Vertical Curve

Part III
Vertical alignment
Vertical Curves
 Vertical curve is a parabolic curve that is applied to make a smooth
and safe transition between two grades on a roadway roadway or a
highway highway.
 The design involves the selection of suitable GRADES for the tangent
sections and the design of the VERTICAL CURVES.
 When are a vertical curves applied ?
 At an intersection of two slopes on a highway or a roadway
 To provide a safe and comfort ride for vehicles on a roadway.

Component of vertical curve
 when aligning a highway the gradient is decided for designing the vertical
curves.
 Very steep gradients are avoided as it is difficult to climb and also the
vehicle operation cost increases
 When fixing gradient, the following factors should be considered:-
 Construction Cost.
 Vehicle Operation Cost.
 Maximum and minimum gradients.

 Sight distance criteria.
 Earth work balance
 highway safety.
 topography/terrain.
 bridges and drainage structures.

 high water levels.
 urban/rural location
Types of vertical curves
 Vertical curves can be classified in to the
following two groups
1. Crest /Summit/ Vertical curves
2. Valley/sag/ Vertical curves

Cont...d
 The sign convention applied is that gradients which rise in the

direction of increasing chainage are considered positive and
gradients which fall in the direction of increasing chainage are
considered negative.
 A crest curve is defined as one in which the algebraic difference
between the intersecting gradients is positive.
 A sag is defined as one in which the algebraic difference between
the intersecting gradients is negative.
Vertical Curve Formula
 Vertical curves are normally parabolas centered
about the point of intersection(P.I.) of the vertical
tangents they join.
 Vertical curve are expressed by:
Where:
y=elevation of a point on the curve
y0=elevation of the beginning of the vertical curve (BVC)
g1=grade just prior to the curve
X=horizontal distance from the BVC to the point on the curve
r=rate of change of grade
Cot…d
 The rate of change of grade is given by:
 Where G2 is the grade just beyond the end of the vertical curve
(EVC).
 Note that r (and hence the term rx²/2 ) will be positive for sags and
negative for crests.
 L is the length of the vertical curve measured in a horizontal plane
(not along curve center line, like horizontal curves).
A=algebric difference b/n two grades(%).

X=horizontal distance from the start of the curve
Y=vertical distance from curve to tangent.
Examples
1.A -2.5% grade is connected to a1.0% grade by means of a 180 m
vertical curve. The P.I. station is 100+000 and the P.I. elevation is
100.0 m above sea level. What are the station and elevation of the
lowest point on the vertical curve?
2.An equal tangent vertical curve is to be constructed between
grades of -2% initial and 1% final. The PVI is at station 3+352 and
at elevation 128m. Due to a street crossing the roadway the
elevation of the road way at station 3+413 must be at 129 m.
calculate
a. Length of the vertical curve
b. The station and elevation of begiging of the curve .
c. The station and elevation of ending of the curve
d. Station and elevation of the lowest point on the curve
Minimum length of crest curve
 In most cases, sight distance or appearance standards will

govern for highways.
 The equations used to calculate minimum lengths of vertical
curves based on sight distance depend on whether the sight
distance is greater than or less than the vertical curve length.
 For crest vertical curves, the minimum length depends on the
sight distance, the height of the driver’s eye, and the height of
the object to be seen over the crest of the curve.
 The minimum length is given by the formula:
 Two different factors are important for crest curves
 The driver’s eye height in vehicle, h1
 Height of a roadway obstruction object,h2
 For stopping sight distance, the height of object is normally
taken to be 0.6 m. For passing sight distance, the height of
object is taken to be 1.300 m. Height of eye is assumed to be
1.05 m.
 For passing sight distance:
Minimum length of the sag vertical curve
 For sag vertical curves, stopping sight distance is based on the
distance illuminated by the headlights at night.
 Design standards are based on an assumed head light height of
0.6 m and an upward divergence of the headlight beam of 1°.
 . As in the case of crest vertical curves, the formulas for
minimum length of vertical curve depend on whether the length
of the curve is greater or less than the sight distance.
 For sag vertical curves, the formula is:
Minimum length of sag vertical curve
For comfort criteria: The comfort effect of change in
vertical direction is greater on sag than on crest vertical curves
because gravitational and centrifugal forces are combining rather
than opposing forces.
For appearance criteria: some use formerly was made of a

rule-of-thumb for length of sag vertical curves wherein the
minimum value of L is 30A
Examples
1. Determine the minimum length of a crest vertical curve between

a +0.5% grade and a -1.0% grade for a road with a 100-km/h
design speed. The vertical curve must provide 300-m stopping
sight distance.
2. Determine the minimum length of a sag vertical curve between a
-0.7% grade and a +0.5% grade for a road with a 110 km/h
design speed. The vertical curve must provide 220 m stopping
sight distance.
3. A highway is being designed to ERA guidelines with a 120KPH
design speed, and at one section an equal tangent vertical curve
must be designed to connect grades of +1% and -2%. Determine
the minimum length of curve necessary to meet stopping sight
distance requirement. Assume the side coefficient of friction
is .28
K-Values
Phasing of horizontal and vertical curve
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Part III

 When are a vertical curves applied ?

 At an intersection of two slopes on a highway or a roadway

 To provide a safe and comfort ride for vehicles on a roadway.

 Vehicle Operation Cost.

 Maximum and minimum gradients.

 bridges and drainage structures.

1. Crest /Summit/ Vertical curves

2. Valley/sag/ Vertical curves

 The sign convention applied is that gradients which rise in the

A=algebric difference b/n two grades(%).

 In most cases, sight distance or appearance standards will

For appearance criteria: some use formerly was made of a

1. Determine the minimum length of a crest vertical curve between

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