LEVELLING

Levelling

Definition
“An art of determining the relative height of
different points on, above or below the surface of
earth”
Objective of Levelling
• To find the elevation of given points with respect to some
assumed reference line called datum.
• To establish point at required elevation with respect to a
given or assumed datum.
Terms used in levelling
 Terms used in levelling
Level surface
 A curved surface which at any point is perpendicular to
the direction of gravity
Level line
 Line lying in a level surface
Horizontal plane
 Horizontal plane through a point is a plane tangential to
level surface at that point
Horizontal line
 It is a straight line tangential to level line
 Terms used in levelling
Datum
 It is a level surface which is taken as a reference surface
for the determination of elevations of various points.
 Datum most commonly used is mean sea level (M.S.L)
Mean Sea Level
 It is the average height of sea for all stages of tides
 It is derived by averaging the hourly tide heights over a
period of 19 years.
Elevation or Reduced level
 It is height or depth of any point above or below any
datum. It is denoted as R.L
 Terms used in Levelling
Bench Mark (B.M)
 A permanent point of reference whose elevation with a
fixed datum is known.
Line of collimation
 It is a line joining the intersection of cross hairs of
diaphragm to the optical centre of object glass and its
continuation. It is also known as line of sight.
Height of instrument
 It is the elevation of line of collimation with respect to
datum.
Back Sight (B.S)
 It is a staff reading taken at a point of known elevation.
It is the first staff reading taken after setup of instrument.
 Terms used in Levelling
Fore sight ( F.S)
 It is the reading taken on the staff either held at the last
point whose elevation is required or held at the turning
point just before shifting the instrument
Change Point or Turning Point (T.P)
 It is a point on which both fore and back sight are taken.
Intermediate sight (I.S)
 It is a point intermediate between two turning points on
which only one sight (Fore Sight) is taken to determine the
elevation of the station.
Bench Marks
 Bench mark is a fixed point of known elevation above
the datum
 There are 4 kinds of bench marks
◦ GTS (Great Trigonometrical survey) bench mark
◦ Permanent bench mark
◦ Temporary bench mark
◦ Arbitrary bench mark
GTS Bench Mark
 They are the bench marks established with very high
degree of precision at regular intervals by the Survey Of
India Department all over the country
 The levels of the GTS bench marks are determined very
accurately with respect to the mean sea level at Bombay
Port (Formerly it was Mean sea level at Karachi)

Permanent Bench Mark

 Permanent bench marks are fixed in between widely
spaced GTS benchmarks by Survey of India or some
other govt. agencies such as railways, PWD, etc.
 Benchmarks are written on permanent objects such as
milestones, bridges etc
Temporary Bench Marks
 Benchmarks established temporarily
 They are the reference points established during the
levelling operations when there is a break in work, or at
the end of day’s work
 The value of reduced levels are marked on some
permanent objects such as boundary walls, trees etc.

Arbitrary Bench Mark

 These are reference points whose elevations are
arbitrary assumed for levelling of small area
 They are used in small works such bench mark may be
assumed as 100 or 50 m
Principle of levelling
 Level is set at a convenient position & properly levelled
(bubble tube axis, line of sight are horizontal & vertical
axis is truly vertical)
 Staff is kept at the point of known elevation (B.M) &
reading is taken (B.S) & level of line of sight is
determined (H.I).
H.I = B.M+ B.S
 Now staff kept at point of unknown elevation & reading
is taken (F.S)
Elevation = H.I - F.S
 Instruments used for Levelling
 The following instruments are essentially required for
levelling.
◦ Level
◦ Levelling Staff
Level
The instrument used to provide horizontal line of sight for
observing staff readings

Level consist of following parts:

(i) A telescope to provide line of sight
(ii) A level tube to make line of sight horizontal
(iii) A levelling head (tribrach ) to bring the bubble in its centre of run
(iv) A tripod to support the instrument

Different types of levels are:

 Dumpy level
 Tilting level
 Wye level
 Automatic level
 Dumpy level
 The Dumpy level is a simple, compact and stable instrument.
 The telescope is rigidly fixed to its supports. Hence it cannot be
rotated about horizontal axis.
Dumpy level
Tilting Level
 More commonly used than dumpy level for precise &
accurate measurements
 Provided with a tilting screw
 Telescope can be tilted about its horizontal axis without
tilting the vertical axis
Wye level
 In wye level the telescope is carried by two vertical wye
supports.
 The telescope can be rotated, moved or even raised in wyes.
Wye Level
Automatic level
 It is also known as self aligning level. It is a recent
development.
 The fundamental difference between auto level and other
levels is that the levelling is not done manually but it is
levelled automatically.
 It is achieved by inclination compensating device called tilt
compensator.
Tilt Compensating Device
Tilt Compensating Device
Levelling Staff
 Levelling staff is a straight rectangular rod having
graduations, the foot of the staff representing zero reading

Levelling staffs are of two types:

 Self Reading staff
 Target staff
Self Reading Staff
The self reading staff can be read directly by the level man
looking through the telescope.

Common types of self reading staffs

 Solid staff
 Telescopic staff
 Folding Staff
Solid Staff
 Staff made of well seasoned wood having a length of 10 feet
or 3 m
Folding Staff
 It consists of two 2 m wooden pieces with a joint
assembly. Each piece of the staff is made of one
longitudinal strip without any joint.
 The folding joint is of detachable type with a locking
device at the back.
 The staff has brass cap at the bottom.
Telescopic Staff
 Staff consists of 3 pieces which can be extended to the full
length of 4m
 The top piece is solid and lower 2 are hollow from inside
 Target Staff
 A solid staff provided with a movable target
 Used for long distance sighting
 Target is a small metal piece of circular or oval shape, about
125 mm in diameter
 A vernier is provided on target to give precise reading
 In target staff level man directs the staff man to move the target
up and down until it bisects the line of sight.
 The staff man observe the staff reading
Temporary Adjustments of a level
 These adjustments are performed at every setup of instrument
 Temporary adjustment consist of the following:
(i) Setting up the level
(ii) Levelling of telescope
(iii) Elimination of parallax
 Focusing the eye-piece
 Focusing the objective
Setting up the level
This includes
a) Fixing the instrument on tripod.
b) Levelling the instrument approximately by leg adjustment.
Levelling up
 Levelling is done with the help of foot screws.
 The purpose of levelling is to make vertical axis truly vertical.

Three screw head

 Place the telescope parallel to a pair of foot screw then hold
the foot screws between thumb and first finger and turn them
either inward or outward until the longitudinal bubble comes
in the centre.
 Turn the telescope through 90 degree so that it lies parallel to
third foot screw, turn the screw until the bubble comes in the
centre.
Levelling up with three foot screws
Elimination of parallax
 Arises when image formed by the objective is not on the
plane of cross hairs
 Focusing the eye-piece
◦ To focus the eye piece, point the telescope towards the sky
or hold a white paper in front of objective, and move eye-
piece in or out till the cross- hair are sharp & distinctly
seen.
 Focusing the objective
◦ Direct the telescope to the levelling staff and on looking
through the telescope, turn the focusing screw till the
image appears clear and sharp.
Permanent adjustment of level
 The establishment of a desired relationship between the
fundamental lines of a levelling instrument is termed
permanent adjustment.

The fundamental lines are:

 The line of collimation
 The axis of the bubble tube
 The vertical axis
 The axis of the telescope
Fundamental lines in a level
Permanent adjustment of dumpy level
Conditions of adjustment
 The axis of the bubble tube should be perpendicular to the
vertical axis. (adjustment of level tube)
 The horizontal cross hair should lie in a plane perpendicular
to the vertical axis (adjustment of cross hair ring)
 The line of collimation of the telescope should be parallel to
the axis of the bubble tube (adjustment of line of sight)
Permanent adjustment of dumpy level
 Adjustment of Level tube
 Adjustment of Cross Hair ring
 Adjustment of Line of collimation (2 Peg method)
 Adjustment of Level Tube
 Desired Relation : The axis of the bubble tube should be
perpendicular to vertical axis when the bubble is central
 Test:
i. Set up the instrument on firm ground. Level the
instrument, as in temporary adjustment
ii. When the temporary adjustment have been done, turn
the telescope through 180˚ about the vertical axis
iii. Check whether the bubble remains central. If not, it
requires permanent adjustment
Adjustment of Level Tube
 Adjustment
(i) Bring the bubble halfway by the third foot screw
(ii) Bring the bubble through the remaining distance to
center by turning the capston nuts at the end of the
level tube
(iii) Repeat the test and adjustment until correct
 Adjustment of cross hair ring
Desired relation:
The horizontal cross hair should
lie in a plane perpendicular to
vertical axis
Test:
1. Sight a well defined object A
(about 60 m away) at one of the
horizontal hair
2. Rotate the end level slowly about
its spindle until the point A is
traced from one end of the hair to
the other hair
3. If the point does not deviate from
the hair, the adjustment is correct
4. If it deviates, the adjustment is not
correct
Adjustment:
Loose the capstan screws of the diaphragm & turn it slightly
until by further trial the point appears to travel along the
horizontal hair
Dumpy level
Adjustment of line of collimation
Desired relation:
Line of collimation of telescope should be parallel to the axis
of the bubble tube

Test & adjustment: Two Peg Test

1. Choose 2 points A & B at a distance of 100 or 120 m
2. Set instrument at point C, very near to A, in such a way that
the eye piece almost touches the staff kept at A
3. Take the reading through the objective
4. Sight the rod kept at B & take the reading
5. Take the difference of the two staff readings, which will give
the apparent difference in elevation
Apparent difference in elevation= h = ha- hb
6. Move the instrument to a point D, very near to B & set it so
that eye piece almost touches the staff kept at B
6. Take the reading of the staff kept at B & A. Find the difference
of the two readings
Apparent difference in elevation= h’ = ha’- hb’
7. If the two apparent differences are same then the
instrument is in adjustment. If not it requires adjustment
8. Calculate the correct difference in elevation
(ha− hb)+(ha’−hb’)
H= 2
8. Knowing the correct difference in elevation between the points,
calculate the correct staff reading at the points when the
instrument is at point D
Cross staff reading at A = (H+ hb’)
9. Keep the staff at A & sight it through the instrument set up at
D. Loose the capston screws of diaphragm & raise or lower
diaphragm so as to get the same staff reading as calculated in
(8)
10. Repeat the test for checking
11. The line of sight will thus be perfectly horizontal
Methods of Reducing Levels
 Height of Instrument (H.I) Method
◦ This method consist of finding H.I for every setup of
instrument, and then obtaining the R.L of point of reference
with respect to H.I
 Rise and Fall Method
◦ This method consist of determining the difference of level
between consecutive points by comparing each point with
immediate preceding point.
 Question 1

 The following readings were taken with a dumpy level

and 4m levelling staff. The instrument was shifted after
3rd and 6th readings. The readings are 2.665, 3.225,
2.905, 1.85, 0.98, 2.62, 1.585, 0.96, 0.425 m. Enter the
above readings in a page of level book and calculate R.L.
of points, if the first reading was taken with a staff held
on B.M. of 240 m. Apply arithmetic checks.
The following readings were taken with a dumpy level and 4m levelling
staff. The instrument was shifted after 3rd and 6th readings. The readings
are 2.665, 3.225, 2.905, 1.85, 0.98, 2.62, 1.585, 0.96, 0.425 m.
Question 2

The following observations were taken with dumpy level

and 4 m levelling staff. The instrument were shifted after
the 4th and 7th reading. The first reading was taken on a
bench mark whose R.L. was 15.575 m. Prepare a page of
level book and calculate RL of all the points.
Observations are: 0.565, 1.250, 1.675, 3.695, 0.125,
2.345, 0.500, 1.785, 2.535.
Station B.S I.S F.S Rise Fall RL Remarks

A 0.565 15.575 BM

B 1.25 0.685 14.89

C 1.675 0.425 14.46

D 0.125 3.695 2.02 12.44 CP

E 2.345 2.22 10.22

F 1.785 0.500 1.845 12.065 CP

G 2.535 0.75 11.315

2.47 6.73

CHECK ∑B.S - ∑F.S = - ∑Rise - ∑Fall = L.RL –

4.26 -4.26 F.RL = -
4.26