Levelling

What is “Levelling?”
• Levelling is the process by which differences in
height between two or more points can be
determined.
• Leveling is a branch of surveying, the object of
which is to find or establish the elevation of a
given point with respect to the given or
assumed Datum (reference point).
• Common leveling instruments include
level(Dumpy level) and levelling staff
 Objective of levelling
• To determine the topography of sites for
design projects

• Set grades and elevations for construction

projects

• Compute volumes of earthwork

Terms in levelling
• Level surface (e.g. the geoid)
Any surface parallel to the mean spheroidal surface of earth
A water surface with no motion
• Level line
A line drawn on a level surface
• Horizontal Plane
Horizontal plane through a point is a plane tangential to the level surface
at that point. It is perpendicular to the direction of gravity.
– Horizontal line
Line lying on a horizontal plane
– Vertical Line
Vertical line at any point is a line normal to the level surface
– Vertical plane
Plane containing a vertical line
– Datum Surface
Arbitrarily assumed level surface from which vertical surfaces are measured.
New Datum: NGVD88(National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1988)
• Elevation of a point
Vertical distance above or below the datum. Also known as reduced level(RL)
• Bench Mark(B.M)
Fixed reference point of known elevation
• Line of collimation(Line of sight)
Line joining the intersection of the cross hairs to the optical centre of the object
glass and its continuation.
• Back sight (BS)
Reading taken on a point of known elevation. It is the first staff reading
taken after the level is set up and levelled
• Fore sight (FS)
Staff reading taken on a point whose elevation is to be determined
• Intermediate sight (IS)
All the readings between back sight and foresight
• Change point(C.P)
It is a point on which both fore and back sights are taken.It
denotes the shifting of the instrument
• Height of the instrument(H.I)
Elevation of the plane of collimation when the instrument is
correctly levelled.
• Focussing
Setting of the eyepiece and the objective at a proper distance apart
for the clear vision of the object sighted.
• Parallax
Apparent movement of the image relative to the cross hairs when
the image formed by the objective does not fall in the plane of
diaphram
 Types of Level
• The Dumpy Level
• The Wye Level(Y level)
• The Cooke’s reversible level
• The Cushing’s level
• The tilting level
• The automatic level
 Dumpy Level

It is simple compact and

stable. The telescope is
rigidly fixed to its support
therefore cannot be
rotated about its
longitudinal axis. A long
bubble tube is attached to
the top of telescope.
 Levelling staff
• Graduated wooden or
aluminium rod, used with
a levelling instrument to
determine the difference in
height between points or
heights of points above
a datum surface.
• 4m,painted with alternate
white and black band.
• Each division 5mm
 Holding the staff
• To hold the staff, the staffman stands behind the
staff,heels together with the heel of the staff between
his toes,and holds it between the palms of his hands at
the height of his face.
 Temperory adjustments of a dumpy level
• Setting up the level: - This operation includes the fixing the instrument on the
tripod and levelling the instrument approximately by the leg adjustment.
• Levelling up: - In this step, accurate levelling has been done with the help of foot
screws and with reference to the plate levels. The purpose is to make the vertical
axis truly vertical or perpendicular to the line of sight. The manner of levelling the
instrument with three levelling screw are following: -
• a) Loose the clamp. Turn the instrument until the longitudinal axis of the plate
level is roughly parallel to a line joining any two of the levelling screws.
• b) Hold these two levelling screws (‘A’ and ‘B’) between the thumb and first
finger of each hand and turn them simultaneously so that the thumbs move either
towards each other or away from each other until the bubble comes in central area.
(The bubble will move in the direction of movement of the left thumb.)
• c) Turn the instrument by 90o and then turn the third levelling screw ‘C’. The
third levelling screw ‘C’ should be turn in such a way that the bubble comes in the
centre.
• d) Turn the instrument again and repeat the above procedure. The instrument
must be level in any direction means the bubble must be in centre.
Temperory adjustments of a dumpy
level
3. Elimination of parallax: -
It has been done by rotating
the eye-piece for clear cross
hairs and by rotating
focusing screw provided for
objective focus.
 Reduction of levels
1.Height of collimation systems
• Elevation of plane of collimation for the first set of the level determined by adding
back side to R.L. of B.M.
• The R.L. of intermediate point and first change point are then obtained by
subtracting the staff reading taken on respective point (IS & FS) from the elevation
of the plane collimation. [H.I.]
• When the instrument is shifted to the second position a new plane collimation is set
up. The elevation of this plane is obtained by adding B.S. taken on the C.P. from the
second position of the level to the R.L. C.P. The R.L. of successive point and
second C.P. are found by subtract these staff reading from the elevation of second
plane of collimation.
H.I= R.L of B.M+B.S
R.L=H.I- I.S/F.S
• Arithmetical Check
ΣB.S- ΣF.S = Last R.L – 1st R.L
 Reduction of levels
2.Rise and Fall Method
• Consists of determining the difference of the level bet.
Consecutive points by comparing each point with that
immediately preceding it.
• The difference between their staff reading indicates a rise or
fall according as staff reading at the point is smaller or greater
than that at the preceding point
• The R.L of each point is obtained by adding the rise to or
subtracting the fall from the R.L of the preceding point
• Check
ΣB.S- ΣF.S = ΣRise-Σfall=Last R.L – 1st R.L
 Comparison of the two systems
• Collimation system is less tedious more rapid and involves
less calculation.However mistakes made in reduction of levels
of the intermediate points remain undetected,while in rise and
fall systems there is a complete check on each of the
intermediate reductions
 Booking of levels
• Readings should be entered in the respective columns and in
the order of their observations
• The first entry on the page is always a back sight and the last
one is always a foresight
• The fore and back sights of the change point should be written
in the same horizontal line
• The R.L of the plane of collimation should be written in the
same horizontal; line opposite to the back sight
• Bench marks, change points and other important points should
be briefly described in the remarks column
 Principles of levelling
1.Simple Levelling
• Simplest operation in levelling when it is required to find the
difference in elevation between 2 points which are visible from
a single position of the level
• If the true difference of level bet. 2 points is required, the
level must be set up exactly midway between them.
2. Differential Levelling
This method is used when
a)If the points are far apart
b)If there are obstacles intervening
• The unknown elevation of a point cannot be determined in a
single set up of an instrument.
• Thus, in this method, instrument gets setup number of times to
observe reading along a route in between observed points.
• For each set up, staff readings are taken back to a point of known
elevation (Fore sight from the preceeding instrument set up) final
sight to the terminal station.
 Classification of levelling
• Diffetential levelling (fly levelling)- to determine the
elevations of points some distance apart
• Check levelling-Running levels for the purpose of checking a
series of levels which have been seriously fixed.
• Profile levelling (longitudinal levelling)- determine the
elevation of points at known distance apart to get the outline of
the surface of the ground along a predetermined line
• Cross sectioning- to determine the surface undulations
• Reciprocal levelling- the difference in elevation bet. 2 points
is determined by 2 sets of observations when it is possible to
set up the level midway between the two points
 Classification of levelling
• Barometric levelling-the altitudes of points are obtained by
means of a barometer which measures atmospheric pressure
• Hypsometry-heights are found by observing the temperature at
which water boils
• Trignometrical levelling-elevations of points are computed
from the vertical angles and horizontal distances measured in
the field
 Profile levelling
• To determine the elevation of points at known distance apart to
get the outline of the surface of the ground along a
predetermined line
• The line along which the profile is to be run is to be marked on
the ground before taking any observation. Stakes are usually
set at some regular interval which depends on the topography,
accuracy required, nature of work, scale of plotting etc. It is
usually taken to be 10 meter.
• In addition, stakes are placed at locations where marked
changes in slope occur; a change in direction occur; at critical
points like bridges and other features crossing the alignment.
• In carrying out profile leveling, a level is placed at a convenient
location not necessarily along the line of observation. The
instrument is to be positioned in such a way that first backsight
can be taken clearly on a B.M. Then, observations are taken at
regular intervals (say at 1, 2, 3, 4) along the central line and
foresight to a properly selected turning point (say CP1). The
instrument is then re-positioned to some other convenient
location. After proper adjustment of the instrument, observations
are started from CP1 and then at regular intervals (say at 5, 6 etc)
terminating at another turning point, say CP2 . Staff readings are
also taken at salient points where marked changes in slope occur
• The distance as well as direction of lines are also measured.
 Booking Field Notes
• The notes of profile leveling are recorded in a level note book
where backsights, intermediate sights and foresights are placed
in independent columns. The distances of points as well as
direction of lines are also noted in separate columns
• Reduction of levels can be done either by height of instrument
method or by rise and fall method
 Plotting the profile
• Plotting of profile leveling provides a graphical representation
of the ground points on a longitudinal section along the
alignment. It is being used to determine the depth of cutting or
filling on the proposed gradient (for highways, railways,
canals, etc.), to study grade crossing problems, to select
appropriate grade, to locate depth of sewer, tunnels etc.
• In this, a datum line is drawn along which distance of the
stakes are marked and reduced levels are plotted along vertical
lines drawn on the marked points.
• Profile is generally drawn so that the vertical scale is much
larger than the horizontal scale in order to accentuate the
differences of elevations.
 Cross sectioning
• Sections run at right angles to the centre line and on either side of it for the
purpose of determining lateral outline of the ground surface.
• The cross sections must extend a sufficient distance on each side of the
center line to provide a view of the surrounding terrain.
• Rod readings should be taken at equal intervals on both sides of the center
line and at significant changes in the terrain.
• The length of cross section depends on the nature of the work, eg. For road
work it may be 30 to 60m on each side of the centre line , for railway 200
to 300m
• Field notes for a cross section should include:
-an elevation or -difference in elevation from the center line
-horizontal distance from the center line
 Plotting the cross section
• Same as that of profile levelling except that the scale used for
plotting the horizontal and vertical measurements is the same