COMPUTATION OF AREA OF A CLOSED TRAVERSED

Traversing – A traverse consists of a series of straight lines of known length

related to one another by known angles between the lines. The points defining
the ends of the traverse lines are called traverse stations. Traverse survey is a
method of establishing control points, their positions being determined by
measuring the distances between the traverse stations which serve as control
points and the angles subtended at the various stations by their adjacent stations.

TYPES OF TRAVERSE

1. Open traverse – originates at a point of known position and terminates at a

point of unknown position.

2. Closed traverse – originates and terminates at points of known positions.

When closed traverse originates and terminates at the same point, it is called the
closed loop traverse.

METHODS OF TRAVERSING

1. By the chain angle

2. By the free or loose needle method

3. By the fast needle method

4. By the measurement of angles between the successive lines – In this method,

a total station or theodolite is used for measurement of angles. The horizontal
angles measured in a traverse may be included angles or deflection angles
between successive lines. This is the most accurate method and is generally used
for large surveys and accurate work.

INSTRUMENTS FOR MEASUREMENT OF ANGLES

1. Compass

2. Theodolite

3. Total Station

4. Box sextant
 COMPONENTS OF A TRAVERSE LINE

1. LATITUDE – Is the vertical component of a traverse line wherein the distance is

multiplied by the cosine of the bearing angle of the line.

2. DEPARTURE – Is the horizontal component of a traverse line wherein the

distance is multiplied by the sine of the bearing angle of the line.

METHODS OF AREA COMPUTATION FOR A CLOSED LOOP TRAVERSE

1. DOUBLE MERIDIAN METHOD (DMD)

a. The DMD of the first line is equal to the departure of line itself.
b. The DMD of the succeeding line is equal to the DMD of the preceding line
plus the departure of the preceding line plus the departure of the line itself.
c. The DMD of the last line is equal to departure of the line but opposite in
sign.
d. Multiply the DMD of the line by its latitude and add algebraically all the
product and divide it by two to get the area.

2. DOUBLE PARALLEL METHOD ( DPD )

a. The DPD of the first line is equal to the latitude of line itself.
b. The DPD of the succeeding line is equal to the DPD of the preceding line plus
the latitude of the preceding line plus the latitude of the line itself.
c. The DPD of the last line is equal to latitude of the line but opposite in sign.
d. Multiply the DPD of the line by its departure and add algebraically all the
product and divide it by two to get the area.

3. COORDINATES
The coordinates of points refers to the position of the point of the traverse in
the rectangular coordinate system. The area is computed by the following
method.

𝟏 𝑿𝟏 𝑿𝟐 𝑿𝟑 𝑿𝟒 𝑿𝒏 𝑿𝟏
A= ( X X X X X )
𝟐 𝒀𝟏 𝒀𝟐 𝒀𝟑 𝒀𝟒 𝒀𝒏 𝒀𝟏

The difference between the sum of the products of the coordinates joined by
full lines and the sum of the products of coordinates joined by dotted lines is
equal to twice the area of the tract.

METHODS OF TRAVERSE ADJUSTMENT

1. COMPASS RULE – states that the correction to the latitude or departure of a

course is equal to the total error in latitude or departure times the length of the
course divided by the total length of the traverse ( perimeter ).
𝑒𝑇𝐿 𝑒𝑇𝐷
CL = Dn-m ( ) , CD = Dn-m ( )
𝑃 𝑃
 Where : CL = correction for latitude for course n-m
CD = correction for departure for course n-m
Dn-m = Length of course n-m
eTL = Total error in latitude
eTD = Total error in departure
P = Perimeter

2. TRANSIT RULE – states that the correction to the latitude or departure of a

course is equal to the total error in latitude or departure times the latitude or
departure of the course divided by the sum of all the positive and negative
latitude or departure.

𝑒𝑇𝐿 𝑒𝑇𝐷
TL = Ln-m ( ) , TD = Dn-m ( )
Ʃ(+𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒)+ Ʃ(−𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒) Ʃ(+𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒)+ Ʃ(−𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒)

Where : TL = correction for latitude for course n-m

TD = correction for departure for course n-m
Ln-m = latitude of course n-m
Dn-m = departure of course n-m
eTL = total error in latitude
eDL = total error in departure

SAMPLE PROBLEM COMPUTATION OF AREA OF A CLOSED TRAVERSE

Given the following data of a closed traverse:

LINE BEARING DISTANCE (m)

A-B N 20° E 17.42
B-C N 68° E 18.46
C-D S 22° E 22.40
D-E S 40° W 12.60
E-F S 62° W 10.20
F-A N 50°18’ W 18.66

1. Compute the area of the closed traverse by DMD method.

2. Compute the area of the closed traverse by DPD method.