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Chapter 2
Measurement of Horizontal Distances
The units of measurement in any surveying works are those for distances and angles
measurements. Now a day throughout the world distances are expressed in metric systems and
angles are expressed in degree or grad systems.
Methods of Linear Measurements
Every surveyor has to measure the horizontal distance between two points on the surface
of the earth. Measurement of horizontal distance or making linear measurements is
required in chain surveying, traverse surveying, and other types of surveying.
In surveying the distance between two points means a horizontal distance. When slope
distances are measured in the field, these are always reduced to the equivalent horizontal
distances for preparation of map.

Horizontal distance

There are, in general, three methods of making linear measurements:

1. Direct methods
2. Optical methods
3. E.D.M. methods
Direct method using a tape
In this method distances are measured measure mainly on the ground by chain or tape etc. But in
optical method or indirect method observations are made by telescope or distance is not actually
measured in the field and calculations are made for distances by tachometer. In electronic
method distances are measured with instruments that rely on propagation, reflection, and
subsequent reception of either by radio or light waves.
Direct methods may be subdivided into approximate, chaining and taping methods.
.

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Approximate method
The following approximate methods are commonly used in reconnaissance surveying
for the measurement of horizontal distances. These methods are also used sometimes to
detect large mistakes in linear measurements obtained with a tape.
1. Pacing: Is a preliminary survey to measure distances by pacing. A
person can determine the distance walked by counting the number of
paces made. The distance is measured roughly and quickly. The
method helps to count the number of paces between the two points of
line. The length of line is obtained by multiplying the number of
spaces and average lengths of spaces covered by the observer.
.
2.

Measuring wheel: A measuring wheel consists of a wheel mounted on

a lower end of rod about 1 m long through a fork. The upper end of the rod has a
handle. The wheel is pushed along the ground. The distance traversed is recorded
on the dial attached the wheel.

Measuring wheel

3. Odometer or Speedometer. Odometer registers the number of

revolutions of the wheel and speedometer gives the total distance
traversed. All automobiles have a speedometer to indicate the speed
and the distance travelled. If the ground is smooth, the speedometer
can be used to measure the distance.

Chaining and taping methods

In the actual surveying, distance is measured by a chain or a tape of different lengths and
accordingly it is called chaining or taping methods. Formerly engineers chain or Gunter chain
was used to measure the distance. The engineers chain was 100ft long and has 100 links each
one foot long. This chain was very convenient in earlier days when distances were measured in
miles, furlong and feet.

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Taping instruments
Various instruments required to measure the distances in chaining or taping are chain or tape,
pegs, arrows, plumb-bob; ranging rods, hand level, etc.
1. Tapes: - are used to measure the length accurately. They are made up of variety of
materials, length and weight. Most commonly used tapes are as follows;
1. Linen or cloth tapes: These tapes are made of linen or cloth. The tape is light and
handy but not very accurate. These tapes are available in length of 10m 20m, 25m
and 30m.
2. Glassfibre tapes: Made of glass fibre and are quite flexible, strong, and nonconductive.
3. Metallic tapes: These tapes are similar to linen tapes but are made of water proof
fabric or glass-fibre in which metallic wires are interwoven. The length varies from
10m to 50m.
4. Steel tapes: The steel tapes are the most commonly used tapes in surveying. They are
more accurate than metallic tapes. They are made of steel or stainless steel strip. They
are available in lengths of 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30 and 50ms.
5. Invar Tapes. Invar tapes are made of an alloy of steel (64%) and nickel (36%), which
has a very low coefficient of thermal expansion. And used in high precision
measurements such as those for base lines. Invar tapes are used for linear
measurements of very high precision.

a) Steel tape

b) Invar tape

2. Pegs; are used to mark the end or terminal points of a survey line or positions of survey
stations. They are square in section and tapered at one end. The most size of the peg is
25mm*25mm and length is 150cm.
3. Arrows; are also called taping or marking pins between two points which are more than a tape
length apart they are used to mark the positions of the survey stations and the end points of
survey lines. Sometimes their lengths vary from 250mm to 500mm and they are black enamelled.

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4. plumb-bob; is pointed metal weight used as centering aid of compass, to transfer theodolite. It
is also required to transfer the point to the ground while chaining along sloping ground. It is also
used for making the ranging poles vertical and transfer point from a line ranger to the ground.
5. Ranging rods or poles; ranging rod is made up of wood, metal or fibre-glass. The process of
locating a number of points on a long survey line is called ranging. Ranging rods are used to
locate intermediate points such that these points lie on the straight line joining the end stations.
They are used as temporary signals to indicate the locations of points or directions of lines.
6. Hand or sprit levels; is required to use to maintain the two ends of the tape in the same
horizontal plane when taping over a slopping or irregular terrain.

Ranging rods hold by ranging rod tripods

plumb bob

Tapping errors and corrections

Error in tapping may be cumulative or compensating. Cumulative errors occurs in the same
direction and tends to accumulate, where as compensating error occurs in either direction, hence
tends to compensate. Errors are positive or negative as they present the result too large or too
small. Errors may arise from the following;
A. Sag in chain or tape; when a distance is measured by stepping or stretching the chain or
tape above the ground due to irregular topography or undulations the tape sags and takes
the form of a catenary and measured distance is more.
B. Change in temperature; length normally becomes more with the increase of
temperature and the measured distance. Thus, the length becomes less than the actual and
error becomes negative. In cold weather, chains or tapes shrink and thus, distance
becomes more than the actual distance and error becomes positive. In both the cases error
is cumulative.
C. Erroneous length of chain or tape; this is an error due to wrong length of the chain or
tape. The wrong length can be original or due to change of temperature, due to pull or
continuous use. If length is more, measured value is less, measured distance is more and
the error is cumulative.
D. Variation of pull; if pull applied in straightening the chain or tape is not equal to that of
the standard pull at which it was calibrated it may increase or decrease and therefore error
is bound to happen. Depending on more or less pulls or always more or less pull, error
may be cumulative or compensating.

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E. Bad ranging; takes the chain or tape out of line and measured distance is always more
and thus, error is positive. In measuring distances bad ranging is not very serious. But
when offsetting is to be done on the line, this error is very serious.
F. Personal mistakes; like displacement of arrows, wrong counting of chain, misreading of
tallies of the chain, erroneous booking in the field book, etc., cause error in surveying.
The surveyor and the chain man should be very careful in recording or reading the data
measured.

Tape corrections
Steel tapes are calibrated under a specific temperature and tension. Change in temperature,
tension and mode of support affect the result of taping. The errors caused by these sources
behave according physical laws and can be expressed with mathematic expressions. They are
known as systematic errors.
1. Corrections for absolute length or standardization; the absolute length of the tapes
becomes different from the designated or normal length due to continuous use, wear
and tear, stretch and shrink, and so on. Therefore correction is necessary. The
correction for absolute length is given by;
Ca = C *L
l

Where; Ca = correction for standardization

C = correction per tape length
L= the measured length of the line
l = the designated or nominal tape length.

And correction per tape length is given by;

C = L-l
2. Corrections for temperature; if tape is used at a field temperature different from the
standard temperature then the temperature correction to the measured length is;
C t L t t s

= the coefficient of thermal expansion of the tape material

steel: 0.0000115 m/(m C)
invar: 0.000001 m/(m C)
t = the field temperature
ts = the standardization temperature
Note: The sign of the correction takes the sign of (t- ts).
To apply this correction a thermometer is needed.
Where

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3. Correction for pull or tension; if the pull applied to the tape in the field is different
from the standard pull, the pull correction is to be applied to the measured length. The
correction is ;
Cp

Where

P PS L
AE

P = the tension applied in the field.

Ps = the standard/ calibration tension (tape at e.g.: 50N=5kp)
A = the cross sectional area of the tape.
E = Youngs modulus for the tape material (N/ mm2)
L= the observed length.
Note: The sign of the correction takes that of quantity (P-Ps)
To apply this correction a tension handle is needed.

4. Correction for sag; sag causes a recorded distance to be greater than the actual.
Correction is applied when the horizontal chord length is always shorter than the
curved length. A tape supported only at the two ends will sag in the centre by an
amount that is related to its weight and the pull(tension). In the case of a long tape
intermediate supports can be used to reduce the magnitude of the correction.

Cs

Where

w 2 L3
24P 2

w = the weight of the tape per unit length

L = the observed length
P = the tension applied in the field.

Note: If the tape in used on a plane surface, which can be considered, flat then no
Correction is applicable.
To apply this correction a tension handle is needed.

5. Correction for slope; In surveying it is essential that horizontal lengths are

determined. When a distance lies along a uniform slope and when the difference in
height between the two end points has been determined it may be preferable to
measure the distance directly (see also figure 1).

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A
h

horizontal distance

Figure 1

Afterwards the horizontal distance can be computed by applying the following

correction:
Cg

Where:

h 2
2s

h =the difference in height between the end points

s =the measured slope distance

6. Correction to mean sea level; In the case of long lines the relationship between the
length measured on the ground and the equivalent length at mean sea level has to be
considered.
distance (Lm)
earths surface
distance to msl (Lmsl)
mean sea level

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In the measured length is Lm and the height of the line above datum is H then the
correction to be applied is
C msl Lm

H
R

Exercise on basic tape measurements

1. A survey line was measured with a tape, believed to be 20m long, a length of
284.62m resulted. On checking, the tape was found to measure 19.95m long.
a) What was the correct length of the line?
b) If the line measured is a slope distance and the difference in height
between the end points is 14.20m what would be the reduced
horizontal length used in the plotting of the survey?
c) What reading is required to produce a horizontal distance of 15.08m
between two site pegs, one being 0.66m above the other?

Solution
a) A length of 20m has been booked overall, but actually only a length
of 19.95m has been covered.
19.95 284.62
283.91m
20

Correct length of line =

b) the correction for slope has to be applied:

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Cg: =

Surveying I
14.20 2
2 283.91

= 0.36m

The horizontal distance is therefore: 283.91-0.36 = 283.55m

c) the following reading is required:

0.66

15.08 2 15.09m

Slope distance =

Example 2: The distance AB on the ground as measured on a plan drawn to a scale of 1 cm = 50

m, was found to be 500 m. Later it was detected that the surveyor wrongly used a scale of 1 cm
= 40 m in calculations. Find the true length of the line AB.
Solution: Let AB be the correct length on the plan.
The length ab on the plan with the scale of 1 cm = 40 m used for calculating the distance AB on
the ground = 500/40 = 12.5 cm.
The true scale is 1 cm = 50 m.
The true distance on the ground, AB = 50 X 12.5= 625 m.

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By Surveying Instructors

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2012/2013