Presentation 05 - Mod

CIV 331
Highway Engineering
Course Instructor
Dr. Reem Sabouni
Presentation 05
DESIGN OF VERTICAL CURVES
2
NEED FOR VERTICAL CURVES
3
TYPES OF VERTICAL CURVES
4
NOTATION
• Curve point naming is as per the following:
– PVC: Point of Vertical Curvature
– PVI: Point of Vertical Intersection
(of initial and final tangents)
– PVT: Point of Vertical Tangency
• Curve positioning and length usually referenced in stations where
a station represents 1000 m or 100 ft (e.g., 1295.3 m → 1 +
295.3).
• G1 is initial roadway (tangent) grade.
• G2 is final roadway (tangent) grade.
• A is the absolute value of the difference in grades (generally
expressed in percent) → A = |G2 – G1|
• L is the length of the vertical curve measured in a horizontal
plane.
5
FUNDAMENTALS
• Parabolic curves are generally used for design:
y = ax 2 + bx + c
y = roadway elevation
x = distance from PVC
c = elevation of PVC
• Also usually design for equal-length tangents (i.e., half of curve

length is before PVI and half after).
6
FIRST DERIVATIVE
• First derivative gives slope:
dy
= 2ax + b
dx
• At PVC (x = 0):
dy
b= = G1
dx
• G1 is initial slope (in ft/ft or m/m) as previously defined
7
SECOND DERIVATIVE
• Second derivative gives rate of change of slope:
d2y
2
= 2a
dx
• However, the average rate of change of slope can also be
written as:
d 2 y (G2 − G1 )
2
=
dx L
• By substitution:
a=
(G2 − G1 )
2L
8
EXAMPLE 1
An equal-tangent vertical curve is to be constructed between grades
of -2.0% (initial) and +1.0% (final). The PVI is at station (3 +
350.000) and at elevation 130.000 m. Due to a street crossing the
roadway, the elevation of the proposed roadway at station (3 +
415.000) must be at 131.000 m. Design the curve.
SOLUTION:
[see whiteboard or page 53]
9
CURVE-THROUGH-A-POINT PROBLEM
Sometimes vertical curves are designed so that the elevation of a
specific location (station) is met (e.g., to connect with another
highway or underpass another highway/railway with specific
clearance).
Proposed vertical curve overpasses an Proposed vertical curve underpasses an

existing highway/railway existing highway/railway
10
CURVE-THROUGH-A-POINT PROBLEM
11
EXAMPLE 2
A vertical curve has its initial and final grades +3% and -2%,
respectively. Due to design requirements, the highest point
on that curve should be at station (2+305.00). If PVI is at
station (2+285.00) and elevation 26.55 m, calculate the
following:
a) The length of the curve.
b) Station and elevation of PVC.
c) Station and elevation of PVT.
SOLUTION:
[see whiteboard]
12
VERTICAL CURVE OFFSET
Offset, Y, is the vertical distance from initial tangent to the curve.
13
VERTICAL CURVE OFFSET
• For an equal tangent parabola:
A 2
Y= x
200 L
– Y = offset (in m or ft) at any distance, x, from the PVC

– A and L are as previously defined
• It follows from the figure that:
AL
Ym = offset at the curve midpoint
800
AL
Yf = offset at the end the curve
200
14
‘K’ Value
• The rate of change of slope at successive points on the curve is
constant, and
• Equals the algebraic difference between intersecting tangent
grades divided by the length of curve, or A/L in percent per ft (m)
• The inverse of the above function is L/A, which is the horizontal
distance required to effect a 1% change in gradient and is,
therefore, a measure of curvature:
L
K=
A
• The K-value can be used directly to compute the high/low points
for crest/sag vertical curves (provided the high/low point is not at
a curve end) by:
xhl = K × |G1|
(Where x = distance from the PVC to the high/low point)

15
EXAMPLE 3
A current roadway is climbing a hill at a grade of +3.0%. The roadway starts at
station 4+000 and elevation of 120 m. At station 5+000, there is an at-grade
railroad crossing that goes over the sloped road. Since designers are
concerned for the safety of drivers crossing the tracks, it has been proposed to
cut a tunnel through the hill to pass beneath the railroad tracks and come out
on the opposite side. A vertical crest curve would connect the existing roadway
to the proposed tunnel with a grade of (-0.5)%. The prospective curve would
start at station 4+650 and have a length of 800 meters. Engineers have stated
that there must be at least 10 meters of separation between the railroad tracks
and the road to build a safe tunnel. Assume an equal tangent curve. With the
current design, check whether this requirement is met.
SOLUTION:
[see whiteboard]
16
EXAMPLE 4
To help prevent future collisions between cars and trains, an at-grade crossing
of a rail road by a country road is being redesigned so that the country road
will pass underneath the tracks. Currently the vertical alignment of the county
road consists of an equal tangents crest vertical curve joining a 4% upgrade to
a 2% downgrade. The existing vertical curve is 240 meter long, the PVC of this
curve is at station 4+825 and elevation 28.75 m. The centerline of the train
tracks is at station 4+975. Your job is to find the shortest vertical curve length
that provides 5 meter of clearance between the new county road and the train
tracks, and to make a preliminary estimate of the cut depth that will be needed
at PVI to construct the new curve.
SOLUTION:
[see whiteboard]
17

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CIV 331

• Parabolic curves are generally used for design:

• Also usually design for equal-length tangents (i.e., half of curve

• First derivative gives slope:

• G1 is initial slope (in ft/ft or m/m) as previously defined

• Second derivative gives rate of change of slope:

[see whiteboard or page 53]

Proposed vertical curve overpasses an Proposed vertical curve underpasses an

• For an equal tangent parabola:

– Y = offset (in m or ft) at any distance, x, from the PVC

(Where x = distance from the PVC to the high/low point)

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