What's New

This section describes recent changes in Earth Materials and Volumes.

R2022x GA

Polyhedral Geometry

You can now apply commands on polyhedral objects, or use polyhedral geometry as inputs.
Benefits: The Earth Materials and Volumes is more efficient and robust.
For more information, see Polyhedral Geometry in Earth Materials and Volumes

Skin Feature of a Block Model

You can now create and share a specialized 3D shape based on a filtered block model for extracting geometric data within a polyhedral mesh.
Benefits: Generating and updating a polyhedral mesh that represents the overall set of blocks after a previously created geoscience filter is applied. The geometries that can be extracted from such a filtered block model include:
  • An optimized pit shell created from a pit Id stored in the block model.
  • Geotechnical solids for a pit or a specific bench.
For more information, see Creating a Block Model's Skin Action Bar: Earth Model Section

Block Filtering: Generic Filter Expression Support

The Filter Blocks dialog box has been re-engineered for a better usability. You can now create more complex filters that involve:
You can now create more complex filters that involve:
  • Grouping queries
  • Nesting queries


Benefits: An improved User Interface for filtering blocks models and creating complex filters under the form of nested queries and groups of queries, or both.
For more information, see Filtering a Block Model on the Fly

Persistency of a Block Model's Filter

You can now create, modify, and save a filter specification feature when a 3D shape is UI-activated under a product.
Two new commands are available in the Earth Model section of the action bar:
  • Geoscience Filter: Creates a filter specification feature based on a Boolean expression in a permanent geoscience filter.
  • Constrain Block Model: Applies a geoscience filterto hide blocks in a block model based on a permanent filter specification based on attributes or geometric constraints, or both.
Benefits: Storing filter specifications in a product to create, modify and save. Saving a preferred display of a block model for reusing and sharing proposes.
For more information, see Creating a Geoscience Filter Filtering a Block Model with a Geoscience Filter

Support of the MDL Format in Surpac Block Model Import

You can now import block model files created in Surpac in the 3DEXPERIENCE.
Benefits: You can now import Surpac block models (in MDL format) to the 3DEXPERIENCE, perform advanced filtering, and control downstream reporting. This simplifies the creation of a semantic process and an error reporting system.
For more information, see Importing Block Model Files in Interactive Mode About Format Files Block Model CSV Files for Import

Optimized Preview When Importing an MDL Block Model File

You can now import block model files created in Surpac in the 3DEXPERIENCE.
You can now benefit from an enriched preview of the MDL block model file during import. The preview information provides detailed information:
  • Block model bounding dimensions (Min X, Min Y, Min Z, and Max X, Max Y, Max Z)
  • Block size for X, Y, and Z (dim x, dim y, dim z)
  • Block count
  • Attribute list
The loading mechanism has been changed to only loading the MDL header instead of the entire file.
Benefits: An improved user experience during the preview of the MDL file to import and a constant loading time regardless the size of the input MDL file.
For more information, see Importing Block Model Files in Interactive Mode About Format Files

Semantic Dictionary: Volume Calculation on Quantities (and Grades and Concentrations)

You can now specify the proportional mode of an attribute in the semantic dictionary.
The Proportional Mode column provides the possible values:
  • Concentration: The quantity of ore-mineral content in a block orebody relative to the block volume.
  • Quantity: The quantity of ore-mineral content in a block orebody.
  • Grade: The quantity of ore-mineral content in a block orebody relative to the mass concentration.
  • N/A: Used when no value is required for Proportional Mode (i.e String)
Benefits: More flexibility when reporting or aggregating attributes, by adding a new property: Proportional mode. When preparing a volume report, the proportional mode is taken into account to report the partial volume of a block and the aggregation on an attribute contained in the volume.
For more information, see Geoscience Resources Proportional Mode

Substantial Changes Made to Block Model Functions: CalculateVolumeReport

You can use the BlockModelFunctions knowledge package to generate a report of a volume calculation in a CSV file.
The CalculateVolumeReport function enables the computation of a volume between evolving terrains or between a terrain and a nominated surface. The list of arguments has been reduced and rationalized to the most useful ones.
Benefits: A comprehensive list of the CalculateVolumeReport functions that are supported.
For more information, see Block Model Functions: CalculateVolumeReport