Surveying:

Distance, angles
and bearings

CE1002
Dr Kieran Dineen
BEng(Hons) MSc DIC PhD FGS CEng FICE
Plan
Recap: purpose of surveying
Recap: levelling
Measuring distance
Measuring horizontal and vertical angles
Recap: purpose
Locate new points
Topography for site development
Feasibility study
Scheme design

Return to known points

Settingout for construction
Monitoring
 Objective lens
Cross-hairs Telescope
Collimation
axis
Circular
levelling Levelling
bubble screws

Tripod
Reading?

1.42 m
Differential levelling

Difference in elevation Dh = b-f Merry, 1998

Traverse
 Should be
1.30

?
?

Check sum: (Original elevation + SBS) SFS = final elevation

(48.13 + 6.64) 11.16 = 43.91
Traverse
Recap: Differential levelling

No information
Difference in elevation Dh = b-f
Limitations? on position
Merry, 1998
Locating points
Need starting point (or ideally points)
What variables would you measure?

Distance between points

Direction (bearing) between points
Slope between points
 C
unknown

q1 q2
A baseline
B

known known
Measuring distance: options
Pacing
Wheels
Surveyors chain
Fixed link size (problem of wear)
Fixed length (problem of thermal
expansion(?))
Tapes
Steel
Synthetic
Survey telescopic equipment: stadia
Stadia
Reading?
1.50 m

1.42 m

1.34 m

0.16 m

Stadia constant = 100

Distance = 16m
Distance
Electromagnetic distance measurement
(EDM)
Time taken for light to travel to an object
and back
Oldersystems use prisms
Newer systems are reflectorless

www.sli.unimelb.edu.au/planesurvey
Measuring direction - terms
Meridian (north-south line)
Magneticmeridian (compass North - varies)
Geographic meridian

Azimuth
Anglemeasured from a meridian (N = 0)
Convention is to use clockwise angle

Bearing
Direction of line relative to meridian
 N
Quadrantal
bearing
NW quadrant NE quadrant
S22W

W E
Whole-circle
Bearing 202
SW quadrant SE quadrant
SW

Degrees (360) S
Minutes (21600)
Seconds (1296000)
Bearing measurement options
By eye
By handheld compass
By theodolite
 Vertical
telescope circle

Plate bubble

Horizontal
circle/plate Tripod
mount
 C

BC= i
AC= g

A B
AB= f
BA= h
Procedure
Triangulation using Sine Law
C
a b c
= =
sin A sin B sin C
b a

Example:
Angles A & C measured A c B
Baseline b measured
Angle B = 180-A-C b sin C
c =
sin B
Triangulation grid
Good for setting up control points
Measuring vertical angles
 Zenith
Zenith
angle + vertical angle

horizontal

- vertical angle

Nadir
angle

Nadir
Trigonometry
Can be v. accurate
Requires distance as well as angle
measurement may be difficult, esp on
uneven ground
Time consuming
Possibilities of operator error
 Elevation from Trigonometry

Ht
S B
Dh
DhAB
a
Hi
A
D

HA = height at point A
HB = height at point B
HB = HA + Hi + S sin a - Ht
Hi = height above ground of eye
Ht = height above ground of target
S = distance between A and B along the slope
Use D tan a if using horizontal
DhAB = difference in height
length
Vertical angle measurement
options
By eye
By handheld clinometer
By Abney Level
By theodolite
Minimising errors /
maximising success
HOW?
 Gross errors
Instrument errors
Systematic errors
Gross errors
Set up errors
Instrument not set up correctly
Booking errors
1.25m written as 1.52m
Backsight booked as foresight

User error
Moving both instrument and staff
forgetting where bench mark is
unstable benchmark
Instrument errors
Level
Collimation not horizontal
Theodolite (in addition to level)
Vertical angle contains error
Horizontal angle contains error
Position telescope contains error
 Curvature and refraction effect
Systematic error
A
Horizontal K (Line of Sight)

KE = true distance along a level

AE = apparent height at E
BE = true height at E
KA = apparent distance (curvature
only)
KB = apparent distance (curvature +
refraction)
c = curvature error (positive away
from Earth)
r = refraction error (negative towards
Earth)
R = mean radius of Earth ( 6,370km)
 How significant is the c + r
error?
2 2
c KA KA 0.0785 KA2 m
2R 2 x 6,370
r -(0.14c)
c + r 0.0675 KA2
(nb KA is kilometres,
c+r is metres)

KA = distance along line of sight

 Values for c + r
Distance (m) c + r (m)
30 0.0001
60 0.0002
100 0.0007
120 0.001
150 0.002
300 0.006
1,000 0.068
So not that big a deal in many site surveys,
but dont forget it, especially on big sites!
Reference
Bannister A., Raymond S. and Baker R.
1988. Surveying. 7th Edition. Pearson,
Harlow. Chapter 4.
Kavanagh B.F. 2014. Surveying: principles
and applications. 9th Edition. Pearson. (nb
earlier editions are also available in
Library)