Swept path analysis
Encyclopedia
Swept Path Analysis is the calculation and analysis of the movement and path of different parts of a vehicle when that vehicle is undertaking a turning maneuver. At a basic level this includes calculating the path taken by each wheel during the turn and also calculating the space needed by the vehicle body during the turn. Initially this form of calculation was carried out by hand, but in recent years has been computerized.
AutoTURN
developed by transportation engineering design specialists, Transoft Solutions Inc., is the most trusted and widely used Swept Path Analysis software available in 7 languages and used by thousands of engineers in over 100 countries around the world. Transoft Solutions worked closely with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) to develop the standard design vehicles referenced within the 2010 Green Book "A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets."
Simtra AeroTech, the company behind the market leading airport design and planning software, PathPlanner Airport, entered the Transportation industry in 2001 with a PathPlanner version dedicated to vehicle turn simulation, PathPlanner Roads. During an evaluation performed in 2009, the Swedish Road Authority concluded that PathPlanner was the most suitable software for their needs, a sentiment which is shared by thousands of users worldwide.
There are also other software available on the market like Autopath developed by CGS plus one of few Autodesk's Preferred Industry Partners for Civil 3D and also a major civil engineering software
developer.
In general the programs work in Microsoft Windows, also integrating with the major CAD packages.
Computer programs
Savoy Computing Services Limited claims the first program to provide this form of vehicle turn analysis was TrackTech (later Track and now AutoTrack) back in the 1970s. It was developed originally by Travers Morgan and Partners and used by the UK's Transport and Road Research Laboratory.AutoTURN
AutoTURN
AutoTURN is a third-party 2-dimensional CAD software released for the AutoCAD or MicroStation platforms, developed and sold by Transoft Solutions Inc. AutoTURN software can only be used on computers that run Microsoft Windows operating system...
developed by transportation engineering design specialists, Transoft Solutions Inc., is the most trusted and widely used Swept Path Analysis software available in 7 languages and used by thousands of engineers in over 100 countries around the world. Transoft Solutions worked closely with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) to develop the standard design vehicles referenced within the 2010 Green Book "A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets."
Simtra AeroTech, the company behind the market leading airport design and planning software, PathPlanner Airport, entered the Transportation industry in 2001 with a PathPlanner version dedicated to vehicle turn simulation, PathPlanner Roads. During an evaluation performed in 2009, the Swedish Road Authority concluded that PathPlanner was the most suitable software for their needs, a sentiment which is shared by thousands of users worldwide.
There are also other software available on the market like Autopath developed by CGS plus one of few Autodesk's Preferred Industry Partners for Civil 3D and also a major civil engineering software
Civil engineering software
There are a variety of software programs which are available for the different specialized disciplines of civil engineering. Most civil engineers practice in specialized subsets of civil engineering, such as geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, hydraulic...
developer.
New vehicles
For designers and developers of new vehicle types it provides a range of data about how that vehicle will perform without having to resort to building a prototype. The vehicle's intended parameters can be input into the program which will then calculate exactly how that vehicle will perform under a turn situation.Planning
Planners, architects and engineers can also benefit from the program as it will provide them with the means to assess possibilities at different site locations, for example whether a particular vehicle is able to safely (or actually) negotiate a specific corner or entrance where room to manoeuvre is limited.Unusual loads
The flexibility of the program also provides the calculation of unusual loads on wheeled transport; for example the transportation of large items (such as wind-farm turbine blades, ship's hulls, aircraft wings or other large objects).Airport design
There is also software available which is specially used for airside planning, design and operations. This type of software includes comprehensive aircraft and passenger boarding bridge libraries together with additional features such as servicing points for aircraft, jet blast and safe working area calculation, airport specific vehicles, animation capabilities and the ability to create unusual vehicles from scratch. The recognised market leader in this field is PathPlanner A5 from Simtra AeroTech.Car parks
Linked to its Swept Path Analysis the program may also include parking tools. This module may integrate seamlessly with the swept path analysis program and provide a quick, powerful and intuitive tool for laying out car parks into which the intended vehicles' swept path can be integrated. Car parks can be laid out for domestic cars, or any vehicle. As such it can also be used to lay out the access and parking for either a major articulated lorry distribution centre, or even in the Airport Design module for aircraft parking and taxiing.Light rail
A swept path analysis program may also include a module for light rail (metro). This can be used to calculate platform clearances and passing clearances when two trains pass on a curved section of track.Other
Other facilities include the ability to overlay a swept path drawing over an aerial photograph and the ability to model several vehicle movements concurrently.Licensing
Swept path analysis programs are usually adopted for use by professional corporations, and as a result they are licensed and protected programs for which a subscription or maintenance fee is payable. An exception is the open source TURN.LSP project, licensed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU GPL.In general the programs work in Microsoft Windows, also integrating with the major CAD packages.