Overview:
Balance subzone balances the earthworks within the coverage area. It can be used to contain the earthworks in a desired area or to limit the haul distance to improve earthworks productivity. This will not only assist the contractor by reducing travel distances infield, but also reduce time required to complete land forming.
Displayed by:
Menu: Tools > New Design Zone > Subzone Net Earthworks
Toolbar:
Or
Appearance:
Example:
A pivot field has raised gravel tracks for the pivot wheels to follow essentially forming rings as shown in the satellite image below.
This posed a challenge for the designer to balance the earthworks within each ring section as the scraper cannot easily move soil across the wheel tracks.
Circular “ring” subzones were drawn between wheel tracks using the circle subzone toolbar, effectively creating rings. To split the ‘ring’ subzones further, larger subzones were drawn over sections of the pivot and split the pivot into pie pieces… ie. quarters, fifths, eights, as desired.
The most important rule to consider is the subzones priority. The circle in the center will have the highest priority moving outwards towards the edge. Then the 'pie' subzones need to be the least priority balance subzones. Use the Move Up, Move Down, Top or Bottom buttons to adjust the priorities.
This effectively creates ring balance subzones which are further split by the roads crossing the center of the pivot.
Note. Allow about 10% of the field not to be covered by the balance subzones allowing OptiSurface flexibility to balance the earthworks correctly.