Chapter 4

Measurement of Angle

1
 Content

 Introduction
 Principle of angle measurement

 Terms used in angular measurements .

 Preparing a theodolite for work

 Instrument for angle measurement

(Theodolite)
 Horizontal angle

 Vertical and zenith angles

2
 Introduction
 Determining the locations of points and orientations of
lines frequently depends on measurements of angles and
directions.
 In surveying, directions are given by azimuths and
bearings.
 Angles measured in surveying are classified as either
horizontal or vertical, depending on the plane in which
they are observed.
 Horizontal angles are the basic observations needed for
determining bearings and azimuths.
 Vertical angles are used in trigonometric leveling, stadia,
and for reducing slope distances to horizontal.
 Three basic requirements in determine angles are
(1) Reference or starting line,
(2) Direction of turning, and
(3) Angular distance (value of the angle).
3
 Principle of angle measurement

 In surveying angles are measured either in horizontal

plane yielding horizontal angles or in vertical plane
yielding vertical angles.

4
Terms used in angular measurements
 The following terms should be clearly understood.
1. Centring: It is the process of setting up the instrument
exactly over the station mark.
2. Vertical axis: The vertical axis of the theodolite is the
axis about which the instrument rotates in the
horizontal plane.
3. Horizontal axis: It is the line passing through the
centres of the journals, which fit into the bearings at
the top of the standards.
4. Face left: If the vertical circle is on the left side of the
observer, the theodolite is in the face left.
5. Face right: If the vertical circle is on the right side of
the observer, the theodolite is in the face right.
5
 CON’T

6, Plunging the telescope: It is the process of rotating the

telescope over the horizontal axis through 180 in the
vertical plane. Plunging is also known as transiting or
reversing.
7, Swinging the telescope: It is the process of turning the
telescope about the vertical axis in a horizontal plane.
8, Changing face: It is the operation of bringing the telescope
from the face left to face right and vice versa.
9, Line of collimation (line of sight): This line is defined by the
cross hairs and the optical centre of the objective.

6
 Parts of the theodolite

1. Hand grip
2. Peep sight
3. Vertical tangent screw
4. Eyepiece
5. Vertical motion screw
6. Horizontal tangent screw
7. Tribrach
8. Foot screw
9. Micrometer knob
10. Focusing ring
11. Microscope eyepiece for reading the scale
12. Selector knob
13. Plate bubble tube
14. Horizontal motion screw 7
15. Circular bubble
 Axis's of the theodolite

 The collimation axis ZZ should be normal to the

horizontal axis KK!
 The horizontal axis KK should be normal to the
vertical axis VV!
 The plate bubble axis LL should be horizontal!

 The vertical axis VV should be vertical (in the

plumb line!)

8
 Preparing a theodolite for work

 Preparing a theodolite for work is required to

be made at each setting of the instrument
before taking observations.

 To make ready the theodolite for work the

following five steps are required:
1. Setting up the theodolite

2. Centring the theodolite

3. Levelling up the theodolite

4. Focusing the eyepiece of the theodolite

5. Focusing the objective of the theodolite

9
A/Setting up and centring a theodolite by
means of an optical plummet

 Extend the tripod legs to suitable lengths (the

observer should sight trough the telescope
comfortably!).
 Set up the tripod approximately over the ground
point.
 Step back about one meter and check whether the
vertical axis of the tripod coincides with the ground
point. If it does not, move the tripod accordingly.
 Stand at an approximately right angle to the previous
position and check again whether the vertical axis of
the tripod coincides with the ground point (see figure
1).
10
 CON’T

Setup

11
 CON’T
 Press the tripod feet firmly into the ground. The
tripod head should be approximately horizontal.
 Take the theodolite carefully out of the carrying
case, place it on the tripod head and immediately
tight it firmly by using the fastening screw.
 Check whether the 3 foot screws are on their
midsections.
 The optical plummet has now to be focused
properly, that means both the cross hairs and the
ground point have to appear sharp while sighting
through the eyepiece. Do the following:

12
 CONT…
 Shift the eyepiece of the optical
plummet in or out until the
ground point becomes sharp.
 Turn the eyepiece until the
crosshairs appear sharp.
 The optical plummet (see figure
2) is now focused, that means
ground point and cross hairs
are projected in the same plane
(this is also called elimination
of parallax).

13

Figure 2
 CON’T
 By moving the foot screws and simultaneously
sighting through the optical plummet bring the cross
hairs exactly over the ground point.
 By extending or reducing the lengths of the tripod legs
bring the bubble in the central position (while doing
so, step slightly onto the respective tripod foot).
 Check whether the cross hairs of the optical plummet
are still exactly over the ground point. If not, loosen
the fastening screw, grab the tribrach (not the foot
screws!) and slide it carefully to the point, marking
the ground station.
 Never rotate the tribrach!!

Lastly, The theodolite is now exactly centred

over the ground point and roughly levelled. 14
 C/ Exact levelling of the theodolite by
means of the 3 foot screws (see figure
3).
 Turn the instrument until the axis of the
spirit level is parallel with the line of any 2
foot screws.
 The screws are held by the thumb and
forefinger of each hand and turned equally
and simultaneously in the opposite direction
until the bubble has moved to the central
position. The bubble is now centralized.
Left thumb rule:
 The bubble is always moving along the bubble tube
15
towards the direction of movement of the left thumb.
 THE THEODOLITE IS NOW EXACTLY CENTRED AND

LEVELLED AND THE SURVEY CAN BE STARTED .

16
 CONT
D. Focusing the eyepiece of the telescope:
 The eyepiece is focussed to make the crosshairs distinct and
clear.

 It may be noted that the focussing of the eyepiece depends

upon the eyesight (vision) of the observer.

E. Focusing the objective of the telescope:

 The objective is focused to bring the image of the object in the
plane of cross hairs.

 It may be noted that the focusing of the objective depends

upon the distance of the object. When the distance of the object
is change, focusing has to be done again.
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 CON’T

Horizontal angle
 In figure 4 points A, B, C are three points located on
the earth's surface. Points A', B', C' are the
projections of points A, B, and C onto a horizontal
plane. Angles A'B'C', B'C'A', and C'A'B' are the
horizontal angles.

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Figure 4
 Types of horizontal angles
 The kinds of horizontal angles most commonly
observed in surveying are:
1. Interior angles,
2. Exterior angles, and
3. deflection angles
1.Interior angles: are measured clockwise or counter-
clockwise between two adjacent lines on the inside of
a closed polygon figure.
 the sum of all angles in any polygon must equal

(n-2)180degree, where n is the number of angles.

2.Exterior angles: are measured clockwise or counter-
clockwise between two adjacent lines on the outside of
a closed polygon figure. 19
 CON”T

 the sum of the interior and exterior angles at any

station must total 360°.

3. Deflection angles: are observed from an extension of the back

line to the forward station.

 Deflection angles may be observed to the right

(clockwise) or to the left (counterclockwise) depending
upon the direction of the alignment.

 Clockwise angles are considered plus, and

counterclockwise ones minus.
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 They are always smaller than 180degree.
CON’T

21
 Methods of Measuring horizontal angles

 One of the basic purposes of surveying is to determine

the relative position of points on or near the earth’s
surface.
 Angles are measured between two intersecting lines in
either a horizontal plane or a vertical plane,
 The horizontal angle between a given line and a specified
reference line is called the direction of the line.
 The reference line is called a meridian.
 In addition to serving for the computation of
coordinates, angles are measured so that the directions
of lines
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 Objectives of the topic

 Students will be able to:

1. Apply the reiteration method to upgrade the

precision in horizontal angle measurements.

2. Fill out the field book and calculate the final average
angle.

3. Explain the principle of repetition method

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 CON’T

 There are several methods for measuring horizontal

angles
 every method is used according with the specific
situation and the required rate of precision.
 There are several methods for measuring horizontal
angles .
 The two most applied method are:

1.Reiteration method

a.Single method

b. Series method (closing the horizon)

2.Repetition method 24
Reiteration method (Doubling the
angle)
 The reiteration method consists in measured the angle
twice, firstly with the direct telescope (Face right) and
secondly with the Indirect telescope (face left) previous
Plunging and swinging the telescope.
Let’s remember that:
 Plunging the telescope: It is the process of rotating
the telescope over the horizontal axis through 180 in
the vertical plane. Plunging is also known as transiting
or reversing.
 Swinging the telescope: It is the process of turning the
telescope about the vertical axis in a horizontal plane.
 Changing face: It is the operation of bringing the
telescope from the face left to face right and vice versa. 25
 CONT…
 Reiteration method involves two procedures
named single reiteration and series reiteration or
close to the horizon.
 The single reiteration is used in traversing works
specially when the angle between two line is
measured.
 The series reiteration is used in case of more than
two line are involve and more than one direction
have to be measured.
C
B
B C

A
A
26
E
D
 The need for series reiteration
 The procedure series or close to the horizon is used to
measure the angle between two direction:-

 when a high precision is required, in theses case more than

one reiteration is done and the average among them is
calculated.
 in addition an observation program should be make to obtain
the different positions of the horizontal circle in order to
minimize the collimation errors.
 That observation program is based up on the
Bessel rule: 1800
n
Where n is the number of reiterations that will be 27

performed.
 CON’T
For example

If three reiteration will be performed then: 1800 = 1800 =600

n 3
 It is to say that the three reiteration must to be done with 600 interval so:
000
000 + 600 = 600
600 + 600 = 1200

 In this case the reiteration method is applied three

times, consequently three result are obtained that
should be theoretical the same, but in practice this
condition is not fulfilled, therefore an average result is
encountered.
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1. Steps to follow to do the reiteration Single method

1. Set up the theodolite at vertex point A.

2. Sight the backward point or at station B at 000 02’ (or other
figure different than 0) by face right.
3. Release the horizontal movement of alidade and sight up the
forward point of station C.
4. Read the angle and write it down at field book (according
reiteration procedure).
5. Swing the telescope around its vertical axis (bell turning) and
around its horizontal axis 1800 (Plunging the telescope) by face
left.
6. Sight up again the forward line and read the Indirect telescope
at station C (write it down at field book).
7. Release the horizontal movement of alidade and sight up the
backward line to station B (this turning should be done
anticlockwise).
8. Read the indirect telescope and write down it result on the field 29
book.
Compute the final angles as indicated in the ff. Example:.
 Example
Station Target posit Horizontal Average Final
ion Angle Angle
0 ‘ ‘’ ‘ ‘’
FR
A B 000 02’ 00’’ 02’ 13’’ 1420 20’
FL 28’’
1800 02’ 26’’
FR
C 1420 22’ 46’’ 22’ 41’’
FL
3220 22’ 36’’

To determine the final angle:

•Find the minutes and second average between FR and FL
30
•Subtract the average angle obtained in B from average angle
obtained in C, that is 1420 22’ 41’’ – 000 02’ 13’’ = 1420 20’ 28’’
 2.Step to follow to do the reiteration Series
method (closing the horizon)

a) Set up the theodolite at vertex point .

b) Sight the backward point at 000 02’ (or other figure
different than 0)
c) Release the horizontal movement of alidade and sight
up the forward point
d) Read the angle and write it down at field book
(according reiteration procedure)
e) Close to the horizon turning the alidade to the previous
Backsight point and note (its value it should be 000 02’
00’’ if error are not involved).
f) Swing the telescope around its vertical axis (bell
turning) and around its horizontal axis 1800 (Plunging
the telescope)
g) Sight up again the Backwardline and read the Indirect
telescope (write it down at field book) 31
h) Release the horizontal movement of alidade and sight
up the forward line (this turning should be done
anticlockwise) make the reading.
i) Close to the horizon at backward line.
j) Read the indirect telescope and write down its result
on the field book.
Compute the final angles as indicated .
Station Target position Horizontal Angle Average Final Angle
0 ‘ ‘’ ‘ ‘’
FR 000 02’ 00’’
B FL 1800 02’ 24’’ 02’ 12’’ 1420 20’
23’’
FR 1420 22’ 46’’
C FL 3220 22’ 36’’ 22’ 41’’
A
FR 000 02 12 32
B FL 1800 02’ 36’’ 02’ 24’’
 To determine the final angle
 Find the minutes and second average between FR and
FL
 Find average between B departure and B closing the
horizon
 Subtract the average angle obtained in B from average
angle obtained in C, that is
=1420 22’ 41’’ – (02’ 12’’+02’ 24’’)
2
=1420 22’ 41’’ -000 02’ 18’’
= 1420 20’ 23’’

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 when more than two line are involved the procedure is the same, so all we have to do is to
subtract the departure and closing average angle to every single line average angle.
example:
Station Targe Posi Horizontal Angle Average Final Angle
t tion 0 ‘ ‘’ ‘ ‘’
FR 000 02’ 00’’
B 02’ 13’’
FL 1800 02’ 26’’

FR 1420 22’ 46’’

C 22’ 41’’ 1420 20’ 23’’
A FL 2240 22’ 36’’

FR 1820 35’ 42’’

D 35’ 49’’ 1820 33’ 31’’
FL 020 35’ 56’’
FR 2240 18’ 26’’
E 18’ 28’’ 2240 16’ 10’’
FL 440 18’ 30’’
FR 000 02 12
B 02’ 24’’ 34
FL 1800 02’ 36’’
 Repetition Method
 The repetition methods is used for individual angles only,
 it consists in measure the angle several times
accumulating its values and afterward the average result is
computed by dividing the total accumulated value by the
number of repetitions,
 the procedure is made with either right and left face of the
instrument and the final value of both side are averaged
thereby the final result is obtained.
 This method reduces the possibility of mistakes or blunders.
 No all optical theodolites are suitable for applying the
repetition methods since there are the so called reiterated
theodolites that permit the reiteration method only except
some of them.
 The total station includes the repetition method as one of
its internal softwares. 35
 Vertical and zenith angles

1. A vertical angle is measured in a vertical plane

using a horizontal plane as reference plane.

# When the point being sighted is above the horizontal

plane the vertical angles is called an angle of elevation
and is considered as a positive angle.

# When the point being sighted is below the horizontal

plane, the angle is called an angle of depression and
considered as a negative angle.

# The value of vertical angle can range from –90 to +

36
90 (- 100 grad to + 100 grad).
 CON’T
2. A zenith angle is also measured in a vertical plane
but uses the overhead extension of plumb line as a
reference line.
 Its value ranges from 0 to 180 (0 grad to 200 grad).

 In figure 5 the zenith angles measured at station A to

targets at station B and C are 70 and 120.

 The corresponding vertical angles are 20 and -30.

 Most of the theodolites give zenith angles

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 CONT

fig - 5
38
 Measuring Vertical angular

Topics:
 Vertical angle classification

 Zenithal angle

 Vertical angle

 Nadiral angle

 Field procedure for measuring vertical angles.

 Measuring distance by mean of stadia method

Objectives
You will be able to:
 Explain the procedure to measure vertical and
Zenithal angles.
 Compute distance by means of stadia method 39
 CON’T
 As we have been studying in surveying works angles
are measured in two plane:
Horizontal plane
Vertical plane

At this lecture we will focus our study in vertical

angles, these angles are commonly measured for
 stadia and trigonometric levelling surveying also for
electronic distance measuring (EDM) surveys where
the slope distances must be reduce to horizontal
distances.

40
 Vertical Angle classification

 The vertical angle is classified according to the

position of 00 in the vertical circle of the
theodolite so that, basically, there are three
position of the 00 in the vertical circle:
1. 00 on the Zenith (Zenithal angle)
2 . 00 on the Horizontal Plane (Vertical angle)
3 . 00 on the Nadir (Nadiral angle)

41
 Field procedure for measuring
vertical angles.
 Before starting explaining the procedure for
measuring vertical angle, we must to be familiarized
with the theodolite reticule, it is made of three cross
hairs:
Direct Telescope
Upper hair cross : U

Mid hair cross

M
Reverse Telescope
42
Lower hair cross: L
 CON’T
 Measure the Vertical or Zenithal angle is very simple
since the only one operation that has to be accomplished
is to set the mid cross hair at the point or target by
moving the telescope with its fine motion crew.
 When vertical or Zenithal angles are measured for
determine elevation and vertical distance (∆z).
 the instrument height is required as well as the reading
on the staff where the vertical or Zenithal angle was
taken.

43
 If we want to determine ∆z or vertical distance between
A and B, then let’s apply the formula:
∆z = ½ SD x sin2 va + IH - M
 If we take the reading on the staff at mid cross hair
(MH) at the instrument height (IH = MH) then the
formula is reduced to: 44

∆z = ½ SD x sin2 va
 CON’T
 If we want to determine the Horizontal distance (HD)
we can apply the formula
HD = SD x cos2 (va)
 If we know the horizontal distance (HD) we can
determine ∆z applying next formula:
∆z = HD x tan (va) + IH – M
 If we take the reading on the staff at mid cross hair
MH at the instrument height (IH = MH) then the
formula is reduced to:
∆z = HD x tan (va) 45
 Measuring distance by means of stadia method

 The slope distance can be obtained through the telescope’s reticule

applying the stadia method so that:
SD = (U – L) x 100 Where : SD = Slope Distance
SD = (U – M) x 200 U = Upper Cross Hair
SD = (M – L) x 200 M = Mid Cross Hair
L = Lower Cross Hair
100 = Stadia metric constant

 Since the U and L are equidistant from M, is to say, the distance from U

and M is the same to the distance M to L, when we multiply:

 U – M x 100 or M – L x 100 we will obtain half of the distance between the

theodolite and the staff, therefore we need to multiply this result by 2 for

obtaining the total distance between the theodolite and the staff, is to say:
(U – M) x 100) x 2 = (U – M) x 200
46
(M – L) x 100) x 2 = (M – L) x 200
 CONT
Let’s see an example:
 We’ve got the follow reading on the staff:
U = 1.914
M = 1.708
L = 1.502
SD = U – L x 100 = 1.914 – 1,502 x 100 = 41.2
SD = U – M x 200 = 1.914 – 1.708 x 200 = 41.2
SD = M – L x 200 = 1.708 – 1.502 x 200 = 41.2

Most of the time in the real practice the resulted

distance that we obtain by mean of applying the three
formula are not exactly the same, but very close one to
another, thereby we find the average of them,
assuming this one as the final result. 47
 Compute the final angle in each given case

Ex.1

Ex.2

48
 Ex.3
3. Between two point on the ground A and B its slope
distance was measured by stadia setting up the theodolite
on A and setting up the staff on B, the reading of the three
hair cross were:
U = 2.456
M = 1.887
L = 1.327
the vertical angle was va = + 120 20’ 00’’
the IH = 1.57.
Determine:
1. Slope Distance
2. Horizontal Distance
3. Vertical Distance
4.Elevation of B if elevation of A is 100.00meter 49

By. Mebrahtu B.
50