How does "Automatic Grade" work?

The Automatic Grade function in TcpMDT is a tool designed to assist in defining a grade so that it fits a longitudinal profile following specific technical criteria. Its main objective is to find a solution that minimizes earthworks and optimizes the arrangement of vertical curves.

For the program to perform this calculation, it is necessary to first select a drawn longitudinal profile and establish the following configuration parameters in the corresponding dialog:

• Application Range: The Initial Station and Final Station of the section to be calculated must be defined.

• Control Elevations: The user specifies the Initial Elevation and Final Elevation that the grade must have.

• Geometric Restrictions: The Maximum Difference in elevation allowed between the terrain and the grade is entered, as well as the Maximum Slope (%) (which also acts as the minimum) to be applied.

• Curve Adjustment: It is required to define a Minimum Tangent as the base parameter for the calculation of vertical curves.

Once these values are entered, the software processes the information and generates a report with the calculation results. If the user validates this report, the application automatically draws the final grade on the longitudinal profile, integrating the vertical curves that best adapt to the imposed restrictions