Principle Of Stadia Method

Last Updated on Thu, 17 Dec 2020 | Theory of Structures

Figure 6.9 Optical distance measurement (ODM)

spaced either side of it. These stadia lines define the fixed parallactic angle. If
the theodolite telescope is sighted on to a levelling staff and the readings of the
outer lines noted, the difference in the readings, the staff intercept (s), will be
directly proportional to the horizontal distance between the instrument and the
staff. Generally, the distance between the stadia lines is designed in such a
manner that the horizontal distance Z>H between the instrument and staff is given
by:

where Z)s= slope distance, and 0=vertical angle measured by the theodolite.
Therefore:

where zWAB = difference in height between A and B, h, = height of instrument

(trunnion axis to ground), m = middle hair reading, and V= difference in height
between middle-hair reading and trunnion axis = 50s sin 20 (6.11)

Several self-reducing tacheometers have also been designed. The main advantage of
these instruments is their ability to compensate for the effect of the inclination
of the theodolite telescope and, hence, allow the direct determination of
horizontal distance without additional computation.

Two notable examples of this type of instrument are the Wild RDS vertical staff
self-reducing tacheometer and the Kern DK-RT horizontal bar double-image self-
reducing tacheometer. Details of the construction and use of these instruments may
be found in Hodges and Greenwood,5 and Smith.6 In recent years, the manufacture of
these precise optical devices has ceased, their place being taken by low-cost
electronic measuring devices.

Subtense bar. The second approach (fixed base, variable angle) is commonly known as
the subtense or horizontal subtense bar method. The method is normally confined to
the measurement of distance for control purposes. Using this approach, distances
may be determined with a proportional error of up to 1/10000.

The instrumentation required consists of a subtense bar, normally 2 m long, and a

one-second theodolite, such as the Wild T2. The bar has targets mounted at each end
of an invar strip. The strip is protected by a surrounding aluminium strip in order
to ensure that, for all practical purposes, the length of the bar remains constant
at 2 m. The bar is set up and oriented at right angles to the line of sight of the
theodolite, as shown in Figure 6.13.

For inclined sights the geometry is as shown in Figure 6.12. Hence:

Stadia Tacheometry
Figure 6.12 Stadia tacheometry: inclined sights

Substense Bar
Figure 6.13 Subtense bar
The horizontal parallactic angle a is measured with the theodolite. Irrespective of
the vertical angle to the bar, the horizontal distance is given by:

Dh = \b cot(a/2) with b = 2m D„ = cot(a/2)

Figure 6.12 Stadia tacheometry: inclined sights

For distances greater than 100 m it is advisable to subdivide the distance to be

measured or, alternatively, to use the auxiliary base method (Hodges and
Greenwood,' and Smith.6).

Subtense methods are also tending to be superseded by low-cost electronic methods.

Nevertheless, many organizations still possess this type of equipment and for many
projects it is a very suitable technique to adopt.

6.2.2.3 Electronic distance measurement (EDM)

Development. The first generation of EDM instruments was developed in the early
1950s. Typical of the early meters were the Swedish Geodimeter (GEOdetic Distance
METER) and the South African Tellurometer instrument. The former, an electro-
optical instrument, used visible light measurement, whilst the latter used high-
frequency microwaves. Both instruments were primarily developed for military
geodetic survey purposes and had the ability to measure long distances, up to 80 km
in the case of the Tellurometer, to a precision of a few centimetres. They were
also, however, bulky, heavy and expensive in comparison to their modern-day
equivalents.

During the late 1960s, developments in microelectronics and low-power light-

emitting diodes led to the emergence of a second generation of EDM instruments.
These electro-optical instruments utilized infra-red radiation as the measuring
signal and were developed for the short range (<5km) market. In addition, they were
considerably smaller, lighter and less expensive than their predecessors. Probably
the best-known example is the Wild DI-10 Distomat.

The introduction of microprocessors into the survey world in the early 1970s led to
the introduction of a third series of EDM instruments. With this group it became
possible, not only to determine slope distance, but also to carry out simple
computational tasks in the field. For example, the facility became available to
compute automatically the corrected horizontal distance and difference in height
between two points by manual input of the vertical angle read from the theodolite.
Electronic distance measurement instruments of this type had also been reduced in
size to the extent that the EDM unit could be theodolite-mounted. The Wild DI-3 is
a typical example of this type of instrument.

The most recent short-range EDM instruments are similar to the previous group, but
have several additional features worthy of mention. Firstly, the technology now
exists to sense automatically the inclination of the EDM unit and therefore to be
able to compute automatically the horizontal distance between two points. The
Geodimeter 220 (Figure 6.14) has this facility. This instrument also has the
ability to measure to a moving target, or track, a useful feature for setting-out
purposes. By using an additional unit it is also possible to have one-way speech
communication between the instrument and target positions, again valuable when
setting-out. This instrument can also be connected to a Geodat 126 hand-held data
collector (Figure 6.14), which is able to store automatically distance information
from the EDM unit. Other relevant information (numeric or alphanumeric) can be
input manually via the keyboard. The Geodimeter 220 has a range of 1.6 km with one
prism and 2.4 km with three prisms determined to a standard error of ± 5 mm± 5
parts per million (p.p.m.) of the distance.

The last development in the field of EDM instrumentation is the electronic

tacheometer or 'total station'. The former term is more appropriate in view of the
different interpretations, by the instrument manufacturers, of the term total
station. In essence, an electronic tacheometer is an instrument which combines an
EDM unit with an electronic theodolite. Hence, such instruments are capable of
measuring, automatically, horizontal and vertical angles and also slope and/or
horizontal distance. The majority also have the facility to derive other quantities
such as heights or coordinates and store this data in a data collector. Two designs
of instrument have evolved during the last 5 years.

Geodimeter 220
(a)
Figure 6.14 (a) Geodimeter 220; (b) Geodat 126 data collector (Geotronics)

The first, the integrated design, consists of one unit which, generally, houses the
electronic circle-reading mechanism and the EDM unit. The Wild TCI Tachymat and the
Geodimeter 140 (Figure 6.15) are representative of this range of instrument. The
second design approach is the modular concept. In this case, the EDM instrument and
the electronic theodolite are separate units which can be operated independently.
This approach tends to be more flexible and enables units to be exchanged and
upgraded as developments occur; it may also be a more cost effective solution for
many organizations. The Kern E-2 and Wild T-2000 Systems (Figure 6.16) are
representative of this design of electronic tacheometer.

Finally, mention should be made of high-precision EDM instruments. These

instruments have been designed for projects such as dam deformation or foundation
monitoring where extremely high precision is necessary. Instruments which are