Chain Surveying

CE-121 Elementary Surveying

 Instruments for Marking Stations or used in Chaining

A chain is made of galvanized mild steel wire of 4mm

diameter having 100 or 150 pieces.

• Three oval rings are provided

between each link.
• Tallies are provided at every 10
or 25 links for counting
distance.
• Handle is made of brass with
swivel joint
 Chain Types

There are 5 types of chains

1. Metric Chain

2. Steel band

3. Engineer’s Chain

4. Gunter’s Chain

5. Revenue Chain
 Chain Types
Metric Chains

• Used for measuring distance along fairly level ground.

• Length = 20m and 30m

• Tallies are fixed every 5m and small brass rings are generally
provided at every meter length .

• 20m chain is divided into 100 links each of 0.2m and tallies are
provided at every 10 links or 2m

• 30m chain is divided into 150 links, each of 0.2m and tallies are
provided at every 25 links or 5m.
 Chain Types

Steel band

• Ribbon of steel of 16mm width and 20 or 30m length.

• Graduated in meters, centimeters and decimeters on one

side and has 0.2m links on other side.

• Used for more accurate measurements, but easily broken

 Chain Types

Engineer’s Chain

• 100ft long and divided into 100 links (each links of 1ft).

• Tallies are provided at every 10 links or 10 ft.

 Indirect Method
Gunter’s Chain

• 66 ft long and divided into 100 links (each

link of 0.66 ft).

• Used for measuring distance in miles and

furlongs.

• It is used for area measurement in acres.

• The length of a cricket pitch is one chain (22

yards)

Revenue Chain

• 33 ft long and divided into 16 links.

• Used in cadastral survey.

Revenue Chain

• 33 ft long and divided into 16 links.

• Used in cadastral survey for measuring fields.

Instruments for Marking Stations or used in Chaining

Measuring tapes are of following four types.

• Cloth or Linen Tape

• Metallic Tape

• Steel Tape

• Invar Tape
 Measuring tapes
Cloth or Linen Tape Metallic Tape

• Made of closely woven linen • Linen tape reinforced with brass

or copper wires.
• Resists moisture
• Lengths = 15, 20 and 30m
• 15 mm wide and 10 & 15m
• Packed in leather case with brass
long. handle.
 Measuring tapes
Steel Tape Invar Tape
• Made of steel ribbon. • Made of alloy steel and nickel.
• Graduated in meters, centimeters • Resistant to change in
and decimeters temperature.
• 6 - 16 mm wide and 10, 15, 20, 30 • 6mm wide and 30, 50 and 100m
& 50m long. long
Instruments for Marking Stations or used in Chaining
Ranging Rods and Ranging Poles
Instruments for Marking Stations or used in Chaining
Offset Rods

These rods are also similar to ranging rods

and they are 3 m long. They are made up
of hard wood and are provided with iron
shoe at one end. A hook or a notch is
provided at other end. At height of eye,
two narrow slits at right angles to each
other are also provided for using it for
setting right angles. A typical offset rod is
shown in Figure
Instruments for Marking Stations or used in Chaining
Pegs
Wooden pegs are used in measuring a length of a line to mark the end
points of the line. The pegs are made of hard wood of 25 mm × 25 mm
section, 150 mm long
Laths
Laths are 0.5 to 1.0 m long sticks of soft wood. They are sharpened at
one end and are painted with white or light colours. They are used as
intermediate points while ranging or while crossing depressions.
Whites
Whites are the pieces of sharpened thick sticks cut from the nearest
place in the field. One end of the stick is sharpened and the other end is
split. White papers are inserted in the split to improve the visibility.
Whites are also used for the same purpose as laths.
Instruments for Marking Stations or used in Chaining

Pegs, Whites and laths

Instruments for Marking Stations or used in Chaining

Arrows
Instruments for Marking Stations or used in Chaining
Plumb Bob
A typical plumb bob is shown in Figure In measuring horizontal distances
along sloping ground plumb bobs are used to transfer the position to
ground. They are also used to check the verticality of ranging poles.