Chapter

p 3 - Angular
g Measurement Angular Measurement
 Horizontal and vertical angles are fundamental
measurements in surveying
 Theodolite is the instrument used to perform
p
accurate angular measurements in surveying

• Vertical angle is the angle of

p
elevation or depression
between the line of collimation • Horizontal angle is the
and the horizontal plane which difference between 2
passes through the horizontal i t
intersecting
ti lines
li when
h they
th are
axis of the theodolite projected onto the datum plane

Angular Measurement 1 Angular Measurement 2

The geometrical relationships of a properly adjusted Station Adjustment or Temporary Adjustment

instrument
(1) the vertical axis should be  to
the plate bubble axis • A theodolite must be accurately y adjusted
j to
(2) the horizontal axis should be  the correct position and is levelled in every
to the vertical axis
(3) Line of collimation should be  set up.
set-up
to the horizontal axis
(4) vertical axis reads 90 or 270  • This adjustment includes:
when
h theth telescope
t l is
i placed
l d att
level position – Setting over the station (centering);
(5) The optical plummet coincides – Levellingg up;
p; and
with
i h the
h line
li off gravity
i andd
passes through the vertical axis – Focusing and Elimination of Parallax.
(6) The crosshairs are in focus so
that no parallax exists ( Please refers to the extra notes provided on the
procedures of temporary adjustment )

Angular Measurement 3 Angular Measurement 4

 Face Left (FL) position Face Right (FR) Position
Focusing ring

Eyepiece
y p

Vertical face
Clamp screw
Optical left
f

Theodolite face right

Horizontal
clamp screw

Horizontal tangent screw

Angular Measurement 5 Angular Measurement 6

Station Adjustment
j (Temporary
( p y Adjustment
j 1. Settingg up
p

1. Setting
i up
2. Rough centring
3. Rough levelling
4. Fine levelling Establish the tripod roughly
5
5. Fine centring over the survey point

6. Re-centring & re-levelling

7. Adjustment of parallax error
Attach the theodolite
to the
h tripod
i d
Angular Measurement 7 Angular Measurement 8
2. Rough
g centringg 3. Levelling
Using the footscrews to incline the line of sight through the Rough levelling
p
optical plummet,
p , centre the pplummet exactlyy on the survey
y ppoint • slide the legs in or out until the
circular bubble is exactly centre.
centre 0°
0
• although the tripod movement may
be excessive, the plummet will still 90°
be on the survey point.
point
• instrument is approx. centred and
levelled

Fine levelling
g
•precisely level the instrument using the plate
bubble
•Unclamp and move the whole instrument
over the tripod until the plummet crosshair is
exactly over the survey point
•repeat these 2 steps until
ntil the instr
instrument
ment is
exactly centred and levelled
Angular Measurement 9 Angular Measurement 10

Vertical tangent screw

Modern Levelling Operation of Total Station Total Station Instrument
Vertical Clamp screw

Focusing ring
Horizontal tangent screw

Eyepiece

Display Panel Horizontal clampp screw

LCD Display for levelling in both X and Y axes ON/OFF switch
Angular Measurement 11
Distance Measurement button Angular Measurement 12
 Eyepiece Face of theodolite and compensated measurement
Focusing
g ring
g
 Position of the vertical circle relative to the
observer
Display Panel
Horizontal clamp screw  Face Left (F.L.) – normal observing position face left
Distance where the vertical circle is on the left of the
Measurement observer
Horizontal
tangent screw
button  Face Right (F. R.) – vertical circle is to the right
side of the observer
 To change from F.L. to F.R., the telescope is
ON/OFF switch transited and then followed by 180 turn in the
h i t l plane
horizontal l
 The telescope will than be pointing at the target
and with the vertical circle to the right of the face right
observer
Optical
p pplummet  All angles should be measured once with F.L. and
footscrew
once with F.R. and the results be averaged to
Angular Measurement 13 eliminate most of the instrumental error Angular Measurement 14

Errors in Angular
g measurement Errors in Angular
g measurement
• Instrumental errors; Human errors; Natural errors Human Errors
Instrumental Errors • Mistakes caused by poor observational techniques or carelessness.
• systematic errors and can be corrected through permanent adjustment of • They
h are serious
i andd significant
i ifi as it
i is
i impossible
i ibl to correct or make
k
the theodolite adjustments
yp Vertical axis error; Horizontal axis error; Horizontal collimation
• 5 types: • They can be avoided if proper field procedure is adopted such as
error; Vertical collimation error; Optical plummet error observing
b i more than
th one roundd off observations
b ti
• The errors are:
Natural Errors 1. Set up the theodolite on a wrong station
• They are: 2 Sights a wrong target
2.
1. Unequal atmospheric refraction (choose cool days or night time); 3. Fails to recognize the settlement of the tripod
2. Differential expansion in certain of the theodolite (insulation); 4. Transcribes errors and interchanges digit in booking
3
3. Vibration of the theodolite due to strong wind 5 Reads the wrong circle in the reading system
5.
4. Improper settlement of the tripod (pushing tripod legs firmly into the 6. Ignores the movement of the plate bubble during observation
grounds) 7. Fails to adjust the eyepiece to eliminate parallax completely
5 Limitations of the theodolite reading systems and human eyesight
5.
6. Heat shimmer
(Note: To minimize time spent and movements while using the theodolite in the
observations )

Angular Measurement 15 Angular Measurement 16

Horizontal Angle
g

Angular Measurement 17 Angular Measurement 18

Verticals Angle
g or Zenith Angle
g Verticals Angle
g or Zenith Angle
g

Angular Measurement 19 Angular Measurement 20

Readingg Systems
y Optical
p Theodolite Reading
g system
y
2 Types
yp of Reading
g systems
y :
Parallel
P ll l plate
l is i rotatedd using
i the
h
optical micrometer screw until
• Optical micrometer reading fine angular reading is obtained
• Electronic digital display

The process is achieved by

using the parallel plates rotating
in opposite
pp directions, until the
diametrically opposite side of
the circle coincide

Angular Measurement 21 Angular Measurement 22

Optical Theodolite Reading System Electronic Digital

g Display
p y
Angular reading for optical
theodolite is usually via a small
auxiliary reading telescope at the
side of the main telescope

• Horizontal and vertical

angles reading to 6
seconds of arc.

Digital Angular reading on LCD using Total Station

Angular Measurement 23 Angular Measurement 24
References
Allan, A.L. (1997). Practical Surveying and Computations. 2nd Ed., Butterworth-
Heinemann.

Bannister, A., Raymond, S. and Baker, R. (1998). Surveying. 7th Ed., Longman.

IIrvine,
i W. W & Maclennan
M l F.
F (2006).
(2006) S
Surveying
i ffor C
Construction.
t ti 5th Ed.,
Ed McGraw
M G
Hill.

Kavanagh, Barry F
Kavanagh F. & Bird
Bird, Glenn S
S.J.
J (2000)
(2000). Surveying Principles and
Applications. 5th Ed., Prentice Hall.

Leick A.
Leick, A (2004).
(2004) GPS Satellite Surveying.
Surveying 3rd Ed.,
Ed John Wiley & Sons.
Sons

Petrie, G. & Kennie, T.J. (1994). Engineering Surveying Technology. J. Wiley &
Sons.

Schofield W. & Breach M. (2007). Engineering Surveying. 6th Ed., Butterworth-

Heinemann.

Angular Measurement 25