(LONGITUDINAL SECTIONING & CROSS SECTIONING)
Objective:
To determine the configuration of ground survey by conducting – Longitudinal & Cross Sectional
leveling.
Equipment:
Dumpy Level, Levelling Staff, Tripod, Staff bubble, Chain or Tape.
Procedure:
A) Profile Leveling
Profile leveling is one of the most common applications of running levels and vertical distance
measurement for the surveyor. The results are plotted in the form of a profile, which is a drawing
that shows a vertical cross section. Profiles are required for the design and construction of roads,
curbs, sidewalks, pipelines etc. In short, profile leveling refers to the process of determining the
elevation of points on the ground at mostly uniform intervals along continuous line.
Field Procedure:
Profile leveling is essentially the same as benchmark leveling, with one basic difference. At each
instrument position, where an HI is determined by a back sight rod reading on a benchmark or
turning point, several additional foresight readings may be taken on as many points as desired.
These additional readings are called rod shots, and the elevation of all those points is determined
by subtracting the rod shot from the HI at that instrument location. (See figure 1)
Plotting the Profile:
The profile drawing is basically a graph of elevations, plotted on the vertical axis, as a function of
stations, plotted on horizontal axis. A gridded sheet called profile paper is used to plot the profile
data from the field book. All profile drawings must have a proper title block, and both axes must
be fully labeled with stations and elevations. The elevation or elevation scale is typically
exaggerated; that is, it is 'stretched' in comparison to the horizontal scale. For example the vertical
scale might be 10 times larger. The horizontal line at the bottom of the profile does not necessary
have to start at zero elevation.
Figure 1: Profile leveling
B) Cross-Section Leveling
The term cross-section generally refers to a relatively short profile view of the ground, which is
drawn perpendicular to the route centerline of a highway or other types of linear projects. Cross-
sectional drawings are particularly important for estimating the earthwork volumes needed to
construct a roadway; they show the existing ground elevations, the proposed cut or fill side slopes,
and the grade elevation for the road base.
There is really no difference in procedure between profile and cross-section leveling except for the
form of the field notes. Cross-section rod shots are usually taken during the route profile survey
from the same instrument positions used to take rod shots along the centerline. Cross-section data
are obtained at the same locations along the route that are used for the profile rod-shot stations.
(See figure 2 a. and b).
Figure 2:
(a) Top view showing the route center line and the line for cross-section leveling at station 1+ 50.
(b) The cross-section showing ground elevations at points left and right of the center line.
Result: The longitudinal sectioning & cross sectioning is carried out and the profile and cross
sections are plotted on Graph sheet.
