2.

0 Linear Measurements

2.1 Chain Surveying

Principles of Chain surveying
Chain surveying is the method of surveying in which the area to be surveyed is divided
into network of connected triangles and the sides of the various triangles are measured in
the field with chain or tape and no angular measurements are taken.

Chain surveying is suitable when the area to be surveyed is fairly level and open with
simple details. It is unsuitable for large areas and for areas crowded with many details.
The principle of chain survey is to divide the area to be surveyed into network of
triangles connected to each other since a triangle is the only figure that can be plotted
from lengths of its sides measured in the field.

Methods of linear measurements

There are various methods of making linear measurements and their relative merit
depends upon the degree of precision required.

1. Direct Measurements: The distances are actually measured on the ground with
the help of a chain (traditional method) or tape, odometer or pacing.

2. Measurements by optical means: Observations are taken through telescope and

calculations are done for the distance, such as tachometry or triangulation.

3. Electronic method: Distances are measured with instruments that rely on

propagation, reflection and subsequently reception of either radio or light waves
such as EDM and total station.

4. Satellite system which involves positioning the points on the ground by

employing receivers, occupying different stations and simultaneously making
observations to several satellites the vector (distance) between receivers and its
x, y, Z coordinates difference components are computed as a result of
observations, thus giving distances.

Instruments used for chaining.

The various instruments used for the determination of the length of a line by chaining are
as follows:-
1. Tape
2. Arrows
3. Pegs
4. Ranging rods or poles
5. Plumb bob
6. Optical square
7. Abney level or hand level

The main instruments in chain surveying are tape measure and ranging rods. The use of
chain is not common and impractical today.

Tapes:
Tapes in current use are described as follows:

(a) Surveyor’s and Engineer’s tapes: These are made of steel with standard lengths
of 30m, 50m and 100.

(b) Invar tapes: These are made of a special nickel steel (35% nickel and 65%
steel) to reduce length variations caused by differences in temperature. Due to
high costs of invar tapes, made them suitable for precise geodetic work and as a
standard for comparison with working tapes.

(c) Metallic tapes:Are usually made of high grade fine copper to give additional
strength and prevent excessive elongation.

Cloth or Linen Tapes: Cloth taps of closely woven linen, 12 to 15mm wide varnished to
resist moisture, are light and flexible and may be used for taking comparatively
rough and subsidiary measurements such as offsets.

Taping is performed in six steps:

1. Ranging
2. Applying tension to tape
3. Plumbing
4. Marking tape length
5. Reading the tape and
6. Recording the distance

Field Operations in Chain Surveying

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The following are the important operations which have to be performed while
undertaking chain surveying:
1. Ranging
2. Chaining and
3. Off setting

Ranging: This is the operation/process of establishing ranging poles in line with other
established ranging poles-of a line. Ranging is done by judging with eye or line ranger.
Ranging is done in two ways:

(a) Direct ranging: This is done when the line is free of obstacles obstructing vision.

Procedure of ranging a line by eye (P1)

(i) plant/drive a ranging pole at each end of the line to be ranged and plumb them
vertically
(ii) Squat down behind one terminal pole toget a low line of sight, line up the sides of
the two poles
(iii) Direct the assistant to hold a ranging pole approximately on the line, standing off
the line himself/herself. The road is held between the thumb and fore finger, high
up to hang vertically
(iv) Signal a shift to the left or right to the assistant until the sides of the three poles
line up.
(v) Check that the opposite sides are also line up.
(vi) Signal for the rod to be placed after any necessary adjustment. The assistant then
marks the line by forcing the ranging pole into the ground. Check for verticality
and see whether any final adjustments are required.

(b) Indirect ranging or Reciprocal ranging: This is adopted when it is not possible to
range a line by direct means e.g. ranging across a high raised ground (Figure 1),
ranging across a valley.
A line is ranged in the normal way as for direct ranging but from both ends until
intermediate points lay on the straight line AB

CC

c
A B

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 Figure 1

Chaining: The operation or process of measuring distance with the help of a chain or
tape is called chaining.

Chaining operations:
(a) Chaining on flat ground
(i) Field party consists of the follower (experienced person), the leader and an
assistant at the rear of the chain. These two persons are known as chain
men/chain persons.

(ii) The duties of the leader are:

 To drag the tape forward
 To insert arrows at the end of every tape
 To obey instructions from the follower

(iii) The duties of the follower are:

 To place the leader in line with longing poles
 To call out instructions to the leader
 To carry the rear end of tape
 To pick up arrows inserted by the leader
 To record.

(iv) Procedure
 The follower places the zero end of the tape at the beginning station
 The leader walks along the line with the tape, arrows and a ranging rod
 When the tape is stretched, the leader holds the ranging pole
 The follower directs the leader to move his pole left or right until it is
directly on line
 The leader straightens the tape past the rod and puts an arrow at the end (or
stretches a mark) on calls out a reading
 The leader then moves to the next station and the follower to the former
position of the leader the process is repeated until the end of the line is
reached

 The follower picks up the arrow pins before he moves to his next station.

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Obstacles in chaining
Obstacle is any object that obstruct or prevent the direct measurement along a line. It is
necessary to overcome obstacles so that chaining may continue. The obstacles may be
classified as follows:
1. Obstacles obstructing ranging (vision) but not chaining
Under this category there are two cases:
(a) Both ends may be visible from intermediate point on the line such as raised ground
and hills. The obstacle is crossed over by adopting reciprocal ranging, chaining is
done by step chaining
(b) Both ends may not be visible from intermediate point, such as a jungle. The obstacle
is crossed over by introducing a random line; the triangles produced are then solved.

2. Obstacles obstructing chaining but not ranging. This category of obstacles two
cases is possible:

(a) Obstacles that can be chained around, e.g. pond, thorn area etc. this is solved by
introducing similar triangle or figures or by erecting perpendiculars from the chain
line, to give the distance obstructed (Figure 2).

D E H

A C F G J B

Figure 2

(b) Obstacles that cannot be chained around: a river is an example (figure 3)

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, the length under obstruction is found by solving similar triangles.

A B
C E F

Figure 3a Figure 3b.

1. Obstacles obstructing both ranging and chaining. A building is an example of this

obstacle. To solve this problem, equal perpendicular lines are established precisely
from the chain line clear the obstacle. The length of the obstructed portion of the line
is easily determined figure 4a. Also equilateral triangles method can be used to give
the direction of the chain line and the distance obstructed.

E F G H

A B
C D J K

Figure 4

Chaining on sloping ground

Since the distances required for plotting purposes are horizontal distances, all
measurements must be made horizontally or reduced to horizontal. However as a matter
of convenience they made on sloping ground, but they are afterwards reduced to

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horizontal before they are used for plotting. There are two methods of determining
horizontal distances when chaining on sloping ground:

Direct method-step chaining

(a) In the direct method, the distance is measured in small horizontal lines/stretches or
steps (figure 5)

L1
A
L2
1 L3

Figure 5

(b) In figure 5, to measure the length of line AB, the follower holds the zero end of
the tape at A while the leader selects any suitable length L1 of the tape and move
forward. The follower directs the leader for ranging. The leader pulls the tape
tight makes it horizontal and the point 1 is then transferred to the ground by
plumb bob.

(c) The procedure is then repeated. The total length D of the line is then equal to
l1+l2+l3. It is recommended to measure down hill then to measure uphill because
in the later case the follower end is off the ground and he is to plumb the point as
well as to direct the leader.

The tape must be kept horizontal either by eye judgment or by using a hand level.

Indirect Method

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In this method the slope distance is measured and the horizontal distance calculated. In
such cases, the angle of slope or difference in elevation (height) between the two points is
measured.

Case 1: Angle of slope Measured

L
h

D
Figure 6:

In figure 6, Let L = measured slope distance AB, =angle of slope with the horizontal.
Horizontal distance D= AB=LCos. The angle of slope  is measured with the help of a
clinometer or an obney level.

Case 2. Difference in level measured.

In stead of measuring angle of slope, the difference in level between the points is
measured with the help of a leveling instrument and the horizontal distance computed
from slope distance.

In figure 6, h is the difference in level, then

Offsets
Offset is a lateral distance measured from a chain line to the object to be plotted. The
process of making such measurements is known as offsetting. The common types of
offsets are:
(a) Perpendicular offsets. These are offsets taken at right angle from the chain line to the
object or feature and this gives the meaning of offset.
(b) Oblique offsets. These are offsets which are not at right angle to the survey /chain
line, the angle between the offset and the chain line may be measure but in chain
surveying this is not common instead tie lines are used in picking details.

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Offsets should as far as possible be short to avoid errors in direction and length if they are
long. Also short offsets can be measure accurately and more quickly. The instruments
used in taking offsets in chain surveying include measuring tape, cross- staff and optical
square. The 3; 4: 5 method is adopted when taking offsets with tape measure. When using
optical square or cross-staff, plumb bob is used to define the ground point where offset is
taken. The ranging poles erected on the chain line and that on the offset should form a
single line on the optical square this shows that the two lines are perpendicular to each
other.

Conducting Detail surveying

(a) Reconnaissance
This is carried out to decide the suitable way of carrying out the work easily and
economically. Any existing maps or plans covering the area are useful reference
during this stage. A layout sketch is prepared to show the chosen lines connecting the
survey stations.

The following points have to be borne in mind while carrying reconnaissance survey
for selecting stations for chain survey:
(i) Few survey lines. The number of survey stations should be kept minimum but
sufficient for the survey to be plotted and checked.
(ii) Long base line. A long line should be positioned across the site to form a base
line.
(iii) Well conditioned triangle. No triangle should contain an angle less than 30 o or
greater than 150o.
(iv) Check lines. Every part of the survey should be provided with a check line in
a way that can be useful for plotting.
(v) Obstacles. Obstacles along survey lines or stations should be avoided. Such as
steep slope, pedestrian, vehicle, building etc.
(vi) Short offsets. Lines should be close to features to be offset to avoid long
offsets which contribute errors in plotting the offsets.

(b) Marking stations

Survey station should be marked to fulfill the following requirements:
(i) Must be easily and quickly found during the survey
(ii) Not easily disturbed
(iii) Should survive throughout the intended period

(c) Types of Station marks

(i) For rough work of less accuracy a ranging pole can be used as a station mark.
The pole may be supported by a heap of stone if the ground is hard
(ii) Wooden pegs of 50mm x 50mm and 50cm log can be used for soft ground

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 (iii) In streets and paved areas, nails or pieces of iron bar are used

(d) Referencing stations

Stations should be witnessed by making a reference sketch of permanent objects
around the station. Measurements are then made from at least three features to the
station and clearly indicated on the sketch.

Reference sketches are necessary to recover the station in case they are displaced or
lost or required at a future date. The referenced stations can be easily restore by
swinging arcs with reference points as centers and the respective measurements as
radii.
(e) Running survey lines
Having preliminary work such as selection of stations, marking and location of
stations, chaining may be commenced from the baseline and carried throughout all
lines of the framework as continuous as possible. The process of chaining, taking
offsets and booking for each line is repeated separately.
(f) Recording field notes
The field measurements, sketches and relevant note are recorded for future reference
in a note book known as a field book. There are two kinds of field book:

(i) Single line field book. Every page of this kind of field book has a single line
ruled down the middle the line represents the chain line and against it are
entered the total length of the line and chainages at which offsets are taken.
The space on either side of the line is for sketching features and writing the
offset distance.

(ii) Double line Field book. It is similar to single line field book but instead of
drawing single line two parallel lines are drawn in the centre. The space
between the lines is about 15mm located at the centre of every page. The
space between these lines represent the chain line and is used for entering
chainages where offsets are taken.

Boking is commenced at the bottom of the page and worked upwards and
carried continuously through the successive pages so that while writing the
centre line of the book and the chain on the ground correspond with the
surveyor’s own direction.
The number or name of the line and the name of station from where the line
starts are written at the commencement of each line

(g) Plotting the survey

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(i) A suitable scale is chosen before starting the plotting work. The scale
depends upon the importance of work and extent of survey.

(ii) Leave a suitable margin (2 cm to 4cm) all round the paper.

(iii) Select a suitable position of the base line so that the map or plan is shown to
the best advantage. The base line should be plotted as accurately as possible
because the entire accuracy of the frame work depends upon it.

(iv) Mark the intermediate stations on the base line and complete the frame work
of triangles.

(v) Check the accuracy of the plotted frame work by means of check and tie lines.
If the error is within the permissible value then adjust the lengths of the sides
of the wrong triangles. But if the error exceeds the permissible limits, then
resurvey the wrong lines.

(vi) For plotting the offsets, mark the chainages of the points along the chain line
from where offsets were measured and then draw the perpendicular lines set
squares and scale off lengths of the offsets.

The method of plotting the offset is much simplified offset scale (Fig 2.46) is
used for plotting them. In this method, the long scale is placed along the
chain line with its zero exactly at start of the line. The offset scale is then
placed at right angles to the long offset lengths are marked with a pricker.

(vii) While plotting keep the field-book side by side in the same direction as the
work proceeded in the field parallel to the chain line to be plotted and then
plot the various offsets. After plotting one line completely, transfer the offset
scale along the second line and open the field-book page for that line, keep it
in the same direction and plot the off-sets. Similarly plot all the lines and
details and complete the plan.

(viii) After completing the plan in pencil and checking it, ink the lines and objects
and then colour them in accordance with the conventional signs as given on
pages 56 (A to D). The inking and colouring should be commenced from the
top left hand corner of the sheet working from left right and downwards.

(ix) Print the title of the survey in right hand corner at the bottom or at the top of
the drawing and then draw scale of the plan below it.

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 (x) Mark the north direction in any convenient blank space near the top.

Sources of error in taping

There are three sources of errors in taping:

1. Instrumental errors: A tape may differ in actual length from its nominal
graduated length because of a defect in manufacture or repair or a result of kinks.

2. Natural errors: The horizontal distance between end graduations of a tape varies
because of the effect of temperature, wind and weight of the tape itself.

3. Personal errors: The field party members especially the leader may be careless
in setting arrows, reading the tape or manipulating the equipments.

The following section discusses the common types of taping errors and their related
corrections:

1. Incorrect length of tape

Incorrect length of tape is a systematic error their effects may be positive or
negative depending on whether the incorrect tape is too short or too long. Due to
this, tapes have to be standardised (compared) to known length of tape or base at
given temperature and tension.

Let CD = Correction to the measured length

L = Nominal length of tape
L’ = Actual length of tape
D = Measured length of line
D’ = True length of line

Then: Thus product of correct ones = product of wrong ones. This can

be memorized by; product of correct things = product of wrong things.

Alternatively:
If D’ is the true length of a line and D is the measured length, then correction C D is given
by D-D’

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 CD =

The correct (True) length of a line.

(b) Temperature
If the temperature is recorded during measurement and found to differ from standard, a
correction may be calculated from:

Ct = Lt Where L = measured length (m)

= Coefficient of linear expansion of the tape materials
t= Temperature difference from standard (oC)

Tension Correction

When a tape is pulled with a tension greater than its standard pull, it will stretch and
become longer than its standard length. When the tension applied is less than standard
the tape will be shorter than its standard length. The modulus of elasticity of the tape
material regulates the amount that it stretches.

The correction for pull is computed from the following formula:

Where; Cp is the correction due to pull

Pf is the applied tension (pull) in the field
Ps is the standard pull for the tape
A is the cross-sectional area of the tape
E is the modules of elasticity of the tape material

Sag Correction
When a tape is supported only at its ends, it will sag in form of cartenary. Due to sag, the
horizontal distance is less than the tape length under suspension. The effect of sag can be
eliminated by either supporting the tape at short intervals or throughout or computing a
sag correction from the following formula:

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Where:
Cs = correction for sag
w = weight of tape per unit metre
P = applied tension during measurement
D = length of tape between end supports

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