Analyze TIN

Open Table of Contents ToolBox Implementation

Calculates several  characteristics  for each triangle of a PolygonZ TIN

  • Minimum elevation
  • Maximum elevation
  • Mean elevation
  • Slope - identifies the slope, or maximum rate of elevation change for each triangle
  • Aspect - the values of the output field represent the compass direction of the slope (horizontal direction in which a slope faces); 0 is true north, a 90 degree aspect is to the east etc. For  flat triangles (slope = 0) the value of -1 is assigned for the aspect
  • Hill Shade- computes the brightness of each triangle based on a light source location.
  • 3D Area

Inputs:

  • A  PolygonZ TIN feature layer
  • Characteristics to be calculated
    • Parameters for Hill Shade ( if Hill Shade option is selected )
      • azimuth - the azimuth angle of the light source. The azimuth is expressed in positive degrees from 0 to 360, measured clockwise from the north. The default is 315 degrees.
      • altitude - the altitude angle of the light source above the horizon. The altitude is expressed in positive degrees, with 0 degrees at the horizon and 90 degrees directly overhead. The default is 45 degrees.

Outputs:

  • New polygon Z feature class. Several fields are added to the attribute table, depending on the options selected
  • ET_ElMin - minimum elevation values for each triangle
  • ET_ElMax - maximum elevation values for each triangle
  • ET_ElMean - mean elevation values for each triangle
  • ET_Slope_D - the slope (maximum rate of elevation change) of each triangle in Degrees (from 0 to 90)
  • ET_Sope_P - the slope (maximum rate of elevation change) of each triangle in percents
  • ET_Aspect - the aspect (compass direction of the slope - 0 is North, 90 degrees - East, 180 degrees - South, 270 - West)  of each triangle
  • ET_ACode - aspect categories
    • N - North ( 0 to 22.5 and 337.5 to 360)
    • NE - North East (22,5 to 67.5)
    • E - East (67.5 to 112.5)
    • SE - South East (112.5 to 157.5)
    • S - South (67.5 to 112.5)
    • SW - South West (202.5 to 247.5)
    • W - West (247.5 to 292.5)
    • NW - North West (292.5 to 337.5)
    • U - Undefined - Slope = 0
  • ET_AreaZ - the 3D area of each triangle

Notes:

  • If the PolygonZ TIN is created using ET Surface, you need to analyze the tin only if you need to obtain the values for Hill Shade or calculate them for  different Azimuth and/or Altitude of the light source
  • If you have PolygonZ TIN created with ET GeoWizards (or some other application), you will need to use the Analyze TIN function in order to get correct parameters for use with the ET Surface functions.

ToolBox implementation

Command line syntax

ETS_GPAnalyzeTIN <Input TIN>  <Out Feature Class>  {Light Azimuth} {Light Altitude}

Parameters

Expression Explanation
<Input TIN> A PolygonZ TIN (feature layer or feature class)
<Out Feature Class> A String - the full name of the output feature class.
{Light Azimuth} A Double representing azimuth of the light source (0 to 360). 0 indicates North, 90 - East, 180 - South, 270 - West
{Light Altitude} A Double representing the altitude of the light source  in degrees (0 to 90)

Scripting syntax

ETS_GPAnalyzeTIN (Input TIN, Out Feature Class, Light Azimuth, Light Altitude)

See the explanations above:
<> - required parameter
{} - optional parameter

 

All ESRI products mentioned are trademarks of Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.
Copyright: Ianko Tchoukanski