LEVELING IN SURVEYING

Leveling is a branch of surveying in civil engineering

to measure levels of different points with respect to
a fixed point such as elevation of a building, height
of one point from ground etc… It is widely used in
cartography to measure geodetic height, and in
construction to measure height differences of
construction artifacts.
Introduction
1. Introduction
Leveling is defined as the branch of surveying that is essentially used
for determining the relative height of the different points on, above
and below the surface of the ground.

The basic principle of leveling is to determine the horizontal line of sight

with respect to which the vertical distances of the points below or
above this line of sight are determined.
OBJECTIVES OF LEVELING:

1. To determine the elevation of the given points with

respect to the given/assumed reference line or
datum.

2. To establish the points at a provided elevation or at

various elevations with respect to a given or assumed
datum.
APPLICATION OF LEVELING IN SURVEYING:
1. Leveling is necessary for the estimation and planning of various civil
engineering works such as roads, bridges, canals etc. It is also
necessary for the route or alignment survey of roads, bridges etc.

2. It is used to calculate the quantities of cut and fill as well as for

balancing the earthworks.

3. Leveling is an important aspect of the pipeline survey as it is used to

ensure a suitable slope of the land that will allow a smooth flow of the
liquid inside the pipe.

4. It is also vital for the preparation of contour maps.

5. It is necessary for the preparation of topographic maps.

 Instruments used in levelling in surveying
1. Levels
A level is basically a telescope
attached to an accurate leveling
device, set upon a tripod so that it
can rotate horizontally through 360°.
The following figure shows the level
and its components.

The dumpy level is an optical surveying leveling

instrument consisting a telescope tube firmly secured in two
collars fixed by adjusting screws to the stage by the vertical
spindle. The telescope of dumpy level can rotate only in a
horizontal plane. Relative elevation of different points of a
surveying land is determined with dumpy level.
2. Tripod

The tripod consists of three legs

and a head where the level
instrument is mounted.

The tripod could be of

aluminum or wood material.
When leveling the level
instrument, the tripod head
must be set approximately
level beforehand by adjusting
the tripod legs.
3. Leveling staff

The one of the main instrument used in

levelling is levelling staff. The leveling staff is a
box section of aluminum or wood, which will
extend to 3 or 5 m in height by telescoping,
hinging or addition of sections.

One face has a graduated

scale attached for reading
with the cross-hairs of
the level telescope.
Basic Terminologies

• Vertical datum - Any level surface to which elevations are referenced. This is the
surface that is arbitrarily assigned an elevation of zero.

• Elevation - The distance measured along a vertical line from a vertical datum to a
point or object.
Elev. TP = HI – FS

• Mean sea level (MSL) - The average height for the surface of the seas

• Benchmark (BM) - A relatively permanent object, natural or artificial, having a

marked point whose elevation above or below a reference datum is known or
assumed.

• Leveling - The process of finding elevations of points or their differences in elevation.

• Backsight (BS) - a backsight (plus sight) is a reading taken on a rod held on a point of
known or assumed elevation. It is a measure of the vertical distance from the
established line of sight to the point sighted, and is always the first rod reading taken
after the instrument has been set up and
leveled.

• Foresight (FS) - a reading taken on a rod held on a point whose elevation is to be

determined is called a foresight (minus sight). It is represented as a vertical distance
from the line of sight of the instrument to the point observed.

• Turning Point (TP) - a turning point is an intervening point between two bench marks
upon which point foresight and backsight rod readings are taken to enable a leveling
operation to continue from a new instrument position.

• Height of Instrument (HI) - the height of instrument or height of collimation is the

elevation of the line of sight of an instrument above or below a selected reference
datum. It is determined by adding the rod reading on the backsight to the elevation of
the point on which the sight is taken.
HI = Elev. BM + BS
Types of Leveling in Surveying

• Direct leveling
• Trigonometric leveling
• Barometric leveling
• Stadia leveling
Direct Leveling
It is the most commonly used method of leveling. In this
method, measurements are observed directly from leveling
instrument.
Based on the observation points and instrument positions
direct leveling is divided into different types as follows:
• Simple leveling
• Differential leveling
• Fly leveling
• Profile leveling
• Precise leveling
• Reciprocal leveling
Simple Leveling
It is a simple and basic form of leveling in which the leveling instrument is
placed between the points which elevation is to be find. Leveling rods
are placed at that points and sighted them through leveling instrument.
It is performed only when the points are nearer to each other without
any obstacles.
Differential Leveling

Differential leveling is performed when the distance

between two points is more. In this process, number of inter
stations are located and instrument is shifted to each station
and observed the elevation of inter station points. Finally
difference between original two points is determined.

Differential leveling is a very simple process based on

the measurement of vertical distances from a horizontal line.
Elevations are transferred from one point to another through
the process of using a leveling instrument to read a rod held
vertically on, first, a point of known elevation and, then, on
the point of unknown elevation. Simple addition and
subtraction are used to calculate the unknown elevations.
Fly Leveling

Fly levelling is the process in which only the backside and

foresight readings are taken and there are not any
intermediate sight readings are taken in this type of levelling.
The purpose of the fly levelling is to connect the benchmark
to the starting point of any project and it is used to establish
the benchmarks.
The process of Fly levelling is used when the worksite is away
from the benchmark. In this case, the surveyor starts the
work with the back sight reading on the benchmark by
setting up the instrument at a suitable point.
Profile levelling

Profile levelling is the process of determining the elevation of

the points at short measured intervals along a fixed line such
as the centre line of a railway, highway, canal or sewer.

The fixed-line may be a single straight line or it make consists of

a succession of the straight lines. It is also known as longitudinal
sectioning.
Precise Leveling

Precise leveling is similar to differential leveling but in this case

higher precise is wanted. To achieve high precise, serious
observation procedure is performed. The accuracy of 1 mm
per 1 km is achieved.
Reciprocal Leveling

When it is not possible to locate

the leveling instrument in
between the inter visible points,
reciprocal leveling is performed.

This case appears in case of

ponds or rivers etc. in case of
reciprocal leveling, instrument is
set nearer to 1st station and
sighted towards 2nd station.
Trigonometric Leveling

The process of leveling in which the elevation of point or

the difference between points is measured from the
observed horizontal distances and vertical angles in the
field is called trigonometric leveling.

In this method, trigonometric relations are used to find the

elevation of a point from angle and horizontal distance
so, it is called as trigonometric leveling. It is also called as
indirect leveling.
Barometric Leveling

Barometer is an instrument used

to measure atmosphere at any
altitude.

In this method of leveling,

atmospheric pressure at two
different points is observed,
based on which the vertical
difference between two points
is determined.

It is a rough estimation and

used rarely.
Stadia Leveling

It is a modified form of
trigonometric leveling in which
Tacheometer principle is used to
determine the elevation of point.

In this case the line of sight is

inclined from the horizontal. It is
more accurate and suitable for
surveying in hilly terrains.
What Is A Two Peg Test?

A two peg test checks whether your dumpy level is capable of showing
a true horizontal reading. This is vital to ensure your measurements are
accurate and reliable.

The two peg test tells you the measurement that your level is out over
the distance you test over. If the two peg test is showing an un
acceptable error, then you must withdraw the equipment and get it
serviced by an appropriate company.
How To Do A Two Peg Test?

Step 1: Measure out a 60-metre line on a relatively flat piece

of ground. Mark the ends of the line with a timber stake (or
nail, or spray mark) and securely hammer them into the
ground, so they are nice and solid.

Step 2: Set up your dumpy level halfway between each of the

pegs (30 metres along the line). Once you have done this,
ensure your dumpy level is levelled using the precision
levelling thumb screws.

Step 3: Once levelled, using another person, place your staff

on point A, and record the height of the peg as accurately as
possible. Write this figure down, labelling it as “P1 – PEG A”.

Step 4: Next, do the same at point B and record the height as

“P1 – PEG B”.
Step 5: Now, move your dumpy level to
approximately 3 m away from point A, set up and
level the instrument.

Step 6: Record the height of point A and Point B

again and write these figures down.
Call them “P2 – PEG A” and “P2 – PEG B”.
Calculating Two Peg Test Results
Now you have your 4 recorded points, you can begin the simple process of working out your survey errors. I have
added some example data below to show you the process:
P1 – PEG A = 1.540 m
P1 – PEG B = 1.789 m
P2 – PEG A = 1.682 m
P2 – PEG B = 1.955 m
First off, start by subtracting P1 – PEG B by P1 – PEG A
1.789 – 1.540 = 0.249

Then do the same thing for P2 – PEG A & P2 – PEG B

1.955 – 1.682 = 0.273

In this example, you can see the differences in heights between the 2 positions were 0.249 m and 0.273 m. The
difference between these 2 numbers is:
0.273 – 0.249 = 0.024 m (24 mm)
Because you are seeing an error of 24 mm and not 0 mm, it is indicating that your dumpy level is out of level and
could potentially require a service.
In a perfect world both these numbers would be exactly the same which would indicate no issues. It is up to you
to clarify what errors you are happy with.
If you are getting high errors, consider undertaking the two peg test a few times and seeing the differences in
results.
TP = HI – FS HI = Elev. BM + BS
TP = HI – FS HI = Elev. BM + BS ELEV= BM + ∑BS- ∑FS
Example Problem 1: Complete the differential level notes shown below.
Level Notes from BM1 to BM4
Example Problem 2: From the given data of a differential leveling as shown in the tabulation:

a. Find the difference in elevation of station 7 and station 5.

b. Find the difference in elevation of station 7 and station 3.
c. Find the elevation of station 3.