GEE142

Curves and Earthworks

(Fundamentals of Surveying)
Simple Curves

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Simple Curve 2

3 Attributes of a Simple Curve 2

4 Laying Out the Curve 4

4.1 Deflection Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

4.2 Perpendicular Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1 Introduction

In this module, students will learn how to use geometric curves for transportation engineering
problems, specifically in highway and railroad design. In most cases, the use of curves in road
and rail design is to provide easement for the driver and passengers of the vehicles that will be

1
using these roads. Horizontally speaking, the curves will supplement an easy turning maneuver
from one road to an intersecting one. In a vertical sense, a curve used will generally make
the change in elevation a gradual one thereby making the experience a lot more comfortable.
Generally speaking, by using these curves, the engineer is promoting safety in his design. That’s
not to say, however, that highway and railroad curves have their own inherent safety concerns.
These consideration are outside the scope of this module, or this subject, and will be tackled
in Transportation Engineering.

2 Simple Curve

A simple curve is used, as stated above, to provide turning easement in a horizontal sense. A
circular arc is used to connect two intersecting roads as will be shown in the next section.

And because a circular arc is used, the student must be able to solve geometry problems
involving circles. This is the reason why no sample problems are given in this module. Section
3 will tackle all the attributes of a simple curve. All these attributes can be solved using
geometry that all civil engineering students are expected to know. Formulas, likewise, will not
be provided. The thinking here is that, because we will be using only basic geometry (and
of course trigonometry, both subjects go hand in hand), students are discourage to memorize
formulas specific to surveying but should stick to the concepts that they should already know.

Nevertheless, a demonstration of how a simple curve is solved will be given during the Live
Lecture.

3 Attributes of a Simple Curve

There are many attributes of a simple curve that we need to study. All of them impose a
unique requirement or consideration during the actual design of roads and railways (this will
be studied in CVE140 and CVE141). Please refer to Fig.1 as we define each attribute.

2
 Figure 1: Simple Curve Attributes

R Radius of the Curve Defines the overall curvature of the curve. A larger
value of R equates to a ”flatter” curve.
I Angle of Intersection The angle of intersection of two existing/proposed road
that are both tangent to the curve.
M Middle Ordinate The distance from the midpoint of the curve (v) to the
midpoint of the long chord (w). This attribute is
generally used to determine the safety of vehicles
during the turning maneuver specifically during times
where obstacles may be present in the road.
E External Distance The distance from the intersection of the two tangent
lines to the midpoint of the curve. This attribute
dictates maneuverability during construction.

3
 PC Point of Curvature Is the point where the curve starts. It is the point at
which the road transitions from a straight road to a
curved one.
PT Point of Tangency Is the point where the curve ends. It is the point at
which the road transitions from a curved road to a
straight one.
C Center of the Curve The center of the curve, technically speaking is not
used during the design nor is it used during
construction especially when the location of such point
is impractical to locate. But, it can still be used as a
reference point to layout the curve is condition permit.
LC Lenght of the Curve The length of the curve, as affected by the radius and
the angle of intersection dictates the overall cost of
construction of the curved road.
LC Length of the Long The long chord is a line that connects the PC and the
Chord PT. Although not directly plotted on the ground
during construction, the length of this line is used to
calculate other parts/lengths in curve.
T Length of the Is the distance from PC or PT to the point of
Tangent Line intersection of the two tangent lines (u).

4 Laying Out the Curve

Now that all the attributes of a curve have been defined, the next important thing to discuss
is how to plot the curve on the ground. But, before that, an additional attribute needs to be
defined. As a review, in surveying we used stations to define equidistant points in a measured
line. As we are about to layout what is essentially a horizontal line (a curved one this case),
we will still use the same stationing principle.

As shown in Fig.2 the Degree of the Curve (D) is an angle that subtends exactly one station
(20m). How this station is measured is a matter of designer’s choice. He/she can either use the
arc basis or the chord basis. As these names suggest, the arc basis uses the circular arc for one
station while the chord basis uses a circular chord for a station.

4
 Figure 2: Degree of a Curve

Now that the degree of the curve has been defined, how is it used in laying out a curve? The
total length of the curve will be divided into stations either by arc or chord basis. Of course,
not all curves will be divisible by 20 and so the designer will choose the degree of the curve
that will result to the least excess distance. In most cases, the degree of the curve will dictate
the design of the curve because, as shown in Fig.2, it can be used to solve for the radius of the
curve. This means that some repetition during design is to be expected as is true for all civil
engineering design endeavor.

In some cases, the excess distance, is distributed equally at both ends of the curve. A demo of
this will be given during the Live Lecture.

After the curve is divided into stations, each point is located using two methods that will
be discussed below. The ultimate goal of the designer is to provide the surveyor in the field
with a field note that can be used to locate each station point in the ground. In some cases,
one method can be used to locate all the points, but in most cases, because of limitations in
the topography of the site or the time constraints, the two methods are used together. This
combination will ensure that there will be no delay in laying out the points in the field.

Although, from experience, there are unavoidable circumstances that would require the surveyor
to be creative in laying out these points. In some severe cases, triangulation might be used to
facilitate the field activity.

5
 Figure 3: Plotting a Simple Curve

4.1 Deflection Angle

As shown in Fig.3. An arbitrary point A on the curve can be located using the deflection angle
d. The point A can be laid out by placing the instrument at PC, making the direction of the
tangent line the reference and turning it the pre-calculated deflection angle d and then laying
out the, likewise pre-calculated, deflection distance dO .

4.2 Perpendicular Offset

If the above method is not doable, because of line of sight obstructions from PC to the point
A, a perpendicular offset (d⊥ ) can be laid out measured from the tangent line. This method
is rather space consuming as the surveyor must verify that the tangent line can be lain out in

6
its entirety. In most cases, where curves are used in roads located at the top of the mountain
or in urban areas, this will not be possible. This perpendicular offset needs an accompanying
distance measured from PC as shown in Fig.3. So the procedure is, layout the distance dT ,
then, layout the distance d⊥ .

Both these methods should result in a tabulated data sheet that can be used in the field. So,
for example, a simple curve with the following basic attribute:

Attribute Value
I 27°
D 3°
R 381.972 m
LC 180.000 m

will have the plotting data sheet shown below:

STA d dO dT d⊥
PC 0 + 000 0 0 0 0
0 + 020 1.5 19.998 19.991 0.523
0 + 040 3.0 39.982 39.927 2.092
0 + 060 4.5 59.938 59.754 4.703
0 + 080 6.0 79.854 79.416 8.347
0 + 100 7.5 99.715 98.862 13.015
0 + 120 9.0 119.507 118.036 18.695
0 + 140 10.5 139.218 136.886 25.370
0 + 160 12.0 158.833 155.362 33.023
PT 0 + 180 13.5 178.339 173.412 41.632

Calculating each value in the table shown above will be tedious if done manually. Therefore, it
is encouraged that all students develope their own spreadsheet file to streamline this process.