CE 103: Surveying (4 cr. Hr.

By
Azmayeen Rafat Shahriar (1 cr. hr.)
Lecturer
Department of Civil Engineering
Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology

Acknowledgement: Dr. Md. Jahangir Alam, Professor, Department of Civil

Engineering, BUET
CE103: Syllabus
Curve Setting
Reference Book:
Horizontal Curve 1. Surveying (Vol. 2)- B.C. Punmia
Circular Curve
Transition Curve
Vertical Curve
Remote Sensing, GIS and GPS
Tacheometry

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Horizontal curves
1. Simple curve
Continuous arcs of constant radius which achieve the
necessary highway deflection without an entering or
existing transition

2. Compound curve
A series of two or more simple curves possessing a
common tangent at any points of meeting which turn in the
same general direction and have their centers on the same
side of the line. Any two adjacent areas must, of course,
have different radii if they are to be compounded pair
rather than a single curve
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Horizontal curves (cont.)
3. Spiral curve
A curve whose radius decreases uniformly from infinity at the
tangent to that of the curve it meets

4. Reverse curve
Scurves, are similar to compound curves except that their
centers are on opposite sides of the line and their direction of
turning is opposite to each other

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Horizontal curves (cont.)
5. Broken-back curve
A short length of tangent (less than 100 ft) between two
closely spaced simple curves with centers on the same side

Simple Compound Reverse Spiral

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Factors influencing the location and
configuration of horizontal alignment
a) Physical controls
Topography, watercourses, geophysical conditions, land use, and man-made
features
b) Environment considerations
Effect on adjacent land use, community impacts, ecologically sensitive areas
c) Economics
Construction costs, right-of-way costs, utility impacts, operating and
maintenance costs
d) Safety
Sight distance, consistency of alignment, human factor considerations
e) Highway classification and design policies
Functional classification, level of service, design speed, design standards
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Design criteria
I. Design speed: principal factor
II. Consistency: consistent and as directional as possible
No circular curves of different radii placed end to end
Long, flat curves for small changes in direction
No sudden changes from flat to sharp curves
No long tangents followed by sharp curves
III. Length of curves
IV. Adjacent curves

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Notations in reading alignment drawings
PC: point of curve
PT: point of tangent
TS: tangent to spiral
SC: spiral to circular curve
CS: circular curve to spiral
ST: spiral to tangent
VPC: vertical point of curvaturethe point at which a tangent grade
ends and the vertical curve begins
VPI: vertical point of intersectionthe point where the extension of
two tangent grades intersect
VPT: vertical point of tangencythe point at which the vertical curve
ends and the tangent grade begins
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Elements of circular curve

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Elements of circular curve (cont.)
Degree of Curvature, D : Angle (in Degree) subtended by 100 ft length of
arc in the centre of the arc is defined as degree of curvature

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Elements of circular curve (cont.)
Metric Degree of Curvature, D: Angle (in Degree) subtended by 20 m
length of arc in the centre of the arc is defined as metric degree of curvature

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Elements of circular curve (cont.)

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Surveying instruments

Historical Development of Surveying Instruments ( FIG Article of Month- June 2009)

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 Surveying instruments

Tripod Total Station Level Staff Theodolite

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Setting out circular curve
1. Linear method
I. By ordinates or offsets from long chord
II. By offsets from the tangents
a. Radial offset
b. Perpendicular offset
III. By offset from successive chords produced
2. Angular method
I. Rankines method of tangential/deflection angle
II. Two theodolite method

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1. Linear method
Ordinate from long chord

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1. Linear method (cont.)
Radial offset from tangent

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1. Linear method (cont.)
Perpendicular offset from tangent

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1. Linear method (cont.)
Offset from chords produced

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2. Angular method
Rankines method of tangential deflection angle

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2. Angular method (cont.)
Two Theodolite method

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Typical spiral curves used in horizontal alignments

Clothoid or Ideal Transition Curve or Glovers Spiral or

Euler spiral, Spiros or Cornu spirals

Cubic Spirals

Cubic Parabola

Sinusoidal

Cosinusoidal Curve with (right) and without (left) a spiral transition

[page 180 - Man-made America]

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Functions of transition curve

I. To accomplish gradual transition from the straight to circular

curve, so that curvature changes from zero to a finite value.

II. To provide a medium for gradual introduction or change of

required super-elevation.

III. To change curvature in compound and reverse curve cases, so

that gradual change of curvature introduced from curve to curve.

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Criteria of transition curve
1. One end of the spiral should be tangential to the straight.
2. The other end should be tangential to the circular curve.
3. Spirals curvature at the intersection point with the circular arc
should be equal to arc curvature.
4. Also at the tangent its curvature should be zero.
5. The rate of change of curvature along the transition should be
same as that of the increase of cant or superelevation.
6. Its length should be such that full cant is attained at the beginning
of circular arc.

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Necessity of transition curve

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Superelevation or Cant

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 Ideal transition curve
An ideal transition curve is that which introduces centrifugal force at a gradual rate (by
time t). So,
Ft
Centrifugal force at any radius r is given by
2
=

Assuming that the speed of the vehicle that is negotiating the curve is constant, the
length of the transition negotiated too is directly proportional to the time. So,
lt
1


= =
Thus, the fundamental requirement of a transition curve is that its radius of curvature
at any given point shall vary inversely as the distance from the beginning of the spiral.
Such a curve is called Clothoid or Glovers spiral and is known as an ideal transition.
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Ideal transition curve (cont.)

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Ideal transition curve (cont.)
From the fundamental requirement of an ideal
transition curve
= =
1
=

As 1/r is nothing but the curvature at that point,
curvature equation can be written as:
1
= =


or, =

2
= + , where C = const
2
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Ideal transition curve (cont.)

Apply boundary condition, at l = 0; = 0

Substituting these, we get C = 0
So, the equation of ideal transition curve
is--
2
=
2

Apply boundary condition, at l = L; =

, r = R

Spiral Angle, =
2

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 Ideal transition curve (cont.)
Transfer to cartesian coordinates


= cos
or, = cos
2 4 6
or, = 1 + +
4 2! 4! 8 6!

= (1 2 2 + 4 4 )
40 3456

= sin

or, = sin
3 5 7
or, = + +
3! 4 5! 7! 8
3
= (1 + )
6 562 2 70404 4

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