Lesson 2 - Chain Surveying

Linear or chain surveying
A. Arko-Adjei
Department of Geomatic Engineering
KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana
[email protected]
September 2012
Course content
Unit 1: Introduction to surveying
Unit 2: Linear or chain surveying
Unit 3: Measurement of directions and angles
Unit 4: Traversing
Unit 5: Levelling and contouring
Unit 6: Methods of measuring areas
Unit 7: Introduction to GPS technology
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of this Unit students should be able to:
Explain the main principle of chain surveying;

Describe the various instruments used in linear
measurements and how they are used
Explain the procedures for carrying out chain surveying;
Identify various sources of error in chain surveying and how
to remove them in observation;
Apply geometry to the problem of obstacles in chain
surveying
Use chain surveying techniques to prepare to plan of a small
area around your residence, showing your house, the nearby
street(s) and any other artificial, or natural, objects in the
area in their correct relative positions.
Unit overview
This unit provides an overview of surveying

Principle of chain surveying
Equipment in chain surveying
Chain surveying procedures
Linear measurements
Step chaining
Errors in chain surveying and corrections
Scale (standardization)
Sag
Tension
Temperature
Chain surveying
Most elementary method of surveying
Process of surveying an area relies on only linear
measurements
Accurate determination of length
No angles are measured
Suitable for the surveys of comparatively small and
open areas
Principle: Area to be surveyed is divided into wellconditioned triangles
Principle
Framework consists of simple geometrical figures,
notably the triangle and braced or centre-point
quadrilaterals for easy and accurate plotting
Eg. To plot triangle ABD, BD is drawn to scale, the point
A can be fixed by the method of intersecting arcs, using
the lengths BD and DA
Three special chain lines are important for every chain
surveys:
Baseline
Subsidiary line
Check lines
6
Baseline
The longest chain line in chain surveying is called the
base line.
Most important line and the whole framework of
triangles is based on this line
Baseline should be very accurately measured.
It should be passing through the centre of the area
(see BD in Figure 8).
Subsidiary lines or tie lines

When numbers of features are to be located and they
are far away from the main chain lines, then subsidiary
or tie lines are used to locate such details.
Tie lines are obtained by joining two fixed points on
the main survey line.
Tie lines can also be used as check lines to check the
accuracy of measurements and plotting.
Check lines
Check lines are also called as proof lines.
The mistakes of the measurement and plotting can be
easily checked with the help of check lines.
A check line is a line joining the apex of a triangle to
some fixed points on the opposite side, or a line
joining some fixed points on any two sides of a triangle.
Every triangle should be provided with a check line.
Frameworkofchainsurveying
10
Basic chain surveying equipment
Equipment required for

chain surveying are very
simple: Chains or tapes Steel,
synthetic or linen tapes
for measuring distance
Ranging pole or rod -
ranging a straight line

Chaining pins
11
Procedure in chain surveying
Basic idea:
Proceed across countryside by measuring with a chain
or similar piece of equipment and record distances to
features of interest
Location of features that does not lie on the line of
measurement are picked up in a number of ways:
Tie lines
Offsets
12
Procedure in chain surveying
Reconnaissance
Survey requires good and effective planning to avoid
delays, waste, and hence unnecessary expenditure.
Surveyor should have a thorough knowledge of the
ground to be surveyed and its principle features
Walking over the whole area and thoroughly examining
the ground.
Note the various boundaries, the positions of buildings,
roads, streams, etc., various difficulties that may
intervene the proposed chain lines and the suitable
positions of the stations
Select of station marks
Prepare a recce diagram
13
Procedure in chain surveying -reconnaissance
In examining the ground for a good arrangement of

survey lines, the surveyor should endeavour to meet
the following requirements.
Working form the whole to the part:

Formation of well-conditioned triangles
Good measuring conditions
Permanency of the stations
Referencing the stations
Obstacles to measuring
Intervisibility of stations
Check measurements or tie lines
14
Working form the whole to the part

Fundamental rule of surveying
Requires the area to be surveyed treated as a whole and
is then broken down into several triangles rather than the
reverse
Formation of well-conditioned triangles

The triangles forming the framework should be well
conditioned
Angles making up triangle should not be less than 30 nor
greater than 120
15
Good measuring conditions

Lines of the survey must be accurately measured
Select lines, which are going to be physically easy to
measure
Permanency of stations
Stations may have to be used at some future date and
therefore have to be of a permanent nature.
Stations must be sited in places, which do not
inconvenience anyone
16
Referencing the stations

Placing stations closer to
permanent objects
Measure distances from
station to permanent
objects so that the stations
can easily be located or refixed
17
Avoid obstacles to measuring

No matter how well the above factors have been
considered, some survey lines may still cross object like
a pond, river, or railway cutting, which will present a
considerable problem to ranging and chaining.
Where such problems can be overcome they should be
avoided if at all possible.
18

Intervisibility of stations
Necessary to be able to see the other two stations of

any triangle from another station
Check measurements or tie lines
Each portion of the survey should be proved with a

check, or proof line(s).
19
Other factors that need to be considered during

reconnaissance include:
Survey lines should be as few as practicable, and such
that the framework can be plotted.
If possible, a long line should run across the middle of
the area to form a backbone on which to hang the
triangles.
Generally, the lines should be arranged such that they are
very close to the detail).
Offsets should be short, particularly for locating
important details (perpendicular offsets should not
exceed 10m).
Lines should lie over the more level ground
20
10
Procedure in chain surveying -detailing

Chainages and offsets
In order to fix any point of detail, we must have at least

two measurements: chainage and offset.
Chainages are positions selected along the survey line
to pick a detail are distances measured from the
beginning of the chain line to a point in question.
Offsets are short distances, measured to details from
positions along the main survey lines
Measurement to details are carried out by two methods
21
Procedure in chain surveying - detailing
Perpendicular Offsets
An imaginary line is dropped from point of detail to
the survey line.
Wherever possible, the offsets are measured at right
or perpendiculars to the survey lines, the right angle
being judged by the eye.
As a general rule, perpendicular offsets should not
exceed 10metres from the detail.
When the detail is more than this distance from the
survey line, the tie line method should be used.
22
11
Triangular offsets or Tie lines

Run from points on the chain line whose chainage
(distance along the line, also called running distance (RD)
in some circumstances) is known.
The length of the tie lines are measured, and the side of
the line on which they were made is established.
For plotting, you need a pair of compasses, or suitable
means to convert the data to an offset.
23
Triangular offset or Tie lines

The accuracy of the tie line method depends on the
value of the receiving angle.
The nearer the value is between 45 and 75, the more
accurate is the fixation of the detail
The angle need not to be measured but it should not be
less than 30 or greater that 120
24
12
tie line
offset
11.2
4.0
0.0
12.3
4.3
survey line
chainages
6.3
10.0
a) Perpendicular offsets
12.8
26.3
b) Perpendicular offsets
Fig. 2.5 Perpendicular and Triangular offsets

25
Booking field note
26
13
Plotting details
Drawing instruments and materials required
Drawing table (size 2.4 1.2m)

A drawing board of good quality (900 850m)
The square
Set squares required for drawing parallel and
perpendicular lines.
An instrument box containing a pair of dividers, protractor,
compasses and prickers
French curves required for drawing irregular and curved
A standard straight edge of 2m long for drawing long lines.
Scale rules
Plotting paper
Ink
27
Plotting details
Plotting procedure of chain survey

1. Choose suitable scale
2. Draw boundary line leaving a suitable margin all around.
3. The base line which is the mainline in the survey should
be suitably located in the map to accommodate the
whole plotting easily in the drawing sheet. The base line
should be most accurately plotted.
4. Mark intermediate stations on the base line and the
frame work of triangles is completed.
5. Measure and mark chainage lengths along the chain lines
for various offsets and points. From these points
perpendiculars of suitable lengths are drawn to locate
the offsets (use set squares to ensure perpendicularity).
28
14
Plotting details
Plotting procedure of chain survey

6. Join the offset points as you plot them, especially when
many details have to be shown.
7. For features with straight edges, use set squares to
ensure that they are correct geometrically. For roads
and railways, use the French and Railway curves to draw
smooth lines to join the points where curves occur.
8. The accuracy of plotted frame work may be checked by
means of check and tie lines.
9. Use conventional symbols.
10. The title of the survey, name of the surveyor, date etc.,
should be written at the right hand bottom corner.
11. Draw scale below the map.
29
Linear measurements
Linear measurement is the basis of chain surveying.
Between any two given points an innumerable number
of line curved, jointed or otherwise - may be drawn
The most unique is the shortest one joining them, this is the straight line.
30
15
Linear measurements
Line ranging
If the chain is long or end station is not clearly visible, it
is necessary to place intermediate ranging poles to
maintain the direction.
The operation of establishing intermediate points on a
straight line between the terminal points is known as
ranging
Ranging should be done prior to chaining.
31
Linear measurements
Line ranging
Ranging is of two kinds: direct and indirect ranging.
Line ranging requires a minimum of two people, a
forward person (a leader) and a rear person.
The forward person is lined in by the rear person.
Directions are given by vocal or hand signals.
When the end points are visible from one another,
intermediate ranging rods are placed in line by direct
observation, the process is known as direct ranging.
32
16
Linear measurements
Line ranging
Fix ranging poles at each end of the line, say A and B
Let the leader (s) move to the required distance to point
C or somewhere around C.
Standing close to the ranging pole at A, look along it to
the pole at B (if you see the pole at B as well as that at C,
it means C is not in line with A and B).
Signal the leader to move his pole a little at time and in
the appropriate direction until his pole just blocks your
view of the pole at B, that is until the two end poles and
the middle one are in line
c
A
B
33
Linear measurements
Chaining or Taping - Procedure

Lining in
Applying tension
Marking tape lengths
Reading the tape
Recording the distance
34
17
Linear measurements horizontal distance
Slope measurement
35
Linear measurements
Step Chaining
36
18
Errors in chain surveying
All measurements made with tapes and chains are

subject to some form of error, no matter how carefully
any line is measured
The errors may be due to:

Instrumental errors
Natural errors
Personal errors
37
Instrument errors
A tape may be faulty due to a defect in its manufacturing
or from kinking
These errors are constant for a particular measurement
and can be corrected
Natural errors
The actual horizontal distance between the ends of the
tape can vary due to the effects of:
temperature
elongation due to tension, and
sagging
38
19
Personal errors
Errors will arise from carelessness by the survey crew:
poor alignment
tape not horizontal
improper plumbing
faulty reading of the tape
Wrong manipulation of equipment
39
Scale error (standardization)

Tape manufacturers do not guarantee steel tapes to be
exactly correct
The true length of any steel tape must be obtained by
comparing it to a standard tape or distance
These are errors which will always be of the same sign for
any tape or for any given set of circumstances
Chains before used for surveys must be compared to
some standard length usually a tape solely used for this
purpose
40
20
41
Standardization
Worked Example
A line AB is measured using a tape of nominal length
20m and is found to be 65.32m long. When checked
against a standard, the tape was found to be 50mm too
long. Calculate the correction to the length AB and the
correct length AB
42
21
Standardization
Solution
Nominal length (l) = 20.00m
No. of tape length in the line AB = 65.32/20.00
= 3.266
Actual length of tape (L) = 20.05
Correction (c) = (20.05 - 20.00)X 3.266
= +0.16m
Correct length AB = (65.32 + 0.16) = 65.48
43
Alternatively
l l'
Lf
l
20.05 20.00 65.32
20.00
0.16m
CL
Corrected length = 65.32+0.16m

= 65.48
44
22

Temperature
The phenomenon of thermal expansion plays an

important role in many engineering applications
Tapes will record their true length at the temperatures
they are calibrated
Where very accurate measurements are required, the
tape temperature must be obtained by thermometer
and the correction to the measured length obtained
from formula
Chains contract and expand with temperature variation
and are therefore calibrated at a standard temperature
of 20 C
45
Temperature
We need to establish a correction (CT) that can account
for the change in length of a steel tape due to the
influence of temperature
CT T TS L f
where
= the coefficient of linear thermal expansion of the
tape material
T = mean temperature of the tape in the field (C)
TS = the temperature at which the tape was standardized
(C)
Lf = the measured length obtained in the field (m)
46
23
Slope
These errors is always cumulative and always have
positive sign
The effect of omitting to correct for slope varies with the
angle of inclination over a length of 20 meters
1 degree = 4 mm per 20 m tape

47
Tension
Tapes are supplied at standard length when a tension of
44.5 newtons is applied to strengthen them
Where excess tension is applied the tape stretches to
certain extent
In practice it is almost impossible to judge when standard
tension is applied
For accurate measurements spring balance must be used
48
24
Tension
When a steel tape is pulled with a tension greater than
its standard value, it elongates in an elastic manner
The elongation length (CP) caused by a tensile force can
be calculated using:
CP
P PS L f
AE
where
P = tensile force applied on the tape in the field (N)
PS= tensile force at which the tape was standardized (N)
A = cross sectional area of the tape (m2)
E = Youngs modulus of elasticity (2.068 x 1011 N/m2)
49
Sagging
A steel tape not fully supported along its entire length
will sag, no matter how large the tensile force applied.
As a result of sagging, your measured length will be too
large.
The sag correction (CS) is given by:
CS
w2 L3f
24P 2
where
w = weight of the steel tape per unit length (N/m)
P = tensile force applied on the tape (N)
50
25
Sagging
Sag correction = - w2 L3 cos2

24 P 2
where
= the angle of slope between tape supports
w = the weight of the tape per metre length (N/m)
P = the tension applied to the tape (N)
L = Length of the tape
51
Final Length
The true length can be determined by incorporating a series
of corrections as shown below:
LT L f CS C P CT CL
where
LT = true length (m)
Lf = length measured in the field (m)
CS= correction for sagging (m)
CP= correction for elongation (m)
CT= correction for thermal expansion (m)
CL= correction for scale (m)
52
26
Worked example II
A 30 meter steel tape, standardized at 20 C using a
tensile force of 70 N. Measured against a standard tape,
the tested tape had a length of 29.998 m. The 30 m
tape has a weight of 1.69 N/m and a cross sectional
area of 1.29 mm2.
Problem: A field measurement of 29.663 was found at
a temperature of 30 C using a tensile force of 50
N. Find the actual or true length.
53

We need to compute our correction factors.
Temperature correction:
CT T TS L f
1.17 10 5 30 20 29.663
0.0035 m
Our field measurement was in error by 3.5 mm due to
thermal expansion of the steel tape. We need to add
this value to our field measurement.
54
27
Sag correction
CS
w 2 L3f
24 P 2
0 . 196 29 . 663
2
24 50
0 . 0167 m
2
Due to the sag in the tape, the reading was in error by

16.7 mm.
55
Tension correction
CP
P PS L f
AE
50 7029.663
1.69 106 2.068 1011
0.0017 m
The tension correction due to the tensile force on the
steel tape was determined to be -1.7 mm.
56
28
Scale correction:
l l'
Lf
l
29.998 30.000 29.663
30.000
0.002 m
CL
Our scale correction was found to be 2 mm.
57

Finally, we can now compute the true length as:
LT L f CS CP CT CL
29.663 0.0167 0.0017 0.0035 0.0020
29.646m
In summary, although we measured a length of
29.663 meters in the field, after applying all the
appropriate corrections, we established a true length of
29.646 meters, a difference of 17 mm.
Note: for this example, the sag correction was the most
significant.
58
29
Obstructions in measuring (Obstacles)

Despite the precautions taken during reconnaissance to
site the survey stations in suitable positions, it might be
impossible to avoid some obstacle to measuring.
Such obstacles might well be in the form of a wood,
small hill, change of gradient, river, railway cutting, or
even a building.
They can generally be overcome by using 'field
geometry' methods.
An obstacle or obstruction is any object, which
obstructs the direct measurement or ranging of any
line.
They can be divided into several groups
59
Obstructions in measuring
Obstruction to ranging only

Where a survey line has been established and both ends
are not intervisible, a straight line must be established
between the points before measurements can be
conducted.
In the Figure below, survey stations A and D are not
intervisible due to the intervening high ground.
60
30
Fig. 2.5 Obstacle to Ranging

61

Inter poles B1 and C1 are placed between A and D, with no
attempt being made to align them.
The only condition governing their positions is that C1 must
be visible from A and B1 visible from D.
On the line C1A, pole B1 is ranged to its new position B2,
forming a straight line AB2C1.
On the line B2D, pole C1 is ranged to C2. B2 is then ranged
into new position B3, on line AC2, and the procedure is
repeated until A, B, C, and D form a straight line.
62
31
Obstruction that can be measured round

Figure 2.6 shows a pond, which lies directly on the line of
survey stations X and Y, making measurement of that part
of survey line over the pond impossible.
At a point A near the pond, a right angle is set out to
point B and the distance AB is measured.
The distance from point B to point C on the survey line
is also measured.
By Pythagoras theorem, the inaccessible distance AC is
calculated.
63
Obstruction that can be measured round
a)
b)
c)
AC = AB2 + BC2
AD = BC
CA = BA
DE BD
CA = BA * DE = 2DE
BD
since BA = 2BD
Fig. 2.6 Obstacle to Measurement
64
32
Obstruction cannot be measured around

The obstructions envisaged under this heading are rivers
and railway cuttings exceeding one chain in width.
At point A, set a right angle to B
Measure distance AB bisected at C
At B set another right angle towards D
B
C
X
Y
E
A
Fig. 2.7 Obstruction that cannot be measured round
65
Obstruction cannot be measured around
Produce EC to intercept BD at D
Lines BD and AE are parallel and triangles AEC and BCD
are congruent.
The inaccessible distance AE therefore equals BD
B
C
X
Y
E
Fig. 2.7 Obstruction that cannot be measured round

66
33
Obstruction to measuring and ranging
Despite taking every precaution to avoid obstacles, the

occasion arises where a building or wood lies on the
survey line and the line can neither be measured nor
ranged.
Figures 2.8 a) and 2.8 b) shows a typical situation
67
F
X
(a)
D
B
river
A
(b)
Fig. 2.8 Obstruction to measuring and ranging
68
34

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Linear or chain surveying

Explain the main principle of chain surveying;

This unit provides an overview of surveying

Principle of chain surveying

Principle of chain surveying

Principle of chain surveying

Principle of chain surveying

Subsidiary lines or tie lines

Principle of chain surveying

Principle of chain surveying

Basic chain surveying equipment

Equipment required for

ranging a straight line

Procedure in chain surveying

Procedure in chain surveying

Procedure in chain surveying -reconnaissance

In examining the ground for a good arrangement of

Working form the whole to the part:

Procedure in chain surveying -reconnaissance

Working form the whole to the part

Formation of well-conditioned triangles

Procedure in chain surveying -reconnaissance

Good measuring conditions

Procedure in chain surveying -reconnaissance

Referencing the stations

Procedure in chain surveying -reconnaissance

Avoid obstacles to measuring

Procedure in chain surveying -reconnaissance

Necessary to be able to see the other two stations of

Check measurements or tie lines

Each portion of the survey should be proved with a

Procedure in chain surveying -reconnaissance

Other factors that need to be considered during

Procedure in chain surveying -detailing

In order to fix any point of detail, we must have at least

Procedure in chain surveying - detailing

Procedure in chain surveying - detailing

Triangular offsets or Tie lines

Procedure in chain surveying - detailing

Triangular offset or Tie lines

Procedure in chain surveying - detailing

Fig. 2.5 Perpendicular and Triangular offsets

Booking field note

Drawing instruments and materials required

Drawing table (size 2.4 1.2m)

Plotting procedure of chain survey

Plotting procedure of chain survey

Ranging should be done prior to chaining.

Chaining or Taping - Procedure

Linear measurements horizontal distance

Errors in chain surveying

All measurements made with tapes and chains are

The errors may be due to:

Errors in chain surveying

Errors in chain surveying

Errors in chain surveying

Scale error (standardization)

Errors in chain surveying

Errors in chain surveying