ADVANCED ENGINEERING

SURVEYING

ROAD CURVES
(Part-I)
CURVES B

Curves are regular bends

T
provided in the lines of T
1
2

communication like roads, A

C
railways and canals etc. to
bring about gradual
change of direction.
O
Fig. 1 . A
CURVE

2
Types of Road Curves
HORIZONTAL CURVES
Curves provided in the horizontal plane to have the
gradual change in direction are known as horizontal
curves.

VERTICAL CURVES
Curves provided in the vertical plane to obtain the
gradual change in grade are called as vertical curves.
Curves may be circular or parabolic.
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 NEED OF PROVIDING CURVES
Curves are needed on highways, railways and
canals for bringing about gradual change of
direction of motion. They are provided for
following reasons:-
i) To bring about gradual change in
direction of motion.
ii) To bring about gradual change in grade and
for good visibility.
iii) To alert the driver so that he may not fall
asleep.
iv) To layout Canal alignment. 4
CLASSIFICATION OF CIRCULAR CURVES

Circular curves are classified as :

(i) Simple Curves.

(ii) Compound Curves.

(iii) Reverse/Serpentine Curves.

(iv) Transition Curves

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(v) Deviation Curves.

i) Simple Curve:

A simple curve consists of a

single arc of circle
connecting two straights. It
has radius of the same
magnitude throughout.

Fig. 3. A SIMPLE
CURVE

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 ii) COMPOUND CURVE

Fig.4 Compound Curve

A compound curve consists of two or more

simple curves having different radii bending
in the same direction and lying on the same
side of the common tangent. 7
iii) REVERSE OR SERPENTINE CURVE
A reverse or serpentine curve is made up
of two arcs having equal or different radii
bending in opposite direction with a
common tangent at their junction .
Their centers on opposite sides of
the curve. Reverse curves are
used when the straights are
parallel or intersect at a very
small angle.
Fig. 5. A Reverse or Serpentine
Curve.
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REVERSE OR SERPENTINE CURVE
They are commonly used on railway tracks and
roads meant for low speeds. They should be avoided
as far as possible on main lines and highways where
speeds are necessarily high.

Fig.6 A Reverse or Serpentine

Curve.
 ii) TRANSITION CURVE

Fig.7 Transition Curve

A curve of variable radius is known as a transition

curve.It is also called a spiral curve. In railways,
such a curve is provided on both sides of a circular
curve to minimize superelevation. 10
O O
1 3 iv) DEVIATION CURVE
A deviation curve is
simply a combination of
two reverse curves. it is
used when it becomes
Building
T T
necessary to deviate
1 2 from a given straight
path in order to avoid
O2 intervening obstructions
Fig. 8 A Deviation
Curve
such as bend of river, a
building , etc.
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CURVE LAYOUT METHODS
(FOR HORIZONTAL CURVE)

Deflection Angle Method

Tangent Offset Method
Chord Offset Method

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To Layout the Simple Circular Curve by
Deflection Angle Method

13
 B
’

B φ

I
F

T E T
1 2

C
A
R φ/2
φ

Fig. 8 SIMPLE CIRCULAR CURVE

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NAMES OF VARIOUS PARTS OF CURVE
(i) The two straight lines AB and BC which are
connected by the curve are called the
tangents or straights to the curve.
(ii) The point of intersection of the two
straights (B) is called the intersection point
or the vertex.
(iii) When the curve deflects to the right side of
the progress of survey ,it is termed as right
handed curve and when to the left , it is
termed as left handed curve.
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 NAMES OF VARIOUS PARTS OF CURVE
(iv) The lines AB and BC are tangents to the
curve. ABis called the first tangent or the
rear tangent . BC is called the second
tangent or the forward tangent.
(v) The points ( T1 and T2 ) at which the
curve touches the tangents are called
the tangent points. The beginning of
the curve ( T1) is called the tangent
curve point and the end of the curve
(T2) is called the curve tangent point.
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 NAMES OF VARIOUS PARTS OF CURVE
(vi) The angle between the lines AB and BC
(└ABC) is called the angle of intersection
(I).
(vii) The angle by which the forward tangent
deflects from the rear tangent (└B'BC) is
called the deflection angle (φ) of the curve.
(viii) The distance from the point of intersection
to the tangent point is called tangent length
( BT1 and BT2).
(ix) The line joining the two tangent points (T1
and T2) is known as the longchord. 17
(x) The arc T1FT2 is called the length of curve.
(xi) The mid point(F) of the arc (T1FT2) is called
the summit or apex of the curve.
(xii) The distance from the point of intersection
to the apex of the curve BF is called the
apex distance.
(xiii) The distance between the apex of the curve
and the mid point of the long chord (EF) is
called versed sine of the curve.
(xiv) The angle subtended at the center of the
curve by the arc T1FT2 is central known as
angle and is equal to the angle (φ) deflection
. 18
 ELEMENTS of a Simple Circular Curve

(i) Angle of intersection +Deflection angle = 1800.

or I + φ = 1800
(ii) └ T1OT2 = 1800 - I = φ
i.e the Central angle = Deflection angle.

(iii)Tangent length = BT1 =BT2= OT1 tan φ/2

= R tan φ/2
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ELEMENTS of a Simple Circular Curve
(iv) Length of long chord =2T1E
=2R sin φ/2
(v) Length of curve = Length of arc T1FT2
= R X φ (in radians)
= πR φ/1800
(vi) Apex distance = BF = BO – OF
= R sec φ/2 - R
= R (sec φ/2- 1 )
(vii) Versed sine of curve=EF=OF-OE
=R- R cos φ/2
=R(1-cos φ/2 )
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DESIGNATION OF CURVE

A curve may be designated either by the

radius or by the angle at the center by a
chord of particular length.
In Pakistan, a curve is designated by the
angle (in degrees) subtended at the
center by a chord of 30 meters (100 ft.)
length. This angle is called the degree of
curve (D). Fig.9 Degree of
Curve
The degree of the curve indicates the
sharpness of the curve.
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RELATION between the Radius of curve &
Degree of Curve.
The relation between the radius M P N
and the degree of the curve may
be determined as follows:-
D
R R
Let R = the radius of the curve in meters. D/2
D= the degree of the curve.
MN = the chord, 30m long.
P= the mid-point of the chord. O
Fig. Degree of
In OMP, OM=R, 9 Curve
MP= ½ MN =15m
MOP=D/2
Then, sin D/2=MP/OM= 15/R
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RELATION between the Radius of curve and
Degree of Curve.
Then, sin D/2=MP/OM= 15/R M P N
Or R = 15
(Exact
sin D/2
)
But when D is small, sin D/2 may be D
assumed approximately equal to R R
D/2
D/2 in radians and multiply with π/180
Therefore:
R = 15 X 360 O
πD Fig. 10 Degree of
= 1718.9 Curve
D
Or say , R = 1718.9  This relation holds good up to 50
D curves. For higher degree curves the
(Approximate exact relation should be used.
23
)
 WHAT IS CHAINAGE ?
Chainage is the horizontal distance as measured along a combination
of curves and straight lines between two points. This term is usually
used in conjunction with route surveying along the survey control line
of right of way maps. It is often referred to as Stationing.
The Point of Beginning of the line is usually denoted as 00+00 (The
Starting Point) with stationing at least every 100 feet along the line
denoted as 1+00 (for 100 feet)…2+00 (for 200 feet)…3+00 (for 300
feet), etc. where the first number represents the number of 100 foot
stations and the digits after the (+) sign represent any remaining
portion less than 100 feet.
For example: 31+57.95 would represent 3,157.95 feet.
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CHAINAGE

25
CHAINAGE

Chainage of First Tangent Point

Chainage of Intersection point-Tangent length

Chainage of Second Tangent Point

Chainage of First Tangent point+Curve Length

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CHORD INTERVALS

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SUPERELEVATION
Height through which
the outer edge of the
road or rail is raised is
known as superelevation.

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Fig : superelevation
 CENTRIFUGAL RATIO

The ratio between the centrifugal force and the

weight of the vehicle is known as centrifugal
ratio.

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Example 01 : A simple circular curve is to have a
radius of 573 m .the tangents intersect at chainage
1060 m and the angle of intersection is 1200. Find,
(i) Tangent Distance.
(ii) Chainage at beginning and end of the curve.
(iii) Length of the long chord.
(iv) Degree of the curve.

Solution: Please see fig.11

Given,
The deflection angle, φ= 1800 – 1200=600
Radius of curve = R = 573 m

30
 1060 =
m
1200 φ

T T
1 2

R=573m

O
Fig.11
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(i) We know ,tangent length = R tan φ /2
= 573 x tan 300
= 573x 0.5774
= 330.85 m (Ans.)
(ii) Length of curve is given by: π R φ
1800
= π x 573x600
1800
= 600 m (Ans.)
Chainage of 1st tangent point (T1)
= Chainage of intersection point – tangent length.
= 1060 – 330.85= 729.15 m (Ans.)
Chainage of 2nd tangent point (T2)
= Chainage of 1st intersection point+ curve length
=729.15+600=1329.15m 32
(iii) The length of long chord is given by:
L = 2R sin φ /2
= 2 x 573 x sin 300
= 573 m ( Ans.)

(iv) Degree of Curve

We know the relation , R= 1718.9
D

or D = 1718.9
R
=30
Therefore , degree of curve is =30 (Ans.)
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 1060 600 =
m
1200
φ
330.85
m
L=600
729.15 m 1329.15
m
T Tm
34
1 2

R=573m

O
Fig.B
 Example 2

The centre-line of two straights is projected forward to meet

at I, the deflection angle being 30◦. If the straights are to be
connected by a circular curve of radius 200 m, tabulate all the
setting-out data, assuming 20-m chords on a through
chainage basis, the chainage of I being 2259.59 m.
40