Area & Volume

Why do we need areas?

• building development and land utilization
projects, land transactions, architectural design,
and the preparation of bills for earthwork
quantities.
• calculation of volumes is usually required.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 1
 Factors affecting choice of methods

• the shape of the area

• the accuracy required
• For geometric figures:
i.e. those bounded by linear or curvilinear lines,
– done using established arithmetic formulae.
– results obtained are precise solutions except for minor
rounding errors in some cases.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 2
 Useful Formulae & Unit of measurement

• Useful Formulae:
– area =  s (s-a)(s-b)(s-c) ;
where s = 0.5 (a+b+c)
– area = 0.5 (a b sin C)
– area = (a2 sin B sin C) / (2 sin A)
• Unit of measurement of an area :
– square metre, m2.
• For large areas, use hectares (ha)
– 1 ha = 10,000 m2.
Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation
Area & Volume : 3
a) Coordinates Method
If northings and eastings of the figure is known…..

• Area enclosed by the

polygon ABCDE =
areas of trapezia PABQ +
QBCR + RCDT -
area of trapezia SEDT +
PAES

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 4
If northings and eastings of the figure is known…..

• Areas of trapezia PABQ

= ½ (NA + NB) (EB - EA)
+
• Areas of trapezia QBCR
= ½ (NB + NC) (EC - EB)
+
• Areas of trapezia RCDT
= ½ (NC + ND) (ED - EC)

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 5
If northings and eastings of the figure is known…..

• Areas of trapezia SEDT =

½ (NE + ND) (ED - EE)
+
• Areas of trapezia PAES =
½ (NA + NE) (EE - EA)

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 6
 If northings and eastings of the figure is known…..

Area enclosed = Area enclosed =

½ (NA + NB) (EB - EA) + ½ (NA + NB) (EB - EA) +
½ (NB + NC) (EC - EB) + ½ (NB + NC) (EC - EB) +
½ (NC + ND) (ED - EC) - ½ (NC + ND) (ED - EC) +
½ (NE + ND) (ED - EE) - ½ (ND + NE) (EE - ED) +
½ (NA + NE) (EE - EA) ½ (NE + NA) (EA - EE)

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 7
 If northings and eastings of the figure is known…..

In summary:
Area enclosed =
½  [ (sum of successive pairs of northings)
* (difference between successive pairs of
eastings)]

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 8
Example:
Calculate the area enclosed by the quadrilateral
ABCD, the coordinates of which are as follows:

Station Eastings (m) Northings (m)

A 420 1296
B 898 1452
C 1026 1064
D 688 646
Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation
Area & Volume : 9
Solution:
Station Eastings (m) Northings (m) Sum of N Diff. of E Product
A 420 1296 2748 478 1313544
B 898 1452 2516 128 322048
C 1026 1064 1710 -338 -577980
D 688 646 1942 -268 -520456
A 420 1296
537156

Area = 537 156 * ½ = 268578 m2

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 10
 b) The Cross Coordinates method
• requires less memorization of the equation than
the previous method
Area enclosed = ½ (NA + NB) (EB - EA) +
½ (NB + NC) (EC - EB) + ½ (NC + ND) (ED - EC)
+ ½ (ND + NE) (EE - ED) + ½ (NE + NA) (EA
- EE)
2 x Area enclosed =
(NAEB + NBEC + NC ED + ND EE + NE EA) -
(NB EA + NCEB + NDEC + NEED + NAEE)
Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation
Area & Volume : 11
Expressing the equation diagrammatically
Double area = (product of red lines) -
(product of green lines)
Station Eastings Northings
A EA NA
B EB NB
C EC NC
D ED ND
E EE NE
A EA NA
Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation
Area & Volume : 12
Example:
Station Eastings (m) Northings (m) Product of RED Line Product of GREEN Line
A 420 1296 1163808
B 898 1452 1489752 609840
C 1026 1064 732032 955472
D 688 646 271320 662796
A 420 1296 891648
3656912 3119756

Area = ½ (3656912 - 3119756) = 268578 m2

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 13
 Areas of Irregular Figures
• based on certain assumptions which would lead
to approximate evaluations.
• The following methods are generally used:
– division of the irregular figure into regular geometric
shapes (give and take);
– Method of Squares (counting grids)
– the trapezoidal rule;
– Simpson's rule; and
– the use of a planimeter.
Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation
Area & Volume : 14
Division of an Irregular Figure into Geometric
Shapes

• by constructing regular
geometric shapes
• triangles are often used as
they can better fitted to
the areas of irregular
shapes
• areas can then be
calculated.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 15
Division of an Irregular Figure into Geometric
Shapes

• the rule of give and take

must be adopted in ruling
the lines of the regular
geometric shapes
• the areas excluded are
approximately equal to
the area included.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 16
Division of an Irregular Figure into Geometric
Shapes

• area of each regular

geometric shape is
calculated accordingly
• sum of these areas is the
total area required.
• area of irregular shape
= areas of (I + II + III +
IV) etc.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 17
Method of Squares
• area is divided up into
squares of equal size
• the length of side of each
square being chosen
according to the scale of
the map, e.g. scale
1:1000, use squares with
sides of 10mm as each
square = 100m2

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 18
Method of Squares
• squares are then counted,
portions of whole squares
being aggregated as
closely as practicable
• the smaller the size of
square, the greater the
accuracy
• use to give approx.
results or as a check on
other methods
Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation
Area & Volume : 19
 The Trapezoidal Rule
• involves the use of ordinates, which are
perpendiculars to a line drawn axially across the
figure.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 20
 The Trapezoidal Rule
• the rule assumes that the boundary of the figure
between the ordinates is a short straight line
• the figure is divided into a series of trapezoids.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 21
 The Trapezoidal Rule
• area of 1st trapezoid = 0.5d (O1 + O2)
• area of 2nd trapezoid = 0.5d (O2 + O3)
• Calculate all other trapezoids in a similar way.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 22
 The Trapezoidal Rule
• To sum up,
– area between O1 and O8
= 0.5d (O1 + O8 + 2(O2 + O3 + …. + O7)
• 2 small areas at the two ends of the figure have
been left out in our calculation.
• they are determined by the formula for
calculating the area of a triangle as they resemble
the shape of a triangle.
Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation
Area & Volume : 23
 The Trapezoidal Rule
• in other cases, when the shape of the figure is not
tapering towards the end of the axis, the end
areas can be treated as small trapezoids and use
the appropriate formula to calculate the areas.
• Generalized formula :
0.5d (O1 + On + 2(O2 + O3 + …. + On-1))
+ end areas (if any)
where n = the number of ordinates
Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation
Area & Volume : 24
 The Trapezoidal Rule
• accuracy of this method depends on the spacing
of the ordinates.
• improved accuracy can be expected for small
intervals because this will lead to a better
approximation between actual and assumed
boundaries of the trapezoids.
• however, more works will be involved.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 25
Simpson's Rule
• also involves the use of
ordinates.
• different assumptions are
used with regard to the
figure boundary.
• Assumptions:
– short boundary between
the ordinates is a
parabolic curve instead
of a straight line as in the
trapezoidal rule.
Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation
Area & Volume : 26
 Simpson's Rule
• area of the parabolic segment = (2/3)(2d p)
d = interval between the ordinates
p = mid-ordinate of the segment - the difference of the
entire mid-ordinate O2 and the mean of the two end
ordinates of the two sections :
p = O2 - 0.5(O1 + O3)
• Generalized Formula:
= (d/3)(O1 + On + 4(even offsets) + 2 (odd
offsets)
n must be odd number
Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation
Area & Volume : 27
 Simpson's Rule - Note:
• requires an even number of divisions of the
areas, i.e. the total number of the ordinates must
be odd number
• similar to the trapezoidal rule, it is necessary to
leave out small areas at both ends of the figure
• left out end areas are calculated separately and
then added to the main area.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 28
Digital Planimeter
• a mechanical device
which is most commonly
used for determining
areas of irregular figures
• measuring device can be
analog, with measuring
dial and vernier, or
digital.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 29
 VOLUMES - why?
• building and civil engineering development
projects - determine quantities of earthwork for
excavation, removal, transportation and the
dumping of earth.
• several methods are available.
• based on certain assumptions since earthwork
volumes are highly irregular.
• computed volumes are approximate values
only. Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation
Area & Volume : 30
 Methods
• computing volumes from:
– cross sections;
– contours; and
– spot heights.
• Unit of measurement of the volume = cubic
metre, m3.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 31
 Determination of Volumes from Cross-Sections

• a cross section represents the existing ground

profile normal to a fixed direction at a selected
point.
• proposed formation level (below or above the
cross section) may be superimposed on this
profile
•  define the cross-sectional area required.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 32
 Determination of Volumes from Cross-Sections

• A1 and A2 are cross-sectional areas formed by

the existing ground surface IJ, KL and the two
formation levels, respectively.
• Distance between these two sections is d.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 33
 Determination of Volumes from Cross-Sections

• volume of earthwork between the cross sections

=
0.5d (A1 + A2)
• this is the basis of the end area method of
volume determination
• major weakness:
– assume ground surface IJKL is a regular surface.
– in reality, this is seldom the case.
Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation
Area & Volume : 34
Determination of Volumes from Cross-Sections

Method 1 : The End Area

Method
• instead of using 2 end
cross-sectional areas, any
number of cross sections
are used.
• Generalized formula :
0.5d (A1 + An + 2(A2 +
A3 + …. + An-1))
Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation
Area & Volume : 35
 Determination of Volumes from Cross-Sections

Method 2: The Prismoidal Formula

• sometimes known as Simpson's rule for volumes
as this formula takes exactly the same form as
Simpson's rule for the determination of areas.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 36
 The Prismoidal Formula
• volume of earthwork is assumed to take the form
of a prismoid,
– a solid with 2 plane parallel faces joined by a series
of plane surfaces which are not necessarily parallel.
• prismoid may be considered as the combination
of a series of rectangular prisms, wedges and
pyramids, the volumes of which can be
considered in turn.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 37
 The Prismoidal Formula
• Generalized Formula:
= (d/3)(A1 + An + 4(even areas)
+ 2 (odd areas)
where n = number of equally spaced cross
sections; must be odd number

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 38
 Determination of Volumes from Contours

• possible to compute volumes directly from a plan

contains contours.
• method used is simply the end area method or the
prismoidal formula.
• cross-sectional areas being replaced by the areas
contained within the successive contours and the
distance between the cross sections by the
contour interval.
Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation
Area & Volume : 39
 Determination of Volumes from Contours

• most convenient way of calculating the areas

enclosed by the contours is with the use of the
planimeter.

Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation

Area & Volume : 40
References
• Tang, P.K. & A.K.W. Yeung (1987) Site Surveying III, vol. 1, Hong Kong
Polytechnic, Hong Kong.
• Allan, A.L. (1997). Practical Surveying and Computations. 2nd Ed.,
Butterworth- Heineman
• Bannister, A., Raymond, S. and Baker, R. (1998). Surveying. 7th Ed.,
Longman.
• Irvine, W. & Maclennan F. (2006). Surveying for Construction. 5th Ed.,
McGraw Hill.
• Kavanagh, Barry F. & Bird, Glenn S.J. (2000). Surveying Principles and
Applications. 5th Ed., Prentice Hall.
• Leick, A. (2004). GPS Satellite Surveying. 3rd Ed., John Wiley & Sons.
• Petrie, G. & Kennie, T.J. (1994). Engineering Surveying Technology. J.
Wiley & Sons.
• Schofield W. & Breach M. (2007). Engineering Surveying. 6th Ed.,
Butterworth- Heinemann.
Sha Tin IVE Engineering CON4607 Engineering Survey and Instrumentation
Area & Volume : 41