The roads in a certain city intersect two major provincial highways, bearing the heavy burden of the city’s growth. To ensure sustainable and healthy urban development, it is essential to design comprehensive underground pipe galleries along the main municipal pipeline routes, accommodating future city expansion.
This article focuses on an urban road located at the junction of two streets, where numerous routes converge. Constructing a comprehensive underground pipe gallery here is crucial to reduce the construction load on the road surface. Being the city center, the pipe gallery must be built in a single phase without extensive excavation. Additionally, the design should consider future development plans by reserving adequate space for expansion.
When excavating underground pipe galleries, it is important not only to design for water, electricity, and heating lines but also to incorporate underground passages that ensure safe pedestrian crossing at intersections.
Choosing the Right Design Software
BIM (Building Information Modeling) is not a single design software but a collective term for all 3D modeling tools. The most commonly used are Revit and ArchiCAD, both popular in construction. For municipal engineering projects, construction professionals often prefer ArchiCAD.
ArchiCAD builds upon traditional 2D CAD software, making it familiar to operators experienced with CAD. These users can mentally visualize 3D models from 2D drawings, which the software easily expresses. During construction, ArchiCAD allows the creation of plan and section diagrams. With specialized infrastructure plugins, different pipeline systems can be integrated into one model, showcasing the building’s overall complexity.
Moreover, ArchiCAD generates virtual files compatible across platforms. Even without ArchiCAD installed, stakeholders can view the complete design model, greatly facilitating communication and progress reporting throughout the project.
Establishing the Construction Model and Key Processes
In building underground pipe galleries, the main structures use elements such as walls, beams, slabs, and columns, with complex shell forms applied in specific areas. Different pipeline layers require distinct materials. For instance, circuits needing insulation use specially insulated materials, while water heating lines require materials with excellent thermal insulation.
During design, each material type should be clearly marked with different colors. The diameter and slope of each pipeline must also be specified. Following the design sequence during construction is essential—it helps monitor pipeline installation details, allows early detection of design flaws, and prevents major errors.
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