COURSE : SURVEYING

Instructor: Engr. Abdirahman Dayr

College of Engineering
Chapter Three

Levelling

01 September 2024
 Content Outline
Instruments
Object and Uses
Definitions used in
of Levelling
Levelling

Adjustment of Types of
Staff Reading in
Levelling Levelling
Leveling
instruments operations

Source of Methods of
Errors in calculation of
Levelling Reduced level
 Object and Uses of Levelling
Object Uses
The aim of levelling is to Levelling is done for the following purposes:
determine the relative 1. To prepare a contour map for fixing sites
heights of different objects for reservoir, dams, and to for the
on or below the surface of alignment of roads, railways, irrigation
the earth and to determine canals, and so on.
the undulation of the 2. To determine the altitude or to know the
ground surface. reduced levels of different important
points.
3. To prepare a longitudinal section and
cross-sections of a project (Roads,
railways, irrigation canals, etc.) in order to
4
determine the volume of earth work.
4. To prepare a layout map for water supply,
sanitary or drainage schemes.
 Definitions
1. Levelling: The art of determining the relative
heights of different points on or below the surface of
the earth is known as levelling. Thus, levelling deals
with measurements in the vertical plane.
2. Level surface: Any surface parallel to the mean
spheroidal surface of the earth is said to be a level
surface. Such a surface is obviously curved. The
water surface of a still lake is also considered to be a
level surface.
3. Level line: Any line lying on a level surface is called a
level line. This line is normal to the plump line
(direction of gravity) at all points.

4. Horizontal plane: Any plane tangential to the level

surface at any point is known as the horizontal plane.
It is perpendicular to the plumb line which indicates
the direction of gravity.
 Cont...
5. Horizontal line: Any line laying on the horizontal
plane is said to be horizontal line. It is a straight line
tangential to the level line.

6. Vertical line: The direction indicated by a plumb

line (the direction of gravity) is known as the vertical
line. This line is perpendicular to the horizontal line.

7. Vertical Plane: Any plane passing through the vertical

line is known as the vertical plane.

8. Datum surface or line: This is an imaginary level

surface or level line from which the vertical distances
of different point (above or below this line) are
measured.
 Cont...
9. Reduced level (RL): The vertical distance of a point
above or below the datum line is known as the reduced
level. The RL of a point may be positive or negative
according as the point is above or below the datum.

10. Line of collimation: It is an imaginary line passing

through the intersection of the cross-hair at the
diaphragm and the optical center of the object glass
and its continuation. It is also known as the line of sight

11. Axis of the telescope: This axis is an imaginary line

passing through the optical centre of the object glass
and the optical centre of the eye-piece.

12. Axis of bubble tube: It is an imaginary line

tangential to the longitudinal curve of the bubble tube
at its middle point.
Cont...
 Cont...
13. Bench-marks (BM): These are fixed points or marks of known RL determined
with reference to the datum line. They serve as reference points for finding the RL of
the points.
Bench-marks may be of four types;
a) GTS Bench-marks c) Temporary

b) Permanent d) Arbitrary
a) GTS Bench-marks: These bench-marks are established at a large intervals all
over the country.
b) Permanent Bench-marks: These bench-marks are fixed points or marks
established by different Government departments like Railways, Irrigation, etc.
c) Arbitrary Bench-marks: When the RLs of some fixed points are assumed, they
are termed arbitrary bench-marks.
d) Temporary Bench-marks: When the bench-marks are established temporary at
the end of a day’s work; they are said to be temporary bench-marks.
 Cont...
14. Backsight reading (BS): This is the first staff reading taken in any setup of the
instrument after the levelling has been perfectly done. This reading is always taken
on a point of known RL, I.e. on a bench-mark or change point.
15. Foresight reading (FS): It is the last staff reading in any setup of the
instrument and indicate the shifting of the latter.
16. Intermediate sight reading (IS): Its is any other staff reading between the BS
and FS in the same setup of the instrument.
17. Change point (CP): This point indicates the shifting of the instrument. At this
point, an FS is taken from one setting and a BS from the next setting.
18. Height of instrument (HI): When the levelling instrument is properly levelled,
the RL of the line of collimation is known as the height of the instrument. This is
obtained by adding the BS reading to the RL of the BM or CP on which the staff
reading was taken.
 Cont...
19. Focusing: The operation of setting the eye-piece and the object glass a
proper distance apart for clear vision of the object is known as focussing.

Focussing is done in two steps as follows:

a) Focusing the eye-piece: A sheet of white paper is held in front of the
telescope and the eye-piece is turned clockwise or anticlockwise slowly
until the cross-hairs appear distinct and clear.
b) Focusing the object glass: The telescope is directed to the object and
the focusing screw is turned clockwise or anticlockwise until the image
is clear and sharp.

20. Parallax: The apparent movement of the image relative to the cross-
hair is known as parallax. This occurs due to imperfect focusing, when the
image does not fall in the plane of the diaphragm.
 Instruments used in Levelling
1. A Level is a surveying instrument used to determine the difference in
elevation between points on the ground. It establishes a horizontal line of
sight and measures vertical distances using a levelling staff. Levels are
mainly used for levelling works, contour mapping, and setting gradients for
roads or drainage systems.
2. A Theodolite is an instrument used to measure both horizontal and vertical
angles accurately. It is commonly used for triangulation, setting out
alignments, and establishing control points in surveying. Theodolites may be
manual or digital, and they are essential for precise angular measurements in
engineering projects.
3. A Total Station is a modern electronic instrument that combines the
functions of a theodolite and an electronic distance meter (EDM). It can
measure angles, distances, and elevations automatically and record data
digitally. Total stations are widely used for topographic surveys, construction
layout, and producing accurate digital maps efficiently
Cont...

Level
Theodolite

Total Station
Cont...
 Cont...
3. Tripod: A surveyor's tripod is a device used to support any one of a
number of surveying instruments, such as theodolites, total stations, levels or
transits. Many modern tripods are constructed of aluminum, though wood is
still used for legs.

4. Raging Rods: A ranging Rod is defined as a surveying instrument used for

measurement in construction. It helps mark position in surveying and is also
named a Ranging pole.
 Cont...
5. Levelling Staff: The levelling staff is a gradated wooden rod used for measuring
the vertical distances between the points on the ground and the line of collimation.
Levelling staves are classified into two groups: (i) the target staff, and (ii) the self-
reading staff.

i. The target staff: The target staff consists of a

movable target. The target is provided with a
vernier which is adjusted by the staffman,
according to direction to directions from the
levelman, so that the target coincides with the
collimation hair.

ii. The self-reading staff: A self-reading staff is

a graduated rod used in surveying that can be
read directly by an instrument operator
through a telescope.:
 Staff Reading in Leveling
❑ Two "E" pattern staffs are shown on the right,
note slight differences in the marking and
numbers. The "E" pattern is designed to make it
easy to read a small section of the scale when
seen through a telescope.
❑ Measurements are in meters and centimeters
(10mm blocks) which enable heights to be
estimated to 1 mm. Alternating colours are used
to differentiate each meter length, the most
common being black and red on a white
background.
 Cont...
Reading a levelling staff
 Example
Determine automatic level reading of the below staff.
 Exercise
1. Determine elevation of an automatic level reading of the below staff.
A B
 Exercise
2. Determine elevation of an automatic level reading of the below staff.
 Cont...

How to use an automatic level to determine distance

❑ To enable you to determine distance the automatic level (Auto
level/Theodolite) has stadia cross hairs. These are the two short cross hairs
above and below the main cross.
❑ To determine how far the staff is from the level, you multiply the distance
between the two by 100.
 Example

Using an automatic level to determine distance

Solution
In the above example, the lower cross hair is at 855mm and the upper cross hair is at
1.0 m, (1 − 0.855 = 0.145m)
❑ So, the distance from the level to the staff is:
= 0.145𝑚 × 1𝑂𝑂 = 14.5𝑚
 Exercise

Using an automatic level, determine distance

A B
 Adjustment of Levelling instruments
Setup and centering the Instrument
1. Prepare & place tripod
❖ Spread the tripod legs wide on firm ground and adjust their lengths so
that the head is roughly level and at about eye height.
2. Rough-center with tripod
❖ Move the entire tripod head so that the center hole is roughly over the
ground mark or station point (within a few centimeters).
❖ Change the length or position of the legs to keep the tripod head
nearly level while maintaining the center approximately above the
station mark.
3. Mount instrument on tribrach
❖ Carefully position the instrument on top of the tribrach and align the
locating pin or groove correctly.
❖ Gently tighten the central clamping screw to secure the instrument
firmly to the tribrach without forcing it.
 Cont...
4. Rough leveling with tripod legs
❖ Look at the circular (bull’s-eye) bubble on the instrument; if it is far
from the center, use the tripod legs for adjustment.
❖ Lengthen or shorten one or two legs until the bubble comes roughly to
the center, keeping the instrument head nearly level.
5. Fine leveling with foot/leveling screws
❖ Once the bubble is near the center, use the foot screws to make
precise adjustments and bring the bubble exactly to the center.
6. Fine Leveling with Tabular (Tubular) Bubble
❖ Rotate the instrument so the long (tubular/tabular) bubble is parallel
to two of the leveling screws (working pair). Turn the two screws
simultaneously to center the bubble along its length.
❖ Then rotate the instrument 90° so the bubble is now parallel to the
third screw (screw C).
Cont...
 Cont...
Staff Holding and Staff Readings.
The staff readings are taken as follows:
❑ The instrument is set up and carefully leveled.
❑ The staff is held vertically over the staff station.
❑ To hold the staff vertically, the staff man stands behind the levelling staff with his
heels together and the bottom of the staff in between his toes and holds the staff in
between the palms at the height of his face.
❑ The telescope is directed towards the staff by the instrument man, and it is focused
by using the focusing screw.
❑ The first digit represents the whole number of meters, the second digit represents
decimeters, and the third, and fourth digits represent millimeters.
 Types of Levelling operations

1. Simple levelling: When the difference of

level between two points is determined by
setting the levelling instrument midway
between the points.

2. Differential levelling: Differential

levelling is adopted when (i) the points
are a great distance apart, (ii) the
difference of elevation between the
points is large, (iii) there are obstacles
between the points.
 Cont...

3. Fly levelling: When differential levelling is

done in order to connects a bench-mark to the
starting point of the alignment of any project,
it is called fly levelling..

4. Longitudinal or profile levelling: The

operation of taking levels along the
centre line of any alignment (road,
railway, etc.) at a regular intervals is
known as longitudinal levelling.
 Cont...

5. Cross-sectional levelling: The operation of

taking levels traverse to the direction of
longitudinal levelling, is known as cross-
sectional levelling.

6. Check levelling: The fly levelling done

at the end o day’s work to connect
finishing point with the starting point on
that particular day is known as check
levelling..
 Source of Errors in Levelling
1. Instrumental Errors:
(a) The permanent adjustment of the instrument may not be perfect. That is, the line of
collimation may not be parallel to the axis of the bubble tube.
(b) The internal arrangement of the focusing tube is not perfect
(c) The graduation of the levelling staff may not be perfect
2. Personal Errors:
(a) The instrument may not be levelled perfectly.
(b) The focusing of the eye-piece and object glass may not be perfect and the parallax
may not be eliminated entirely.
(c) The position of the staff may be displaced at the change point at the time of taking FS
and BS reading.
(d) The reading of the stadia hair rather than the central collimation hair may be taken
by mistake.
(e) A wrong entry may be made in the level book.
1. Natural Errors:
(a) Hen the distance of sight is long, the curvature of the earth may affect the staff
reading.
(b) The effect of high winds and a shining sun may result in a wrong staff reading.
 Methods of calculation of Reduced level

The following are the two systems of calculating reduced level:

1. Collimation system or height of instrument system (HI)

2. Rise and fall system

1. The collimation system: The reduced level of the line of collimation is said to
be the height of the instrument. In this system, the height of the line of collimation
is found out by adding the backsight reading to the RL of the BM on which the
BS is taken. Then the RL of the intermediate points and the change points and the
change point are obtained by subtracting the respective staff readings from the
height of the instrument (HI).
 Cont...

The level is then shifted for the next setup and again the height of the line of
collimation is obtained by adding the backsight reading to the RL of the change point
(which was calculated in the first setup).
Consider figure below

𝑎 𝑅𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝐻𝐼 𝑖𝑛 1𝑠𝑡 setting = 100.000 + 1.255 = 101.255

𝑅𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝐴 = 101.255 − 1.750 = 99.505
𝑅𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝐵 = 101.255 − 2.150 = 99.105
 Cont...

𝑏 𝑅𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝐻𝐼 𝑖𝑛 2𝑛𝑑 setting = 99.105 + 2.750 = 101.855

𝑅𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝐶 = 101.855 − 1.950 = 99.905
𝑅𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝐷 = 101.855 − 1.550 = 100.305 and so on.
𝐴𝑟𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘: Σ𝐵𝑆 − Σ𝐹𝑆 = 𝐿𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑅𝐿 − 𝐹𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑅𝐿

The difference between the sum of backsights and that of foresights must be equal
to the difference between the last RL and first RL. This check verifies the
calculations of the RL of the HI and that of the change point. There is no check on
the RLs of the intermediate points.
 Cont...

2. The Rise and fall system: In this system the difference of level between two
consecutive points is determined by comparing each forward staff reading with
the staff reading at the immediately preceding point.
❑ If the forward staff reading is smaller than the immediately preceding staff
reading, a rise is said to have occurred. The rise is added to the RL of the
preceding point to get the RL of the forward point.
❑ If the forward staff reading is greater than the immediately preceding staff
reading, it means there has been a fall. The fall is subtracted from the RL of
the preceding point to get the RL of the forward point.
Cont...

Consider figure below

𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝐴 𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝐵𝑀 = 0.75 − 1.25 = − 0.50 (fall)

𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝐵 𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝐴 = 1.25 − 2.75 = − 1.50 (fall)

𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝐶 𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝐵 = 2.75 − 1.50 = + 1.25 (rise)

𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝐷 𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝐶 = 1.50 − 1.75 = − 0.25 (fall)

Cont...

𝑅𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝐵𝑀 = 100.00
𝑅𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝐴 = 100.00 − 0.50 = 99.50
𝑅𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝐵 = 99.50 − 1.50 = 98.00
𝑅𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝐶 = 98.00 + 1.25 = 99.25
𝑅𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝐷 = 99.25 − 0.25 = 99.00
𝐴𝑟𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘: Σ𝐵𝑆 − Σ𝐹𝑆 = Σ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒 − Σ𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙 = 𝐿𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑅𝐿 − 𝐹𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑅𝐿
 Example for longitudinal or profile levelling

The following consecutive readings were taken with a dumpy level along a chain
line at a common interval of 15 m. The first reading was at a chainage of 165 m.
where the RL is 98.085. The instrument was shifted after the fourth and ninth
readings.
3.150, 2.245, 1.125, 0.860, 3.125, 2.760, 1.835, 1.470, 1.965, 1.225, 2.390, and
3.035m.

Mar rules on a page of your notebook in the form of a level book page and enter
on it the above readings and find the RL of all the points by:
1. The collimation system, and
2. The rise and fall system
 Solution
1. The collimation system

𝐴𝑟𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘: Σ𝐵𝑆 − Σ𝐹𝑆 = 𝐿𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑅𝐿 − 𝐹𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑅𝐿

𝐴𝑟𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘: 7.500 − 5.860 = 99.725 − 98.085 = +1.640 = +1.640
 Solution
2. The rise and fall system

𝐴𝑟𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘: Σ𝐵𝑆 − Σ𝐹𝑆 = Σ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒 − Σ𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙 = 𝐿𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑅𝐿 − 𝐹𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑅𝐿

𝐴𝑟𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘: 7.500 − 5.860 = 3.945 − 2.305 = 99.725 − 98.085 =
+1.640 = +1.640 = +1.640
 Exercise

The following readings are taken on continuous falling ground with staff of 4 m
they are 0.400, 0.765, 1.270, 2.560, 3.220, 3.950 (C.P), 0.390, 1.690, 3.500 (C.P),
0.800, 1.920, 2.450, 3.980 (Continuous Sloping Ground) 4m staff. Enter the
reading in the page of level book and calculate the RLs of all point if the first
reading was taken on Benchmark of 100m.
By
1. The collimation system, and
2. The rise and fall system
 Example for Cross-sectional levelling

2. The rise and fall system

𝐴𝑟𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘: Σ𝐵𝑆 − Σ𝐹𝑆 = Σ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒 − Σ𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙 = 𝐿𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑅𝐿 − 𝐹𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑅𝐿

𝐴𝑟𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘: 0.760 − 1.525 = 3.21 − 3.975 = 245.150 − 245.915
= −0.765 = −0.765 = −0.765