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Lecture 5 - Leveling

This document defines leveling and describes the process and tools used. It discusses establishing elevation differences between points and defines key terms like elevation, level line, bench mark, backsight, foresight, intermediate sight, and turning point. It explains how to take and book staff readings and describes two methods for determining reduced levels - the height of instrument method and rise and fall method. It also notes the importance of checks and discusses sources of errors in leveling.

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haloosh jimin7
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13 views

Lecture 5 - Leveling

This document defines leveling and describes the process and tools used. It discusses establishing elevation differences between points and defines key terms like elevation, level line, bench mark, backsight, foresight, intermediate sight, and turning point. It explains how to take and book staff readings and describes two methods for determining reduced levels - the height of instrument method and rise and fall method. It also notes the importance of checks and discusses sources of errors in leveling.

Uploaded by

haloosh jimin7
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Leveling

Definitions

• Leveling: the process of finding the difference


in elevation between points.
• Elevation: the vertical line between the point
in concern & mean sea level (MSE).
• Level line: the line generated at a point in
terrain that is parallel to MSE.
• Horizontal line: the line tangent to level line.
• Over short distances (<100 m) the horizontal surface and the level surface
will coincide.
• For long leveling lines the effects of the gravity field must be considered
• Elevation datum:
Datum surface is any
level surface to which
the elevations of all
points may be
referred. The mean sea
level is usually
adopted as datum.
The Level Instrument

• A level: is an optical
instrument used to
establish or verify
points in the same
horizontal plane in a
process known as
levelling
Setup Tools

• The staff :- is a
large ruler,
available in
lengths of 3, 4 or
5 meters and
usually made of
aluminum with
telescopic
sections.
Leveling Setup

Bench mark: point of


known elevation

Back sight (BS): staff reading taken by "looking back" at a point with known
elevation.
Foresight (F) : staff reading taken when "looking ahead" at a point where you want
to determine its elevation
• Intermediate sight (I.S): any
reading in between Bs& Fs.

• Turning point (T.P) or change


point: a point having BS and FS
reading and representing an
unknown elevation for previous
setup
Staff Reading
• Major graduations occur at 100 mm intervals
and are denoted by figures.
• Minor graduations are at 10 mm intervals and
form colored squares or intervening spaces.
• The lower 50 mm of any 100 mm block are
joined by a band to form the distinctive E
pattern which is designed to make reading a
small section of the staff in the telescope easier.

A staff reading consists of 4 digits. The first digit represents the whole number of meters,
the second digit represents decimeters, and the third, and fourth digits represent
millimeters.
Height of instrument method

• Instrument height (IH) :The elevation of


the sight line
• We use HI as a reference line to determine
the level for the

HI = hA + BS

hB= HI - FS
Class work
Booking instructions
• Each reading is booked on a separate line except for the BS and FS
at change points.
• As each line refers to a specific point it should be noted in the
remarks column.
• Each reading is subtracted from the previous one, (hB= HI - FS)
• Important checks must be applied
[The sum of BS – the sum of FS] = [last reduced level – first reduced level]
Example

Relative level in surveying refers to equating elevations of survey


points with reference to a common assumed datum. It is a vertical
distance between survey point and adopted datum plane.
Example
Rise and fall method
• It consists of determining the difference of elevation between consecutive points
by comparing each point staff reading.
• The difference between their staff reading indicates a rise or a fall according to
the staff reading at the point.
• The R.L is then found adding the rise to, or subtracting the fall from the reduced
level of preceding point.

Three very important checks must be applied to the above


reductions, namely:
[The sum of BS – the sum of FS] =[ sum of rises – sum of falls]
= [last reduced level – first reduced level]
Rise – staff reading is less than
previous reading
BS > FS so we have Rise

HB = hA + (Rise)

Fall – staff reading is greater


than previous reading
BS < FS so we have fall

HB = hA - (Fall)
Example
Reduce the given
booking data using
(a) The Rise & Fall and
(b) HI methods.
(c) Use arithmetic
checks to support
your results
HI
Profile levelling
Profile levelling, which yields elevations at definite points along a
reference line, provides the needed data for designing facilities such as
large projects, highways, railroads, transmission lines.
Profile levelling
Reduced levels at various points along a reference line must be
calculated, taking into consideration:
• Always start and finish a leveling run on a Benchmark (BM)
• Keep fore sight and back sight distances as equal as possible
• Keep lines of sight short (normally < 50m)

After getting the RL of various points the profile is drawn. Normally


vertical scale is much larger than horizontal scale for the clear view of
the profile.
Errors in leveling

• Collimation
• Misclosure
• Reading, booking, or computation errors
• Instrument or Benchmark instability
• Change point / staff instability
• Uncalibrated staff or levels
• Refraction

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