Surveying and levelling by N N Basak

During the survey of the alignment of a project involving roads or railways the direction of the line may
change due to some unavoidable circumstances. The angle of the change in direction is known as the
deflection angle. For it to be possible for a vehicle to run easily along the road or railway track, the two
straight lines are connected by an arc which is known as the curve of the road or track.

When the curve is provided in the horizontal plane, it is known as a horizontal curve.

Again, along the alignment of any project the nature of the ground may not be uniform and may consist
of different gradients in such a case, a parabolic curved path is provided in the vertical plane in order to
connect the gradient for easy movements of the vehicles.

This curve is known as a vertical curve. The following are the different forms of the curves.

Curve

1. Horizontal curve
2. Vertical curve
Types of Horizontal Curves
The following are the types of the horizontal curves:
Simple circular curve
When a curve consists of a single arc with a constant radius connecting the two tangents, it is
said to be a circular curve.
Compound curve
When a curve consists of two or more arcs with different radii, it is called a compound curve.
Such a curve lies on the Same side of a common tangent and the centers of the different arcs lie
on the same side of their respective tangents.
Reverse curve
A reverse curve consists of two arc bending in opposite directions. Their centers lie on opposite
side of the curve. Their radii may ne either equal or different, and they have one common
tangent.