Options

Type a descriptive name for the material as you want it to appear in the Material layers list for site improvements, the Define Strata dialog, the Earthwork Report and Takeoff Report, and more.

Earthen materials in this category all share the properties that are displayed in the Material and Site Improvement Manager’s main page. However, they may have additional properties applicable to only those of their designated material nature.

• Ordinary soils - Select this to identify a material as having no unique properties aside from being potentially usable for any fill operations. Then specify the percentage of the soil that is usable (described below).
• Topsoil - Select this if you are defining a top of ground material. If you need to replace this material in landscaping areas, see Topsoil Properties below.
• Rock - Select this to identify a material as a mineral-based solid that may need to be ripped or blasted. There are currently no available properties that are specific to rock.

Note: The properties for the Earthen (Mass earthworks) category apply to each of these material natures.

These options are available if you choose Ordinary soils for Material Nature above.

• Percent usable - Specify the portion of the material that is suitable to use in mass earthwork operations.

These options are available if you choose Topsoil for Material Nature above.

Richness grade:

• Usable for topsoil replacement - Select this for topsoil with a nutrient value that is suitable as bedding for planting grasses, shrubs, and other landscaping.
• Unusable for Topsoil replacement - Select this for topsoil that is of insufficient nutrient value or other properties to qualify it as a topsoil replacement material, but which can be used as a non-structural earth fill within landscaped areas.

There are no rock-specific properties supported at this time.

Type the percent, or factor by which, the material will shrink when it is cut and then used as compacted fill.

Type the percent that, or factor by which, the material will increase in bulk when it is cut and hauled in a loose condition.

Type the percent that, or factor by which, the material will shrink when it is taken from its loose condition and placed into compacted fill.

Specify the cost per cubic unit of extracting the material as cut.

Note: This program displays the currency symbol and format that you have set in Microsoft Windows^® Regional and Language Options. The units and calculations, however, are not associated with a specific currency, so if a project is opened on a computer with different regional settings, those currency symbol and formats are used, but no conversion between currencies has been made.

Enter the price of borrow material per unit volume as excavated, transported and delivered to the site. This cost applies only to the volume of earthen materials that must be imported (borrowed) from an off-site source (beyond that associated with on-site earthmoving operations).

Select the color to be used in graphic views for the material when it is in shading a surface area.

Specify image files as material textures so they can be used in the Add Surface Texture command to make visualization of your 3D model more realistic (see Use an Image as a Texture).

If you have specified a texture image for a surface material in the External Library, the path to the image appears in the Texture box. If you have added a texture image to a material in the Project Library, only the file name appears in the box. A copy of the file it is saved at: C:\Documents and Settings\(user name)\My Documents\(product name)\(project name)\

To specify or change a texture image file, click the Browse button and navigate to the texture swatch that you want to use for the material.

Specify the width of the texture tile in the current project units. If the texture is applied to a corridor surface, the height of the tile runs parallel to the alignment of the corridor.

Specify the height of the texture tile in the current project units. If the texture is applied to a corridor surface, the width of the tile runs perpendicular to the alignment of the corridor.