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Volumes by Sections Using Prismoidal Formulas PDF

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Gusty Deni Setiawan
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865 views4 pages

Volumes by Sections Using Prismoidal Formulas PDF

Uploaded by

Gusty Deni Setiawan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Volumes by Sections Using Prismoidal

Formulas: A Case Study of Different Methods


by Pat Sanders

In order to illustrate the different possibilities for computing volumes by sections and their
associated results, let us investigate the following example:
FIGURE 1. Case Study Model

My distance between sections is 100m. Section 1 at line 20+00 has a perfect radius of
material that is 10m. The area above the planned line can be computed using:

A1 = R2/2 = 3.14159 * 102 / 2. = 157.1 m2 (EQ 1)

Section 2 at line 21+00 has a perfect radius of material that is 20m.

A2 = R2/2 = 3.14159 * 202 / 2. = 628.3 m2 (EQ 2)

METHOD NO. 1: AVERAGE END AREA


Most computations of volumes by cross sections across a channel use the Average End Area
approach. This is pretty simple in this case.

Vol12 = (A1 + A2) * L = (157 + 628) * 100 = 39,270 m3 (EQ 3)

METHOD NO. 2: PRISMOIDAL FORMULA #1 (WITH MIDPOINT


SECTION)
Some text books advocate the usage of a prismoidal formula as follows:

VOL12 = (A1 + 4*Am + A2) * L / 6 (EQ 4)

July / 2013 1
In order to compute this, we will need the area across the midpoint of the section. Using a
radius of 15m, this is calculated as:

AM = R2/2 = 3.14159 * 152 / 2. = 353.4 m2 (EQ 5)

We now have the pieces we need in order to compute the volume:

VOL12 = (A1 + 4*Am + A2) * L / 6


= (157.1 + [4 x 353.4] + 628.3) * 100 / 6 = 36,652 m3 (EQ 6)

METHOD NO. 3: PRISMOIDAL FORMULA #2


This morning, Carlos Tejada, our HYPACK liaison for Central and South America, informed
me of another Prismoidal formula. A little research on the Internet showed the formula
mentioned in the computation of volumes between contours in lakes! The formula used is:

VOL12 = ( A1 + A2 + SQRT[ A1 x A2] ) / 3. (EQ 7)

If the areas between adjacent sections are equal, then the routine will give the same result as
the Average End Area. In examples where the areas are different (such as our example), it
will result in less material being reported.

VOL12 = ( 157.1 + 628.3 + SQRT[157.1 x 628.3] ) / 3. = 36,652 m3 (EQ 8)

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
So, using the same cross sectional areas, we have 3 different results:

Method Computed Volume (m3)


Average End Area 39,270
Prismoidal # 1 (with Middle Section) 36,652
Prismoidal #2 36,652
The Prismoidal #2 formula gave the same answer as the Prismoidal #1 formula without
having to use a middle section!
FIGURE 2. In HYPACK TIN MODEL

To test the HYPACK TIN MODEL, I wrote a


program to generate XYZs, based on the
mathematical description of my shape.
The resulting volume in TIN MODEL was 36,656 m3.
This correlates very closely to the Prismoidal #2
result of 36,652m3! TIN MODEL came within 4 m3 of
the mathematical result!

2
In order to compute volumes in CSV, I took the data points I had generated in TIN MODEL
and cut two sections through the model to coincide with my desired sections.
FIGURE 3. In HYPACK CROSS SECTIONS AND VOLUMES (CSV)

From my data files, CSV reports:

A1 = 156.4 m2 (vs. mathematical result of 157.1 m2) (EQ 9)

A1 = 627.3 m2 (vs. mathematical result of 628.3 m2) (EQ 10)

VOL12 = 39,184 m3 (vs. mathematical results of 39,270 m3)


(86 m3 less, or -0.2%) (EQ 11)

CSV got a slightly lower result. Some of that is attributable to how TIN MODEL outputs the
data across the section.
FIGURE 4. How TIN MODEL Outputs
The Data Across The Section

TIN MODEL outputs a data point at a


user-defined distance along the
planned line. In Figure 4, our
mathematical model in black is a
perfect semi-circle. The output from
the TIN MODEL and what we will be
working with in CSV is shown by the
red line segments. The volume of material under those segments should be slightly less than
what the mathematical shape would predict. Our result shows that!

COMMENTS
Just another example why you should be using the TIN MODEL!

July / 2013 3
Should CROSS SECTIONS AND VOLUMES be modified to allow a prismoidal
computation models?
Prismoidal #3 Formula: This intrigues me. We could build it into CSV as an option for
those who want to use it. It is NOT an Average End Area computation that is required
in many contracts. However, it DOES give an answer that is closer to the TIN MODEL
result.
Lets hear from the users if they want the Prismoidal #3 formula built in as an optional
selection to certain methods.

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