Software Development For 3D CAD And Information Management Of Underground Pipelines

Underground pipeline is an important component of the basic facilities in a city. At present, the underground pipeline management in many cities is out-of-order. The enquiries and maintenance of the information are difficult and are not able to carry out the real-time monitoring, disaster warning and decision support functions. A perfect information management system is urgently needed for the underground pipeline. Based on this consideration, this paper combined 3D CAD technology with database technology for underground pipe network to develop a software tool for GIS data and 3D pipelines design support. The work is one of the parts in the project of the 11 five-year Technological Support Program "Key Technology Research for Urban Construction Pipeline Network Planning and Operation Management".The main points of the paper are described as follows:(1) Unified pipeline data types. The data obtained from the exploration were analyzed and the data reporting processes were standardized. Detailed data record forms were designed, by which the data of each exploration project can be input to the information center database very conveniently.(2)Established model library and database for pipe joints and subsidiary valves. In order to establish the 3D solid model of pipelines, the parameterized solid models of related joints in Pro/E were established at first to facilitate the aided design and automatic pipeline generation.(3) 3D pipeline generation. By using of Pro/E advanced development technology and pipeline design module, the automatic model generation was realized for pipelines by automatically assembling the pipe joints first and then connecting the pipes. The data of the pipeline were saved in the database.(4) Pipeline analysis and output. The data were extracted from the pipeline models by written program. The customized single-tube bill can be output according to the requirements of construction unit and the engineering drawings can be generated by ISOGEN function. As a result, the data can be shared with other CAD software.(5) Designed user interface and underlying database. MFC technology was used to design an intuitive man-machine interface. Access database and ODBC technology were used to carry out the pipeline data saving and updating, respectively.By combining 3D CAD with database technologies, the results of this paper would provide data supported for GIS system of underground pipe network. The developed model library and automatically generation functions for pipelines as well as man-machine interface would greatly reduced the difficulty of data conversion. Using the 3D solid model would provide a helpful tool for design, engineering analysis, visualization display and data management of underground pipeline.