GE 221 :

GENERAL SURVEYING
INSTRUCTOR: ENGR. JUNEL O. BERMUDEZ
EMAIL: ber [email protected]
CONTACT NO. 09171237042

TOPIC 3

CONTROL SURVEYS
OUTLINE

Ø HORIZONTAL CONTROL
Ø VERTICAL CONTROL
Ø TRIANGULATION SYSTEMS
Ø SPHERICAL EXCESS
CONTROL SURVEYS
Ø Referred to as the determination of the precise position of a number of stations which are
distributed over a large area.
Ø The established stations of the system serve as the basis for originating or checking other
subordinate surveys, for engineering projects such as topographic and hydrographic
mapping; planning, design, and layout of highways and railroads; and delineation of property
or political boundaries.

Ø Two general types which are laid out in the form of nets covering the areas to be surveys,
namely as follows
1. Horizontal Control; and
2. Vertical control
HORIZONTAL CONTROL
Horizontal control surveys over extensive areas
generally establish geodetic latitudes and longitudes
of station. Plane rectangular coordinates are
subsequently computed from these values. When
control surveys are performed on smaller areas,
plane rectangular coordinates are determined directly
without obtaining geodetic latitudes and longitudes
HORIZONTAL CONTROL
The main objective of horizontal control
surveys is the establishment of a network of
Triangulation Stations. The field procedures used in
horizontal control surveys include:
1. Control by Traversing
2. Control by Triangulation
3. Control by Trilateration
HORIZONTAL CONTROL
1. Control by Traversing - With traversing, a series of horizontal distances and directions,
are observed to connect points whose positions are to be determined. Traverses for control surveys
consist of closed polygons with most of the sides and angles measured directly in the field. This
procedure is generally less expensive and can be extended in any direction.

2. Control by Triangulation - When a large area is to be surveyed and where the methods
of traversing would not be expected to maintain a uniform high accuracy over the entire area,
triangulation as a form of horizontal control is specified. Triangulation surveys consist of networks of
geometric figures with almost all of the angles measured directly in the field and with relatively few of
sides measured. The positions and elevations of widely separated points are determined.

3. Control by Trilateration - In this procedure the lengths of the sides of a series of

triangles are measured and the angles are computed from the lengths. Trilateration is the most
accurate of the three methods of establishing horizontal control because distances are measured more
accurately than angles.
VERTICAL CONTROL
In vertical control surveys, the main
objective is the establishment of a network of
reference bench marks. The elevations of
these bench marks are determined usually
with respect to the mean sea level or some
other preferred datum. Vertical control
surveys may be run either by barometric,
trigonometric, or differential leveling. The
choice is more dependent on accuracy
requirements. Inertial and satellite doppler
systems now also used in the establishment
of vertical control. The most accurate and
widely used method, however, is still precise
differential leveling.
IMPORTANT TERMS IN CONTROL SURVEY
1. Triangulation – a method for extending horizontal control for topographic and similar surveys
which requires observations of triangular figures who's angles are measured and sides are
determined by trigonometric computations
2. Triangulation System – consists of a series of triangles in which one more sides are also
sides of the adjacent triangles
3. Triangulation Stations – are vertices of the triangles in triangulation system
4. Base Line – is one of the lines in a triangulation system whose length is precisely measured
and its true direction determined by astronomical observations. It is usually located at the
beginning of the triangulation system and its length is used as the basis for computing the
lengths of other lines of the system at the beginning of the triangulation system.
5. Check Base – one of the lines in a triangulation system whose length is also precisely
measured and may be located at regular intervals or at the end of triangulation system. It serves
as a check for triangulation computations involving lengths of lines at the regular intervals; at the
end of triangulation system.
6. Trilateration – a method used for horizontal control surveys which is based exclusively on
measured horizontal distances. It consists of a series of joined or overlapping triangles where
sides are measured and the angles are computed.
IMPORTANT TERMS IN CONTROL SURVEY
7. Horizontal Control Surveys – are surveys made to establish geodetic latitudes
and longitudes, and plane rectangular coordinates of a fundamental network of
reference stations .
8. Vertical Control Surveys – are surveys usually run by barometric, trigonometric,
or differential leveling to establish elevations for a network of monuments called
bench marks.
9. Least Square Method – a method of adjustment used in triangulation systems
and other types of traverse surveys. It is based on the theory of probability and is
used to simultaneously adjust the angular and linear measurements to make the sum
of the squares of the residuals a minimum.
10. Station Adjustment – an approximate adjustment used in triangulation systems
of lower orders of precision. It is sometimes referred to as local adjustment. Its
objective is to make the sum of the angles about each triangulation station equal to
360 degrees.
11. Figure Adjustment – in this adjustment the objective is to make the sum of the
three angles in each triangle within a triangulation system equal to180 degrees. The
adjustment is an approximate method used in most low order triangulation systems.
TRIANGULATIONS
The method of triangulation was earlier
adapted because it eliminated the difficulty of
measuring long distances especially over rugged
terrain. It is based on the trigonometric
proposition that if one side and the three angles
of a triangle are known, the remaining sides can
be computed.
Triangulation utilizes geometric figures
composed of triangles. The survey stations are
points on the ground which define the vertices of
triangles forming parts of quadrilaterals or
chains of triangles. Horizontal angles and a
limited number of sides are measured. By using
the measured angles and base line lengths,
triangles are solve. Furthermore, if the direction
of one side in known, the directions of the
remaining sides can be determined.
TRIANGULATION SYSTEMS
A triangulation system consists of a network
of connected triangles which adjoin or overlap each
other. The vertices of which are marked points on
the earth's surface. There are different geometric
figure arrangements used to form triangulation
systems (see Fig. 20-2) which can be used for a
particular survey. Four of the commonly used types
include:

1. Chain of single and independent triangles.

2. Chain of quadrilaterals formed with overlapping
triangles.
3. Chain of polygons or central-point figures.
4. Chain of polygons each with an extra diagonal.
 SAMPLE PROBLEM 1

1. For the given chain of triangles

shown in the accompanying
figure and tabulation, perform
station and adjustment by the
approximate method.
SAMPLE PROBLEM 1
SAMPLE PROBLEM 1
SAMPLE PROBLEM 1
SAMPLE PROBLEM 1
SAMPLE PROBLEM 1
SAMPLE PROBLEM 2

2. Figure Adjustment

Note: The sum of the three angles in each triangle should

equal to 180 ° . If t his co nd it io n is no t sat isf ied , t heir sum is
sub t ract ed f ro m 1 8 0 ° and to each of the three angles
one-third of the difference is added algebraically.
SAMPLE PROBLEM 2
ADJUSTMENT OF QUADRILATERAL
A quadrilateral is adjusted to remove all discrepancies and to give the most
probable value of the angles. The adjustment is the best performed using the least
square method, however, the approximate method also yields results that are
sufficiently precise for most cases of triangulation of ordinary precision.

In this adjustment the following sequence of steps are performed:

1. The angle about each station are adjusted to total of 360 ° b ef o re t he nex t ad just m ent is m ad e
2. The sum of the interior angles of the quadrilateral is adjusted to equal (n-2)180° o r 3 6 0°
3. The opposite angles at the intersection of the diagonals should also be equal. The values of these angles which
were previously adjusted in the earlier step are compared and the difference between them is divided by 4 and
distributed to the angles. The computed correction is added to the smaller pair of angles and subtracted from the
larger pair. Similarly, the other set of angles along the intersection of the diagonals are also adjusted
4. Then the trigonometric condition is satisfied by means of computations involving the sines of the angles. The
angles are adjusted so that the computed length of an unknown side opposite a known side will be the same
regardless of which of the four possible routes is used.
ANGLE CONDITION EQUATIONS
In each quadrilateral, seven angle
conditions maybe formed. However,
if any three equations are satisfied,
the others necessarily follow and
therefore only three equations are
really required.
SIDE CONDITION
EQUATIONS
After the triangles are adjusted so as to
close perfectly, the figure may still be
imperfect because the line AB, BD, and
BC may not intersect in a common
point. Hence, further adjustment of the
angles is needed to remove this
inconsistency
SAMPLE PROBLEM 3
3. The observed angles of a quadrilateral, after station
adjustment, are given in the accompanying tabulation and
sketch. Adjust these angles by use of both the angle and the
side equations.
SAMPLE PROBLEM 3
SAMPLE PROBLEM 3
THANK YOU FOR
YOUR TIME

ANY QUESTIONS?