Historical Constructions, P.B. Lourenço, P. Roca (Eds.

), Guimarães, 2001 403

Monitoring vertical displacements by means of geometric levelling

Maria João Henriques

National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, Dams Department, Lisbon, Portugal
João Casaca
National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, Dams Department, Lisbon, Portugal

ABSTRACT: Geometric levelling is an old method of geodetic surveying, used to measure

differences of elevation between two points at the Earth's surface. The Applied Geodesy
Division of the Dams Department of The National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC)
has been measuring vertical displacements with precision geometric levelling at engineering
works (dams, bridges, earth and rock fills, etc.) to structural analysis and safety control, for
more than half a century. Experience has shown geometric levelling to be a reliable and very
precise vertical displacement measurement method. Modern electronic levels, with automatic
reading and recording, have significantly improved geometric levelling operational
performances. This paper presents geometric levelling and its application to vertical
displacements control at five important historical constructions: the aqueduct of "Águas Livres",
the western wing of "Praça do Comércio", both at Lisbon, the D.Fernando's city wall and the Comentário: In monitoring
"Grilos" Church at Oporto and a cloister of the Convent of Christ in Tomar. surveys, measurements are
undertaken to estimate horizontal
and/or vertical displacements
since, typically, data is analyzed
separately on 2-D (horizontal) and
1 INTRODUCTION 1-D (vertical) dimensions. Quite
often, it's sufficient to base
Safeguarding human life and economic losses are reasons naturally invoked to justify monitoring in the analysis of
investments in systems to control the security of civil engineering works. Combined with these vertical displacements and
therefore measurements are made
motives are cultural ones when the engineering work is a historical construction. In fact a good to track changes only in height. In
knowledge of the structure, the understanding of its behavior, together with opportune diagnosis comparison with horizontal
of its structural health are important tools to support correct decisions in order to preserving displacements (quite often these
ones determined by independent
mankind architectural heritage. methodologies) vertical
The Applied Geodesy Division (NGA) of the Dams Department of the National Laboratory for displacements can be determined
Civil Engineering (LNEC) was created in 1951 with the main purpose of developing surveying with higher accuracy, the
monumentation is lighter,
techniques to measure displacements of dams. Since then, this division has also been called to equipment and field work are less
measure displacements of other kind of structures like bridges, earth and rock fills, monuments, etc.. expensive, operation procedures
This paper presents the experience of NGA in the restrict area of monitoring vertical are easier.
displacements of historical constructions by means of geometric levelling.
Comentário: In trigonometric
levelling the same difference of
height is computed from
2 GEOMETRIC LEVELLING measurements of vertical
angles and spatial distances
In surveying, levelling is the process of measuring, by direct or indirect methods, vertical distances made by theodolites with
electronic distance
in order to determine elevations. Two methods are applied: geometric (or direct) levelling and measurement devices (or a
trigonometric (or indirect) levelling. The first one is usually more precise, the monumentation is total stations). High precision
lighter, equipment and fieldwork are less expensive and operation procedures are easier. angle and distance
measurement equipment is
In geometric levelling the difference of height between two points is determined by much more expensive than
differences of readings to the staffs placed on those points. The readings are made with a equipment used for geometric
levelling instrument (optical level). levelling and usually less
accurate results are obtained.
404 Historical Constructions

An optical level consists of a telescope fitted with cross hairs, rotating around a vertical axis,
with a very sensitive spirit level, or other device, fixed to it that enables the line of sight to beca-
me horizontal. The reading on a graduated vertical staff is measured through the telescope. If
staffs are placed on successive ground points, and the telescope is truly leveled, the difference
between the readings at the cross hairs will equal that between the heights of the points. By
moving the level and the staffs along a path and repeating the measurement procedures,
differences in height can be measured.
The points in a levelling line are classified in three categories: i) object points - points that are
to be monitored; ii) reference points; iii) ancillary points. When the reference points are located
in the area to be controlled (and therefore might undergo displacements) only relative dis-
placements can be determined. If reference points are located outside that area, tied to bedrock
or other non-moving structure, absolute displacements can be determined. Although only one
reference point is needed in levelling lines, the experience advises to place at least three, only
way to identify unstable reference points. A geotechnical expert must choose the position of the
reference points. Ancillary points are placed, for instance, to avoid too long distances between
level and staffs or to link sectors of a levelling line that, otherwise, would be independent.

2.1 Monumentation
Regarding monumentation, the points are usually materialized by pegs (Fig. 1) sealed on the floor or,
less usually, by metal pieces, sealed on a wall. The first are used to place staffs with inferior support,
the second one to place hung measuring rules. All points must be well tied to the structure, otherwise
displacements might represent monumentation displacements instead of structure displacements.
Sometimes is necessary to place the points in protected places (Fig. 1) to prevent damage.

1cm

peg
1 cm

Figure 1 : A peg and its placement (unprotected and protected)

2.2 Measuring Equipment

Automatic levels i. e. optical levels with a built-in compensator, that employs an extremely
sensitive pendulum device, which automatically makes the line of sight horizontal, should be
used. To improve accuracy a parallel plate micrometer must be fitted over the telescope
objective. The parallel plate micrometer permits direct readings on a centimetre graduated staff,
to 0.1mm, and estimated readings, to 0.01mm. Digital levels (see Table 1) are automatic levels
with a built-in digital image processing system that permits automatic reading of special staffs
(coded bar) and electronic recording. Errors caused by man reading and manual recording are
eliminated and the speed of levelling can be increased (by about 30%).
M. J. Henriques and J. Casaca 405

Table 1 : Accuracy, levels and staffs.

Accuracy Level Staff
Per 1km double run
Automatic level with 0.3 mm
parallel-plate micrometer

Digital level 0.4 mm

(coded bar staff)

Rigid invar staffs must be used. These have the scales engraved directly into the paint coat on
an invar strip, being this recess in an aluminum or wood staff's profile. Invar is a nickel-steel
alloy that has a linear thermal expansion coefficient of 0.7×10-6 ºC (about 15 times smaller than
Comentário: of 0.7*10 ºC
-6
steel), a quite important characteristic since measurements can be made in extreme temperature -6
conditions. If staffs with steel strips are used, differences of heights, computed from (steel 11*10 ºC),
measurements made in winter and in summer, can be a consequence of the variation of staff's
length. As accessories, the staffs must be equipped with circular levels permanently attached
and braces to help hold the staff vertical and steady.

2.3 Displacements Determination

The difference of height
H ij = H j − Hi = Ri − R j = R ji (1)
is determined by differences of readings (R) to two staffs placed on two points (points i and j, on
Fig. 2). First, the level is set-up on a tripod and levelled with the help of a built in small spherical
bubble. The automatic compensator ensures that the line of sight is horizontal so that each staff
reading is reliable (staff must be kept vertical during the readings).

Backsight Foresight
Ri (horizontal line) (horizontal line)
Rj

Level of j (Lj)
j Hij
Level of i (Li)

Figure 2 : Difference of height determination

The staffs are placed on successive ground points and the difference between the readings at
the level's cross hairs will equal that between the heights of the points. By moving the level and
the staffs along a path and repeating this procedure, differences in height can be computed. The
knowledge of the height of the first point of a levelling line allows the computing of the heights
of any of the remaining points of the line by applying the next expression (where j=i+1):
406 Historical Constructions

k −1 k −1
Hk = H1 + ∑ H i j = H1 + ∑ R ji , k = 2, K , n (2)
i =1 i =1

The vertical displacement, dH, between two epochs of any point of the levelling line, can be
determined by (where j=i+1):
k −1 k −1
dH k = dH 1 + ∑ dH i j = dH 1 + ∑ dR j i , k = 2, K , n (3)
i =1 i =1

2.4 Errors
The most important errors that affect geometric leveling are due to: i) non horizontal line of
sights (vertical collimation error); ii) reading errors of staff and level micrometer; iii) errors
made during manual recordings; iv) tripods placed on non stable surfaces like sandy ground or
asphalt; v) thermal effects of the sunrays incidence on the level; vi) influence of magnetic field
on automatic levels; vii) staffs graduation; viii) non verticality of the staffs; ix) temperature of the
staffs; x) refraction; xi) gravity; xii) relative position earth-moon-sun (earth tide); xiii) crustal
movements. The last three causes of errors can be neglected on short levelling lines.
Due to errors made during measurements, each reading has an error ε, unknown, associated,
so that
µ = R+e (4)
being R the reading and µ the true value (unknown). The error ε can be split into three errors:
i) θi (instrumental error due to error of the measuring equipment); ii) θe (environmental error
due to measuring conditions); iii) δ (accidental error):
ε = θi +θe + δ (5)
Errors θi and θe are systematic errors since they will have the same values when the obser-
vation conditions are repeated. The accidental error has a random distribution. When high
precision is required, special care is taken during measurements in order to reduce these errors.
One is to place the level at "equal" distances of the staffs (sighting distances must be equalized
to within ±1 m). This care reduces the effect of collimation error (the line of sight is not hori-
zontal, as seen in Fig. 3, making an angle α with the horizontal line in all directions) since it
equally affects both readings. The height difference, as being a difference of readings, is not
affect by this error.

(horizontal line) (horizontal line)

α α
Ri Rj
line of sight line of sight

Figure 3 : Collimation error

Equal distances also eliminate the combined effect of curvature and normal refraction,
providing that the coefficient of refraction is the same over the both lines of sight. On slopes,
backsights have different distances from the ground than foresights and, therefore, light rays
undergo different paths (more or less curved, concave or convex, depending on vertical
temperature gradients) being back and fore readings differentially affected. This situation should
be avoided or by placing additional points or by standing the level higher in order that the line
of sight will not be less than 50 cm above the ground. The maximum length of one line of sight
should not be more than 30 m to ensure equal atmospheric conditions on both sightseeing.
M. J. Henriques and J. Casaca 407

Other important care is to protect level from effects of temperature, avoiding the incidence of
sunrays directly on the level (by keeping the level protected by a sunshade).
Some errors are related to the staffs. The graduation error can be reduced if calibrated staffs
are used. The zero error (the zero graduation does not coincide with the base of the staff) is
usually a consequence of accidents during handling (the fall of the staff is the most usual) or
transportation. Adequate methodologies can eliminate this error being the use of only one staff
the easiest one. It's also very extremely important to keep the staff vertical during observations
so is fundamental to use staffs with circular adjusted bubbles and braces and, when there is
strong wind, keep them vertical with the help of struts.

2.5 Uncertainty of the Displacements

The differences of height, measured by geometric levelling, are supposed to be samples of,
stochastically independent, normally distributed random variates, with equal variances.
Consequently, displacements between two epochs are also supposed to be samples of normally
distributed random variates, though stochastically dependent and with different variances. If the
operative methods used to measure the height differences are adequate to eliminate the
systematic errors, the random variates:
~ ~ k −1 ~
dH k = dH 1 + ∑ dH ij , k = 2, K, n (6)
i =1

are unbiased minimum variance estimators of the displacements of the points. The mean values
(M) and variances (V) of the estimators are, respectively:
k −1 k −1
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
E (dH k ) = E (dH 1 ) + ∑ E (dH ij ), V (dH k ) = V (dH 1 ) + ∑ V (dH ij ) (7)
i =1 i =1

As the variances of the height differences are supposed to be equal, the variances of the
displacements ( σ k2 ) are related to the variance of the reference point ( σ 12 ) and to the common
variance of the height differences ( σ 02 ) by:

σ k2 = σ 12 + 2 (k − 1) σ 02 (8)

The standard uncertainty of the displacements is quantified by the standard deviation:

σk = σ 12 + 2 (k − 1) σ 02 (9)

2.6 Quality Control

In any levelling line, measurements must begin and end on reference points, only way to control
the quality of measurements. The difference between the known height and the computed height
is the misclosure (∆), and is computed by (where j=i+1):
 k −1

∆ = H n −  H1 + ∑ H i j  (10)
 i =1 
To control errors, all measurements must be repeated, performing a double run levelling, i. e.,
the levelling ends at the beginning point. In this case Hn= H1 and the sum of all level differences
should be zero.
The misclosure should be computed right after the end of the levelling works. Performing this
data pre-processing in the field allows the observation team to repeat the measurements with
lower costs and, also important, with no changes of the structure conditions.
The tolerance to misclosure used by LNEC to levelling lines depends on the assumption that
the misclosure is entirely caused by accidental levelling errors and the errors of each height
408 Historical Constructions

difference have a normal distribution with a standard error of σe Misclosure tolerance (t ∆), is a
function of the number (n) of height differences measured
t∆ = 1.96 s e n (11)
where 1.96 is the 0.95 quantile of the standard normal distribution. When misclosure exceeds
the allowable tolerances all measurements should be repeated.

3 LEVELLING LINES IN PORTUGUESE HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

In Portugal some important historical constructions have levelling lines in order to control vertical
displacements in critical areas. Five constructions have been selected to this paper: the D.Fernando's
city wall and the "Grilos" Church at Oporto, a cloister of the Convent of Christ in Tomar, the
aqueduct of "Águas Livres" and the western wing of "Praça do Comércio", both in Lisbon.

3.1 D.Fernando's city wall (Oporto)

The D. Fernando's wall replaced the old medieval wall that became obsolete in the 14th century
due to the development of the city. In 1336 King D. Afonso IV determined the construction of a
new wall. However, this would only be concluded around 1376, in the reign of D. Fernando,
whose name it kept. The wall had four doors, protected with towers, and fourteen wickets. A
small sector was restored around 1920.

Figure 4 : D. Fernando's city wall

The first levelling line was established in 1959 to control the area of implantation of the wall,
nearby a slope area (“Guindais” slope that had suffered a landslide). The line has undergone two
important changes to the original design, the last one done in 1976. A total of 34 observation
campaigns were made until now. The line has six object points, one reference point and several
ancillary points. The prior uncertainty of vertical displacements varies from 0.15mm (point a,
the nearest from the reference point) to 0.50 mm (point f, the most distant).
OPORTO

a
f
b e
A
IN
ND
NA
D. LUIS

ER

c
AF
LH
RA
MU
Bridge

d
GAIA

Figure 5 : D. Fernando's city wall: object points positions

M. J. Henriques and J. Casaca 409

3.2 "Grilos" Church (Oporto)

The church was built in the 16th century in mannerist style. The façade is, perhaps, the most
remarkable feature of the monument. Adjacent to the church is the convent surrounded by yards.
In the 1990’s several fissures and differential layings were detected.

Figure 6 : "Grilos" church

The levelling line was established in 1994. It has 21 object points and three reference points. The
points are located on exterior walls of the church, convent and on yards walls. The levelling line has
a complex design. All displacements are determined with a prior uncertainty lesser than 0.5 mm.

Figure 7 : "Grilos" church, convent and yards: object points positions

3.3 A cloister of Convent of Christ (Tomar)

The cloister was built in the 16th century and is the purest example of Renaissance style in
Portugal. Convent of Christ, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built over a period of six
hundred years from the 12th to the 17th centuries. The castle-monastery complex comprises
seven cloisters, a temple, a church and a huge bell tower, being its most well known feature the
Manueline window on the Chapter house.

Figure 8 : Convent of Christ: convent, church, a cloister and Manueline window

The levelling line was established in 1983. It has three object points and one reference point.
All displacements are determined with a prior uncertainty lesser than 0.25 mm.
410 Historical Constructions

2
1

Figure 9 : Cloister: object and reference points positions

3.4 The aqueduct of "Águas Livres" (Lisbon)

The construction started in 1732 and the Aqueduct was ready to supply water to the city of Lisbon
in 1748. The total length of the Aqueduct and its ramifications is 58 135 metres. The 35-arched
structure supporting the Aqueduct, as it crosses the Alcantara Valley, is 941 metres long. Fourteen
of the arches are ogival in shape and the other twenty-ones are round, with the tallest being 66m
high. The Aqueduct, that survived the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, is out of use since 1967.

Figure 10 : Aqueduct of "Águas Livres"

The levelling line as 37 object points, placed on the walkway on the top of the aqueduct, and
four reference points, two on each end. The first observation campaign was made in 1995. The
second in 2000.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

Figure 11 : Aqueduct's object points positions

M. J. Henriques and J. Casaca 411

0.0

-0.5

-1.0

-1.5

-2.0

-2.5
1

7
9

11

13
15

17

19
21

23

25

27

29

31

33

35
37
Figure 12 : Aqueduct's vertical displacements (point) and displacements prior uncertainty (column)

Figure 13 : Aqueduct's measuring campaign

3.5 Western wing of "Praça do Comércio" (Lisbon)

The buildings of this 250 m side square were built after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake destroyed
the Royal palace built in that area. Arcade buildings, specially built to house Government
offices, bound the square on three sides. On the fourth side is river Tagus, which influences the
stability of all buildings in the area.

Figure 14 : "Praça do Comércio"

The line as seven object points and one reference point, all beside the western wing. Points 1
to 6 are close to the arcades. Point 1 was chosen to be the reference point since it is the farther
from river Tagus. All displacements are determined with a prior uncertainty lesser than 0.4 mm.
412 Historical Constructions

7 8

1 2 3 4 5 6

Tagus River
Figure 15 : Object and reference points positions

20

-20

-40
(mm)

-60

-80

-100

-120
1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Figure 16 : Vertical displacements

4 CONCLUSIONS

Geometric levelling is a non-intrusive, inexpensive, accurate and precise method. These are
good reasons for geometric levelling to be the surveying method most applied in the monitoring
of portuguese monuments.

REFERENCES

Casaca,J. and Henriques,M.J. 1994. Numerical Modelling of Atmospheric Refraction. In Proceedings of

1. Turkish International Symposium on Deformations, p. 116-125. Istanbul: TMMOB-HKMO.
Casaca,J., Matos,J. and Baio,M. 1999. Topografia Geral, 2nd ed.. Lisbon: Lidel.
Cooper,M. 1987. Control Surveys in Civil Engineering. New York: Nichols Publishing Company.
Henriques,M.J. 1996. O Efeito da Refracção em Geodesia e Topografia. Dissertation. Lisbon: LNEC.
International Organization for Standartization 1995. Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in
Measurements. Geneve.
Unguendoli,M. 1984. Errors in Precise Levelling. In M. Unguendoli (ed.) High Precision Geodetic
Measurements, p. 5-25. Bologna: CUSL.
U.S. Corps of Engineers 1994. Deformation Monitoring and Control Survey. Engineer Manual 1110-1-1004.