Distance measurement
• Distance is one of the fundamental measurements in surveying.
• Spatial distance (sloping distance) in three-dimensional space, usually
it is the horizontal component which is required.
• The basic methods of measuring distance
❖ Taping
❖Electronic distance measurement
❖Pacing
The Gunter’s chain is 1/80th of a mile or 66 feet
long. It is composed of 100 links, with a link being
0.66 feet or 7.92 inches long.
Each link is a steel rod bent into a tight loop on
each end and connected to the next link with a
small steel
ring.
Metric chains are made in lengths 20m and 30m.
Tallies are fixed at every five-meter length and
brass rings are provided at every meter length
except where tallies are attached.
Engineer’s Chain
• Length = 100’, No of links = 100, Each link = 1’
• Used in all Engineering Surveys.
• Brass tags are fastened at every 10 links.
Revenue Chain
is 33 ft long chain consisting of 16 links.
This chain is used for distance
measurements in feet & inches for small
areas.
Distance Measurement using Tape
Tapes are used for more accurate measurement. The tapes are classified based
on the materials of which they are made of such as:
• Cloth or linen tape
• Fibre Tape
• Metallic Tape
• Steel tape
• Invar Tape
Cloth or linen Tape
• Linen tapes are closely woven linen and varnished to resist moisture.
They are generally 10 m, 20 m, 25 m and 30 m long in length and 12 to
15 mm wide.
• They are generally used for offset measurements.
• These tapes are light and flexible.
Fibre Glass Tape
• These tapes are similar to linen
and plastic coated tapes but these
are made of glass fibre.
• The tapes are quite flexible, strong
and non-conductive.
• These can be used in the vicinity
of electrical equipment.
• These tapes do not stretch or
shrink due to changes in
temperature or moisture.
• These tapes are available in length
of 20 m, 30 m and 50 m length.
Metallic Tape
• A linen tape reinforced with brass or
copper wires to prevent stretching or
twisting of fibres is called a metallic
tape.
• As the wires are interwoven and tape
is varnished these wires are visible to
naked eyes.
• This is supplied in a lather case with
a winding device.
• Each metre length is divided into ten
parts (decimetres) and each part is
further sub-divided into ten parts.
• It is commonly used for taking offset
in chain surveying.
Steel Tape
• The steel tape is made of steel
ribbon of width varying from 6 to
16 mm.
• The commonly available length
are 10 m, 15 m, 20 m, 30 m and
50 m.
• It is graduated in metres,
decimetres, and centimetres.
• Steel tapes are used for accurate
measurement of distances.
Invar Tape
• Invar tape are made of alloy of
nickel 36 % and steel 64 % having
very low co-efficient of thermal
expansion.
• These are 6 mm wide and
generally available in length of 30
m, 50m, 100m.
• It is not affected by change of
temperature therefore, it is used
when high degree of precesion is
required.
Arrows
Ranging Rods
Data Entry Method
The mean result is then corrected for:
(1) Tape standardization.
(2) Temperature.
(3) Tension (if necessary).
(4) Slope.
Distance adjustment
• During a period of use, a tape will gradually alter in length for a
variety of reasons.
• The amount of change can be found by having the tape standardized
at either Laboratory for invar tapes or by comparing it with a
reference tape kept purely for this purpose.
• The tape may then be specified as being 30.003 m at 20◦C and 70 N
tension, or as 30 m exactly at a temperature other than standard.