Vertical Alignment
Capacity of Single Lane
C = 1000 V/S
V = Speed, kmph.
S = average center to center spacing of vehicles
when they follow in queue or Space Head way.
Vertical Alignment
➢The objective of vertical alignment is to determine the
elevation of highway points to ensure proper roadway
drainage and an acceptable level of safety.
➢The primary objective of vertical alignment lies in the transition
of roadway elevation between two grades.
➢This transition is achieved by the means of a vertical curve.
These curves can be classified into;
• Crest Vertical Curves
• Sag Vertical Curves
Sag and Crest Vertical Curves
Crest
1
Sag
2
Vertical Curves…..
Where;
• G1--Initial roadway grade( initial tangent grade)
• G2--Final roadway grade
• A --Absolute value of the difference in grades.
• L --Length of vertical curve measured in a
horizontal plane.
• PVC --Initial point of the vertical curve
• PVI --Point of vertical intersection (intersection of
initial and final grades)
• PVT --Final point of the vertical curve.
Vertical Curves……
➢Vertical curves are almost arranged such that half of
the curve length is positioned before the PVI and half
after and are referred as equal tangent vertical curves.
➢A circular curve is used to connect the horizontal
straight stretches of road, a parabolic curve is usually
used to connect gradients in the profile alignment.
Vertical Curves…..
It provides a constant rate of change of slope and implies
equal curve lengths.
+ - +
Level
-
+ -
CREST VERTICAL CURVES
-
- +
-
+
-
Level
+
SAG VERTICAL CURVES
Vertical Curve
• For a vertical curve, the general form of the
parabolic equation is;
Y = ax2 + bx + c 1
where, ‘y’ is the roadway elevation of the curve at a
point ‘x’ along the curve from the beginning of the
vertical curve (PVC).
‘c’ is the elevation of the PVC since x=0 corresponds
the PVC
dy
=b
dx
Slope of Curve
• To define ‘a’ and ‘b’, first derivative of equation 1
gives the slope.
dy
= 2ax + b 2
dx
• At PVC, x=0;
dy
= b
dx
or
dy
G = 3
dx
G1 = b
Where G1 is the initial slope.
• Taking second derivative of equation1, i.e. rate of
change of slope;
2
dy
2
= 2a 4
dx
• The rate of change of slope can also be written as;
dy 2 G2 − G1
2
= 5
dx 2L
• Equating equations 4 and 5
G2 − G1
2a = 6
L
or
G 2 − G1
a= 7
2L
Fundamentals of Vertical Curves
• For vertical curve design and construction, offsets
which are vertical distances from initial tangent to
the curve are important for vertical curve design.
Fig. A
.A
PVI
PVC PVT
PVC PVT
PVI
PVC PVC
PVT
PVI
PVC
PVT
PVT
Vertical Curves
Vertical Curves
Vertical Curves
.
Vertical Curves
• Vertical Curves…..
• A vertical curve also simplifies the computation of
the high and low points or crest and sag vertical
curves respectively, since high or low point does
not occur at the curve ends PVC or PVT.
• Let ‘Y’ is the offset at any distance ‘x’ from PVC.
Vertical Curves…..
• Ym is the mid curve offset & Yt is the offset at the end of
the vertical curve.
• From an equal tangent parabola, it can be written as;
A
y= x 2
8
200 L
where ‘y’ is the offset in feet and ‘A’ is the absolute
value of the difference in grades(G2-G1, in %), ‘L’ is
length of vertical curve in feet and ‘x’ is distance from
the PVC in feet.
Vertical Curves…..
Putting the value of x=L in eq. 8
A L 2
ym = ( )
200 L 2
AL
ym =
800
A
yf = * L2
200 L
AL
yf =
200
Vertical Curves…..
• First derivative can be used to determine the
location of the low point, the alternative to this is to
use a k-value (rate of curvature.) which is defined as
L
k=
A
where ‘L’ is in feet and ‘A’ is in %.
Stopping Sight Distance
It is the sum of;
• Vehicle stopping distance &
• Distance traveled during perception / reaction time
Vehicle Stopping Distance
• Vehicle stopping distance is calculated by the
following formula
2
v1
d=
2 g ( f G)
where V1 initial speed of vehicle
f friction
G percent grade divided by 100
Distance Traveled During Perception/
Reaction Time
• It is calculated by the following formula
dr = V1* tr
where V1 Initial Velocity of vehicle
tr time required to perceive and
react to the need to stop
• SSD.
Hence formula for the Stopping Sight Distance
will be;
2
V1
SSD = + V1t r
2 g ( f G)
SSD and Crest Vertical Curve
• In providing the sufficient SSD on a vertical curve,
the length of curve ‘L’ is the critical concern.
• Longer lengths of curve provide more SSD, but are
most costly to construct.
• Shorter curve lengths are relatively inexpensive to
construct but may not provide adequate SSD.
Computer Programs for Road Design.
• BISAR.
• CHEVRON.
• MISHPAVE.
• AASHTO.
• GEOMETRIC DESIGN.
• Eagle Point.
• Road Max.
• Auto cad civil 3D
• TRAFFIC.
• Scoot
• HDM 4