Vertical Alignment Optimization for Infrastructure Corridors
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high cost and inefficiency in constructing infrastructure corridors, such as highways, due to the complexity of determining optimal vertical alignment that minimizes earthmoving costs, which are influenced by various factors including earth type, volume, and structural elements like retaining walls.
Innovation Solution
A method and system using a processor to model the cost of constructing infrastructure corridors as a function of cost variables that vary with vertical alignment, interpolating between vertical offsets to determine the optimal alignment that minimizes construction costs, subject to design constraints like balance, grade, and smoothness, utilizing mixed integer linear programming for efficient calculation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional methods are used to determine vertical alignment, then construction proceeds with conventional cost estimation, but construction costs are high and optimization is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary modeling of construction costs as a function of vertical alignment parameters before actual construction begins. By pre-calculating cost variables and establishing the objective function in advance, the optimization is performed during the design phase rather than during construction, thereby reducing overall construction costs without adding operational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional manual or mechanical cost estimation methods with a computer-based optimization system that uses processors to calculate and minimize construction costs. This substitution of mechanical estimation with computational optimization enables precise cost minimization while the system manages its own complexity through algorithmic processing.
2Ease of manufacture
If detailed cost modeling is performed for vertical alignment optimization, then construction cost reduction is achieved, but computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the infrastructure corridor into discrete sections or stations along its length. At each segment, cost variables such as cutting costs, filling costs, and earthmoving costs are calculated independently based on local terrain and alignment parameters. This segmentation allows detailed cost modeling without overwhelming computational complexity, as each segment can be processed separately and then aggregated.
Solution Approach 2:
The system models cost variables as functions of vertical alignment parameters (elevations, grades, slopes) and uses the processor to vary these parameters to find the optimal alignment. By changing parameters systematically and observing their effect on total construction cost, the system achieves detailed cost modeling while managing measurement complexity through parametric analysis rather than direct measurement of all physical quantities.
3Measurement precision
If interpolation is used to determine costs between vertical offsets, then cost accuracy is improved, but computational processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs interpolation only at necessary intervals between vertical offsets rather than continuously at every possible elevation point. By applying interpolation selectively at key stations and using the interpolated values to guide the optimization, the system achieves sufficient cost estimation precision without the excessive computational time that would result from continuous interpolation throughout the entire alignment.
4Manufacturing precision
If multiple design constraints are applied to vertical alignment, then design quality is improved, but optimization difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies multiple design constraints (minimum and maximum grades, smoothness requirements, earth balance constraints) to the vertical alignment optimization. By incorporating these constraints into the objective function and using the processor to solve the constrained optimization problem, the system achieves precise vertical alignment that meets all design requirements. The increased optimization difficulty is managed through systematic application of constraint satisfaction methods in the algorithm.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and techniques for determining the vertical alignment of an infrastructure corridor having a certain horizontal alignment involve using a processor to model the cost of constructing the infrastructure corridor as a function of cost variables that vary with the vertical alignment of the infrastructure corridor. The processor looks up the cost variables at vertical offsets corresponding to certain vertical alignments of the infrastructure corridor and determines the cost of constructing the length of road at elevations located between pairs of the vertical offsets by interpolating from the cost variables at the vertical offsets; the interpolation may be linear. The processor determines, subject to infrastructure corridor design constraints, the vertical alignment of the infrastructure corridor from the cost of constructing the infrastructure corridor at the vertical offsets.