundwater levels observed during the site investigation, select the Hide option.

Showing Piezometer / Well

If your test holes have piezometer / well (i.e. the Instrumentation tab on the test hole data entry page), you can show schematic design of piezometers on the left side of test holes. To do so, use the Measured In Piezometer / Well options and select the water symbol to be used.

• Show Groundwater Date: select this option to show the water level measurement dates beside groundwater symbols.
• Only Show the Last Groundwater: if selected, only the last groundwater measurement in piezometer / well will be show for each test hole. This is specifically useful if you made multiple groundwater measurements in this borehole and the last measurement is considered the stabilized water level.

If you do not wish to show the piezometers / wells beside the boreholes, select the Hide option.

Drawing Groundwater Line

To draw a groundwater line, click on Draw Groundwater Line button on the top toolbar. Start drawing a polyline from anywhere on screen and add points as required. Double click on the last point (or press Enter) to complete the groundwater line. Once completed, the property grid will be refreshed with properties of this groundwater line and you can choose color, line style, etc. as desired.

Color Scheme

Refer to this article for see how Color Scheme works in Cross-Section Designer.

Polygon's Fill Style

The polygons are filled with a solid color or a hatch pattern to represent the material associated with that layer:

1. Click on the polygon to select it. This will show the properties of the polygon in the upper portion of the Property Grid (see screenshot above).

1. Select Fill Style property from the following options:
   1. Void: no fill or hatch pattern is applied to the polygon.
   2. Solid: the polygon is filled with a solid color selected in Fill Color property.
   3. Pattern: the polygon is filled with one of RSLog soil / rock patterns.
2. Pattern Type: There are four pattern categories to choose from:
   1. USCS: Represents soil patterns commonly used for Unified Soil Classification System (e.g. CL, SW, GP-GM, etc.)
   2. Rock: Includes various rock patterns (e.g. Shale, Granite, etc.)
   3. AGS: covers all AGS hatch types (e.g. 203, 710, etc.)
   4. Other: Includes a number of miscellaneous hatch patterns (e.g. Asphalt, Bentonite, etc.)

The scale of the hatch patterns is defined by the Pattern Scale property under the Global Settings section of the Property Grid.

Adding ? to Objects

To indicate an uncertain boundary for a layer or groundwater line, use the Show ? on Lines property and select the frequency of ? symbols. The size of ? symbols is selected under Global Settings section of the Property Grid.

Legend Box

A list of hatch patterns used in this soil profile are presented in the Legend Box. The Legend Box may be easily moved around and its property could be changes as desired, including:

• General properties such as background color, border, font style, title etc.
• Image size which refers to the individual hatch pattern images shown on the Legend Box.
• Number of columns determines how the hatch patterns should be presented in the Legend Box.
• Pinned property determines if the Legend Box should be pinned to a corner of the screen, otherwise the Legend Box will move with the rest of the model during zoom and pan.

Other Modes

Use the Display Mode toggle bar (top-right corner of screen) to switch to Plan Mode or 3D Mode.

Log of SPT Blows

In order to create stick logs with SPT blow counts shown along the depth of the boreholes as a table:

• Create a cross-section including all subject boreholes,
• Load the cross-section designer and select one of the SPT plot by clicking on it,
• The properties of the SPT plot will be shown in the property grid,
• Change the Style property to “Data & Depth” or "Date & Elevation". This will show the SPT data in a table,
• Click on "Copy to All" button below the property grid to apply the same Style to all SPT plots,
• From the Export menu (top toolbar) select AutoCAD DXF. This will export the model to DXF format.

Once your model is exported to DXF, you will be able to place it in your title blocks, edit fonts, and move things around to match your company style.

Import / Export

Refer to this article for read about the import and export features in Cross-Section Designer.