a.

Establish TS and ST
Set TS and ST points at distance Ts from PI along each tangent.

b. Stake entrance spiral

Set instrument at TS.
Backsight PI with 0°00'00" on horizontal circle.
Radially stake each spiral point through the SC.

c. Stake circular arc

Because it is offset from the tangents, the arc can't be staked from a BS using
the PI as a backsight. Instead, once the entrance spiral has been staked, the
circular arc must be staked from the SC.
At the flat end of the spiral, the deflection angle is (Δs)/3; at the other end it is
(2Δs)/3, Figure E-15.

Figure E-15
Spiral Total Deflection Angles
To correctly orient an instrument at the SC, the surveyor would, Figure E-16:
 Figure E-16
Staking the Circular Arc

b. Stake exit spiral

Set instrument at ST.
Backsight PI with 0°00'00" on horizontal circle.
Radially stake each spiral point through the CS.
The CS serves as a closure check since it was placed when the arc was
staked.
9. Power Series Method
a. Equations
A more accurate way to compute spiral points is using infinite power series,
Equations E-24 and E-25.

Equation E-24

Equation E-25
δi in Equations E-24 and E-25 is in radians; it is computed with Equation E-18.
Although both equations have an infinite number of terms, each term is substantially
smaller so only the first three need be used.
Radial chords are computed using Equation E-23 and deflection angles using
Equation E-26.

Equation E-26

b. Example
Using the spiral of the previous example, set up and solve the spiral curve table.

Chord Num li δi, radians xi, ft yi, ft ci, ft ai

1 60.00 0.009425 60.00 0.19 60.00 0°10'48"
2 120.00 0.037699 119.98 1.51 119.98 0°43'12"
3 180.00 0.084823 198.87 5.09 179.87 1°37'12"
4 240.00 0.150796 239.46 12.04 239.46 2°52'46"
5 300.00 0.235619 298.34 23.47 298.34 4°29'52"

Compare this curve table to the first table in Section 7e. The results of this "more
exact" calculations are basically the same as those based on approximations.
Should a much longer spiral or one with a great radii difference be used, the
approximations may be might introduce measurable error in which case the power
series equations should be used.
10. Spirals and Coordinates
As with most surveying stake out operations, having point coordinates makes for
more flexible field operation.
Starting with directions of the incoming and outgoing tangents along with the PI
coordinates, the process to compute point coordinates are:

a.TS and ST coordinates, Figure E-17

Figure E-17
TS and ST Coordinates
These are computed using Equations E-27 through E-31.

Equations E-27 through E-29

Equations E-30 and E-31

b. Spiral point coordinates, Figure E-17

 Figure E-17
Spiral Coordinates
Using the deflection angle notes, spiral point coordinates can be computed using
Equations E-32 through E-37. Right deflection angles are positive, left are negative.
Entrance spiral
Equations E-32 through E-34
Exit spiral

Equations E-35 through E-37

c. Arc point coordinates, Figure E-18

Figure E-18
Arc Coordinates
Arc points are computed using equations E-38 through E-40. Right deflection angles
are positive, left are negative.

Equation E-38 through E-40

Math check? The coordinates of the CS computed from the SC should match those
computed from the ST.
11. Spreadsheet
An Excel spreadsheet to perfom basic spiral computations can be downloaded here.
It uses Visual Basic for Applications script so Excel must have macros enabled when
loading the sheet.

12. Summary
Although more geometrically complex than circular arcs, spirals are relatively easy to
compute using approximate relationships. The argument against their use due to
computation complexity really isn't valid as shown by the example.
However, despite their transportation applications advantages, spiral use is limited
primarily to railroads. Trains have a mechanical connection between wheel flanges
and rails, in essence, infinite friction. Because the train's wheels cannot slip across
the rails as can tires on pavement, lateral force is directly imparted to the rails as the
train enters and travels around a curve. If a simple curve is used, then maximum
centrifugal force is instantaneously introduced at BC the since the train must follow
the tracks. A spiral's changing radius allows the centrifugal force to gradually
increase (entrance) then decrease (exit), balancing the forces. Running a train over
an simple horizontal curve over time will eventually shift the rail alignment into a
spiraled configuration because of the forces.
In high speed highway designs, horizontal circular curves are typically long and flat,
making for smooth tangent-curve-tangent transitions, minimal centrifugal force, and
lower superelevation rates. Spirals aren't needed in these situations. Spirals can be
used beneficially in case of large direction changes over limited areas, such as
interchanges.
Spiral use is up to the designer but as shown in this Chapter, they are no more
difficult to understand or compute than circular arcs.