C3d Mass Haul

Civil 3D Mass Haul

Use this skill when working with mass haul diagrams, earthwork balance lines, free haul and overhaul distances, or borrow/waste site management.

Overview

Mass haul diagrams visualize cumulative earthwork volumes along an alignment, showing where material must be moved from cut zones to fill zones. The diagram plots cumulative volume (y-axis) against station (x-axis), producing a curve whose slope indicates cut (rising) or fill (falling) regions.

Key relationships:

• Alignment — defines the horizontal path along which earthwork is measured
• Sample line group — provides the cross-section sampling stations
• Material list — defines cut/fill material definitions with swell/shrinkage factors
• Corridor — the design model whose surfaces generate cut and fill volumes

API Limitations

Mass haul diagrams are primarily created through the Mass Haul Diagram wizard (command CreateMassHaulDiagram). The managed .NET API does not provide a MassHaulDiagram.Create() method. The API surface for reading existing mass haul data is also limited compared to other Civil 3D objects. Many operations require the wizard UI or report generation commands.

Note: The MassHaulView and MassHaulDiagram classes may have limited property exposure depending on your Civil 3D version. Verify available members against the Object Browser for your target version.

Accessing Mass Haul Views

Mass haul views are graphical entities in model space. Find them by iterating the block table record:

using (Transaction ts = db.TransactionManager.StartTransaction())
{
    BlockTableRecord btr = (BlockTableRecord)ts.GetObject(
        SymbolUtilityServices.GetBlockModelSpaceId(db), OpenMode.ForRead);

    foreach (ObjectId id in btr)
    {
        Entity ent = (Entity)ts.GetObject(id, OpenMode.ForRead);
        if (ent is MassHaulView mhView)
        {
            ed.WriteMessage($"\nMass Haul View: {mhView.Name}");
        }
    }

    ts.Commit();
}

Creating Mass Haul Diagrams

Creation is wizard-driven only:

// Trigger the built-in mass haul creation wizard
Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument.SendStringToExecute(
    "CreateMassHaulDiagram ", true, false, false);

The wizard requires:

1. An alignment with a corridor
2. Sample lines crossing the corridor
3. A computed material list (quantity takeoff materials)

There is no silent/automated creation path through the managed .NET API.

Mass Haul Concepts

Balance Lines

Balance lines on a mass haul diagram indicate stations where cumulative cut equals cumulative fill. They define segments where material can be balanced internally:

• A balance line is a horizontal line intersecting the mass haul curve at two or more points
• Material between intersection points can be balanced within the segment
• The free haul zone is the portion within the free haul distance of each balance point
• Material moved beyond the free haul distance incurs overhaul costs

Free Haul and Overhaul

• Free haul — maximum distance material can be transported at no additional cost (included in base excavation price)
• Overhaul — cost of moving material beyond the free haul distance: volume x excess distance x unit cost

Overhaul is computed from the mass haul diagram:

• Overhaul volume = volume of material moved beyond free haul distance
• Overhaul distance = average haul distance minus free haul distance

Borrow Pits and Waste Sites

When a project cannot balance cut and fill internally:

• Borrow pits — external material sources
• Waste sites — external material disposal locations

These are configured in the mass haul wizard with station location, capacity, and description. The .NET API does not expose creation or modification of borrow/waste sites.

Cumulative Volume Curve

The mass haul curve plots cumulative volume vs. station:

• Rising segments — net cut (material surplus)
• Falling segments — net fill (material deficit)
• Peaks — transitions from cut to fill
• Valleys — transitions from fill to cut
• Zero crossings relative to a balance line — balance points

Material Lists

Material lists define the cut and fill surfaces and are essential inputs to mass haul computation.

Structure

A material list references:

• Quantity takeoff criteria defining material types
• Cut surface (typically existing ground)
• Fill surface (typically corridor datum or design surface)
• Swell factor — volume increase when excavated (e.g., 1.20 = 20% swell)
• Shrinkage factor — volume decrease when compacted (e.g., 0.95 = 5% shrinkage)

Accessing Material Lists via Sample Line Groups

using (Transaction ts = db.TransactionManager.StartTransaction())
{
    SampleLineGroup slg = (SampleLineGroup)ts.GetObject(
        sampleLineGroupId, OpenMode.ForRead);

    // Access material lists through the sample line group
    // See c3d-quantity-takeoff skill for detailed material list access
    ed.WriteMessage($"\nSample line group: {slg.Name}");

    ts.Commit();
}

Swell and Shrinkage

Swell and shrinkage factors directly impact the mass haul curve:

Adjusted Cut Volume  = Raw Cut Volume x Swell Factor
Adjusted Fill Volume = Raw Fill Volume x Shrinkage Factor

These factors are set in the material list definition. The c3d-quantity-takeoff skill documents FillFactor as a multiplier.

Volume Data from Sample Lines

using (Transaction ts = db.TransactionManager.StartTransaction())
{
    SampleLineGroup slg = (SampleLineGroup)ts.GetObject(
        sampleLineGroupId, OpenMode.ForRead);

    ObjectIdCollection sampleLineIds = slg.GetSampleLineIds();

    foreach (ObjectId slId in sampleLineIds)
    {
        SampleLine sl = (SampleLine)ts.GetObject(slId, OpenMode.ForRead);
        ed.WriteMessage($"\nStation: {sl.Station:F2}");
        // Volume data is computed via quantity takeoff at each station
        // The mass haul diagram aggregates these into a cumulative curve
    }

    ts.Commit();
}

Volume Reports

For detailed per-station volume data, use built-in reporting:

Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument.SendStringToExecute(
    "GenerateQuantitiesReport ", true, false, false);

Gotchas

• No .NET creation API. Mass haul diagrams cannot be created programmatically. Use the CreateMassHaulDiagram wizard command.
• Material list dependency. A mass haul diagram requires a computed material list. If the material list is out of date, the diagram shows stale data.
• Swell/shrinkage are multiplicative. Forgetting to account for these factors will produce incorrect mass haul curves and shift balance points.
• Free haul distance uses drawing units. Feet or meters depending on the drawing. Mixing units produces nonsensical overhaul calculations.
• Balance lines are visual, not queryable. The .NET API does not expose individual balance line intersection stations.
• Sample lines must exist first. If sample lines don't cover the full corridor extent, the mass haul diagram only reflects the sampled range.
• Corridor rebuild required. If the corridor design changes, rebuild the corridor and recompute material volumes before the mass haul diagram reflects updates.
• Multiple material lists. A sample line group can have multiple material lists. Ensure you reference the correct one.
• MassHaulView vs MassHaulDiagram. The MassHaulView is the graphical container in the drawing. The MassHaulDiagram is the data object. A view can display multiple diagrams.
• Most properties are read-only. Structural changes (adding sites, changing materials) require the wizard. Write access is limited.
• Report export for analysis. For cost optimization or haul distance matrices, export via GenerateQuantitiesReport or XML reports rather than extracting through the object model.

Related Skills

• c3d-surfaces — existing ground and design surfaces for volume computation
• c3d-profiles — profiles that define cut/fill relationships along alignments
• c3d-corridors — corridors that generate the earthwork volumes feeding mass haul
• c3d-sample-lines — sample line groups that provide cross-section stations
• c3d-quantity-takeoff — quantity takeoff for material volumes and material lists
• c3d-root-objects — CivilDocument access and transaction patterns