Advanced Engineering Surveying

JOB # 4
BASE LINE MEASUREMENT USING JADERIN’S METHOD

In surveying, a baseline is a line between two points on the earth's surface and the direction and
distance between them. In triangulation, the base line is the most important line and is measured
very precisely. This is so because the accuracy of triangulation depends upon the accuracy of the
sides of the triangles computed from the base line. In addition to being a supplement to angular
measurement in triangulation, the base line measurement may also be used as a base to determine
the scale of triangulation.

Site Selection for Base Line:

In selecting site for a base line, the following requirement should be considered.
• The site should be fairly leveled or uniformly sloping.
• Should be free from obstructions throughout the entire length.
• Ground should be firmed and smooth.
• The site should be such that well shaped triangle can be obtained in connecting the end
stations of the base line to the main triangulation stations.
• It is preferable to choose a base as small as possible so as to measure it precisely.

Jaderin’s Method:
This method was introduced by Jaderin and has become very popular due to following reasons:
• It is less expensive and the speed of measurement is high.
• Due to longer lengths of the tape, the choice of the base sites becomes wider.

Instruments for Baseline Measurement:

• Steel (Invar) Tape

• Theodolite
• Auto level
• Tripods

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• Spring balance or weight

• Pulley
• Thermometers
• Leveling staff
• Plumb bob

Procedure:

• Two points are taken A and D have some known distance between these two points.
• Place the Theodolite on one of the station and ranging rod on the other station.
• Placed the two or three tripod stand between the two measuring points A and D.
• Alignment (ranging) of all the tripods is carried out along line AD.
• After alignment, tripods are placed at station A and D.

• The tripods are placed at a spacing (equal or random) depending upon the length of the base
line.
• The temperature is noted down at each point for temperature correction.

• During length measurement, tension (pull) is produced in the tape which is measured by the
spring balance.

• To find the accurate length, put one end of tape on one tripod stand and other end on second
tripod stand.

• Load is applied on one end of tape when tension is produced in the tape and it is measured by
the spring balance.

• Somewhere in the field another theodolite is placed (if the distance is greater); it is used to
keep the tripod heads at the same level.

• Difference between the heads of tripods is calculated with the help of auto level by taking
different staff readings.
• During this procedure, correction for slope is adopted.
• Total base length = lengths between the individual tripods (A to B, B to C and C to D).
• Different tape corrections are applied to obtain the exact length of base line.

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Corrections:

Temperature Correction:
The phenomenon of thermal expansion plays an important role in many engineering applications.
We need to establish a correction (Ct) that can account for the change in length of a steel tape
due to influence of temperature.

Where,
Ct = Correction for temperature
α = co-efficient of linear thermal expansion (1.11 x 10-5 oC-1)
Tm = average temperature during measurements in the field (oC)
To = Temperature at which the tape was standardized (25oC)
L = Measured length obtained in the field (m)
This correction can be positive or negative.

Pull/Tension Correction:
When a steel tape is pulled with a tension greater than its standard value, it elongates in an elastic
manner. The elongation length (CP) caused by a tensile force can be calculated using:

Where,
Cp = Pull/Tension correction (m)
Pm = Pull applied during measurement (kg)
P0 = Pull at which the tape was standardization (2 kg)
L = Measured length obtained in the field (m)
A = Cross sectional area of the tape (0.0193 cm2=1.93x10-6 m2)
E = Modulus of elasticity or Young’s Modulus of tape (21 x 105 kg/cm2=2.1x1010 kg/m2)
This correction can be positive or negative.

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Sag Correction:
A steel tape not fully supported along its entire length will sag, no matter how large the tensile
force applied. As a result of sagging, measured length will be too large. The sag correction is
(Cs) is given by:

OR

Where,
Cs = Sag correction (m)
L = Measured length obtained in the field (m)
w = Weight of the steel tape per unit length (0.01093Kg/m)
W = Total weight of tape (kg)
n = Number of spans
Pm = Pull applied during measurement on the tape (Kg)
This correction is always negative

Slope Correction:
Measurement made along the slope is more than the measurement along the horizontal line. To
determine the exact horizontal length of base line, slope correction is required to be applied. The
slope correction (Ch) is given by:

Ch = h2/2L
Where,
Ch = Slope correction
h = Difference of elevation between two points (m)
L = Measured length obtained in the field (m)
This correction is always negative

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Mean Sea Level Correction:

To standardize the measured length of base line, it is important to measure the length at a
specific datum. In this context measured length is transformed at the mean sea level. The mean
sea level correction (Cmsl) is given by:

Cmsl = HL/R
Where,
H = Mean height of base line above mean sea level. (211m of Thokar Niaz Baig, Lahore)
R = Mean radius of earth (6,371 km = 6271x103 m)
L = Measured length obtained in the field (m)
This correction is always negative

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OBSERVATIONS AND CALCULATIONS:

L
Sr. L
Ct Cp Cs Ch Cmsl Ctotal Corr.
No. (m)
(m)
A-B

B-C

C-D

Total

Precautions:
• The site should be fairly leveled or uniformly sloping.
• Place the tripods, theodolite auto level carefully.
• Note the measured between points length carefully
• Apply all the correction precisely

Comments:

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