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Topic 3: Linear Measurement (Taping or Chaining)
CIV2202. 3: LINEAR MEASUREMENT
(TAPING OR CHAINING)
- PREVIEW ......................................................................................................................... Table of Contents
- Introduction............................................................................................................
- Objectives ..............................................................................................................
- Readings ................................................................................................................
- DISTANCE MEASUREMENT ........................................................................................
- 2 Types Of Distance Measurement........................................................................
- USE OF STEEL TAPES ...................................................................................................
- FIELD WORK CONSIDERATION .................................................................................
- MEASURING LESS THAN ONE TAPE LENGTH........................................................
- MEASURING MORE THAN ONE TAPE LENGTH .....................................................
- Procedure ...............................................................................................................
- Notes
- STEP CHAINING ON SLOPING GROUND ..................................................................
- Procedure ...............................................................................................................
- STANDARD TAPE CORRECTIONS..............................................................................
- How do we measure the slope angle Q ...............................................................
- Procedure ...............................................................................................................
- Slope ......................................................................................................................
- Measuring Q: Levels at A and B are known : ......................................................
- Use/Age ...............................................................................................................
- Tension ................................................................................................................
- Temperature.........................................................................................................
- Sag of the tape .....................................................................................................
- BOOKING.......................................................................................................................
- Booking a Baseline ..............................................................................................
- ERRORS AND ACCURACY.........................................................................................
- Sources of Errors .................................................................................................
- TYPICAL ACCURACY FIGURES ...............................................................................
- EXERCISE ......................................................................................................................
- CHAINING AND DETAIL SURVEY ...........................................................................
- Basic Approach....................................................................................................
- Principles .............................................................................................................
- Method................................................................................................................. Topic 3: Linear Measurement (Taping or Chaining)
- Booking................................................................................................................
- Plotting.................................................................................................................
- EXERCISE ......................................................................................................................
- SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................
- REVIEW QUESTIONS ..................................................................................................
- ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS ........................................................................
Topic 3: Linear Measurement (Taping or Chaining)
DISTANCE MEASUREMENT
2 Types Of Distance Measurement
- direct - tapes, bands, chains
- indirect - optical (theodolite), EDM
USE OF STEEL TAPES
typically 20, 30, 50, 100 m
many tapes are fibre reinforced plastic, but for accurate work, they must be steel (which are often be plastic coated). Plastic tapes stretch with age.
always check the exact position of the zero mark. It is usually at the end of the link on the end of the tape, not at the end of the steel ribbon.
manufactured to give precise length when (i) new (ii) standard temp (20°C) (iii) standard tension (eg. 5kgf or 49N)
corrections can be made for these (more about this later).
FIELD WORK CONSIDERATION
The aim is to measure the straight-line , plan distance between 2 points
Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University
Topic 3: Linear Measurement (Taping or Chaining)
For example ...
MEASURING LESS THAN ONE TAPE LENGTH
- tape on the ground , pull to standard tension , on a straight line , tape must be straight in the vertical plane too. read the length (and remember to check the zero mark).
MEASURING MORE THAN ONE TAPE LENGTH
Need (i) 3 (or more) ranging poles, (ii) some marking arrows:
Procedure
(i) need 2 people : leader and follower
Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University
Topic 3: Linear Measurement (Taping or Chaining)
Notes
Ranging with a theodolite (set at A) increases accuracy. For non-horizontal ground, this step may be essential, because it may not be possible (or at least difficult) to sight by eye, for example ...
STEP CHAINING ON SLOPING GROUND
Procedure
(i) Use previously ranged in poles
(ii) Use horizontal tape (checked by third person some distance away).
- Compare the angle of the tape with the lines of buildings which are parallel to the line you are measuring, or
- Compare the angle of the tape, near the mid point of the span, with a plumbline - you should have four equal angles.
(iii) Transfer horizontal distance to ground using plumb bob, preferably at whole metre mark.
Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University
Topic 3: Linear Measurement (Taping or Chaining)
(iv) Keep maximum length of tape to 10 m (reduces problem of catenary or sag).
(may need to be less on steep ground to reduce the vertical step to a maximum of 1.5m).
Applications:- short survey lines (eg. offsets, setting out of building etc.
STANDARD TAPE CORRECTIONS
How do we measure the slope angle Θ?
The simplest method is the Abney level or clinometer
Procedure
- Mark the eye height of the observer on a ranging pole
- Sight from A to B. First adjust the coarse screw, then the fine adjustment screw, to bring the level bubble to the central position, so that target 'B', cross hair and bubble are coincident.
- Read the angle to the nearest 10' by the vernier scale.
- Check and eliminate Abney error by sighting from B to A and repeating process. Use the mean of the two angles.
Better accuracy by using a theodolite, but not justified in many cases. In this case, mark the height of the trunnion axis on the ranging pole and sight of this mark.
Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University
Topic 3: Linear Measurement (Taping or Chaining)
Use/Age
Tapes tend to stretch with age. We need a reference tape or standard length for comparison. We can check the tape on a flat surface (if reference tape is the same material, temp differences from standard (eg. 20°C) won't matter).
Say tape measures 30.011 m instead of 30 m, measurements must be corrected as follows.
Lc = L. (l (^) a / l (^) n )
Lc = real or corrected length
L = measured length l (^) a = actual length (30.011 m)
l (^) n = nominal length (30 m)
Expressed as a correction, C:
C = Lc - L
= L. (l (^) a/ln - 1)
C = 0.00037 L for the above example
Note: Correction is positive in this case, because the tape has stretched, ie. the actual distances are larger than measured ones.
Take care to make sure that the sign of the correction is correct.
Tension
Tapes and bands are designed for standard tension (in our case 5 kgf or 49 N).
Use a spring balance and roller grip to achieve this.
Use the spring balance at the leader's end of the tape, not the follower's or zero end.
For other than standard tension, correction, C is:
A E
LT T
C F S
L = Length measured TF = Tension in the Field TS = Tension, Standard A = cross-sectional Area E = Young's modulus
Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University
Topic 3: Linear Measurement (Taping or Chaining)
Note: if TF > TS , actual length is more than what was measured and hence C is
positive.
Temperature
Tapes are correct usually at 20°C. For non-standard temperature:
C = a.L.(tF - tS) a = coefficient of thermal expansion = 0.0000112 /°C for steel tS = standard temp tF = field temp
Note: if tF > tS, tape is longer, so actual lengths are more than measurements, and
hence C must be positive.
Sag of the tape
A tape suspended by its ends forms a catenary under gravity It is possible to derive the actual shape from structural theory:
C ≈ -
w^2 .L^3 .cos Θ 24.TF^2
w = unit weight of tape (N/m) Θ = angle from A to B (as shown above) TF = field tension (N)
Note that this corrections is always negative (ie. actual distances are always shorter than the measurements).
Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University
Topic 3: Linear Measurement (Taping or Chaining)
ERRORS AND ACCURACY
Sources of Errors
(i) incorrect tape length (eg. the tape has stretched) - standardize
(ii) incorrect slope (a clinometer gives 1:5000 accuracy for angles up to 4°).
For example, the maximum error with a clinometer is 5' (with 10' graduations)
Slope max. error (mm/100 m) 1° 3 3° 8 5° 12
(iii) tapes must be correctly tensioned for better than 1:5000 accuracy.
(iv) similarly for temperature
(v) take care to measure in a straight line.
(vi) make sag correction for accurate work.
(vii) check for gross errors by measuring each line (at least) twice.
TYPICAL ACCURACY FIGURES
Accuracy Required for Corrections 1:500 slope soil heaps soft detail 1:5000 slope
- standardize sewer pipes 1:10000 hard detail + tension traverse legs, + temp road centrelines, grids, baselines, setting out, 1:20000 secondary control horiz. surfaces better than primary control sag corrections 1: 20000 use EDM
Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University
Topic 3: Linear Measurement (Taping or Chaining)
EXERCISE
Do Problem 4/1 from Muskett. This exercise lets you practise some of these corrections.
CHAINING AND DETAIL SURVEY
REQUIRED
Read Muskett, sections 6.1, 6.
SUGGESTED
Read: Fryer & Elfick
To produce a plan or map of an area showing the important features using just linear measurement (often called a detail survey).
Basic Approach
a. establish control lines and control points (located by triangulation).
b. pick up detail using offsets (be careful to measure true horizontal distances).
Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University
Topic 3: Linear Measurement (Taping or Chaining)
- Develop additional triangles as needed to keep offsets short.
- Measure widths of features (eg. roads, drains, trees, etc), lengths of sides of buildings, radius of circular features.
- A level (or similar) must be used if elevations are required.
Booking
Booking must be neat and consistent.
It must be capable of being plotted by someone else.
Use explanatory notes and sketches liberally.
Continue long lines over as many pages as necessary.
Use a column up the centre of the page for the chained line distance, and show offsets or ties to detail on either side. See Muskett 2ed. P157.
Add dimensions around buildings in parentheses.
Include slopes on overall sketch so corrections can be made.
Don't forget miscellaneous data - name, date, location, and initials.
Add a compass bearing of at least one line for plotting purposes.
Plotting
Do not, under any circumstances, use a plan scale of 1:300, 1:150, etc, no matter how attractive it may seem! Suitable scales are 1:100, 1:200, 1:250, 1:500, 1:1000.
- Start with longest line and build framework of major lines.
- Position longest line on sheet in an appropriate position.
- Plotting may show errors in original data - remeasure if necessary.
- Include offsets to features.
- Fill in detail, with notes, legend, etc.
Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University
Topic 3: Linear Measurement (Taping or Chaining)
EXERCISE
Activity
Do exercise 6.1 from Muskett, p183.
SUMMARY
Horizontal distances are required for map and plan preparation, and for most engineering purposes. In sloping terrain, horizontal distances may be obtained either by step measuring with the tape set horizontal, or by measuring along the slope and applying trigonometry to obtain the horizontal distance.
In practice, corrections may have to be applied to taped measurements to compensate for:
- a tape that is either too long or too short
- measurements taken along sloping ground
- sag in the tape, when measuring across a gully or similar feature
- measurements made when the temperature is either greater of less than the tape’s standard temperature
- measurements made with tape tension other than standard.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
- If you measure with a steel tape between two ground marks approx. 500 m apart when the field temperature is 30oc, will your recorded measurement be too short or too long? What is the magnitude of the difference from standard measurement.
- You measure across a gully to pegs placed on the centreline of a proposed dam. Your recorded distance is 70.25 m, at a tension of 50 kN. Your 100 m long tape weighs 1.2 kg. What is the correction to your distance? Will you add or subtract this amount?
Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University
