Measure Volume

Use the Measure Volume command to quickly measure the volume of a pile (above the specified horizontal reference plane) or a pit (below the specified horizontal reference plane) and store the measurement results as a volume grid map in your project.

Prerequisites:

  • Surface representing a pile

To measure volume:

  1. Select Measure Volume to display the Measure Volume command pane.
  2. In the Name field, enter a name for the volume measurement.

    This name is used if you decide to store the resulting measurement as a volume grid map in your project.

  3. In the Reference elevation field, enter the elevation for the horizontal reference plane used to calculate the volume.
  4. Click in the Selection field and then select the 3D objects for which you want to measure the volume (for example, a surface or point cloud).

    Use the Project Explorer or one of the graphic views to make your selection. Click the Option button for more selection options.

  5. In the Cell size field, enter the cell size to be used in the grid for the volume measurement.

    For example, if your project distance unit is configured to be meters, a value of 1.0 specifies a cell size of 1 square meter. Typically, you will select a cell size that best corresponds to the spacing of the points included in the measurement.

  6. In the Color map drop-down list, select to color the volume grid map based on either of the following:
    • Elevation - Displays cells in dark blue to red colors based on lower to higher elevation.
    • Above/Below Reference - Displays cells that are below the reference elevation in blue, and cells that are above the reference elevation in yellow to red colors based on lower to higher elevation.
  7. In the Rendering type drop-down list, select to display the volume grid map in graphic views using either a mesh surface or cubes.
  8. Optionally, select the Display edges option to display a border around the resulting volume grid map.
  9. Click the Measure button to measure the volume for the selected objects.

    Results of the volume measurement are displayed in the Results fields, including volumes above and below the elevation of the horizontal reference plane.

    In addition, the measured volume grid map is displayed in the graphic views.

    If necessary, you can make changes to any of the settings and remeasure the volume.

  10. To store the volume measurement in your project, click the Store button.

    The stored volume measurement is displayed as a nested node beneath the Stored Measurements parent node in the Project Explorer. In addition, the stored volume measurement is displayed as a selectable volume grid map in the graphic views.

  11. To display properties for a stored measurement, double-click it in the Project Explorer.