Compass surveying

Dr. Sangita Deb Barman

Deptt. Of Civil Engineering
IIEST Shibpur
 Introduction
Compass surveying is the branch of surveying in which the position of an object is
located using angular measurements determined by a compass and linear
measurements using a chain or tape. Compass surveying is used in following
circumstances:
If the surveying area is large, chain surveying is not adopted for surveying rather compass
surveying is employed.
If the plot for surveying has numerous obstacles and undulations which prevents chaining.
If there is a time limit for surveying, compass surveying is usually adopted
Compass surveying is not used in places which contain iron core, power lines etc
which usually attracts magnets due to their natural properties and electromagnetic
properties respectively.
 Direction of Line
Direction of a line is the horizontal angle from a reference line called the meridian.
There are four basic types of meridians:

Astronomical or True Meridians

 A plane passing through a point on the surface of the earth and containing the
earth’s axis of rotation defines the astronomical or true meridian at that point.
 Astronomical meridians are determined by observing the position of the sun
or a star.
 For a given point on the earth, its direction is always the same and therefore
directions referred to the astronomical or true meridian remain unchanged.
This makes it a good line of reference.
 Astronomical or true meridians on the surface of the earth are lines of
geographic longitude and they converge toward each other at the poles.
 The amount of convergence between meridians depends on the distance from
the equator and the longitude between the meridians.
Magnetic Meridian
A magnetic meridian lies parallel with the magnetic lines
of force of the earth.
The earth acts very much like a bar magnet with a north
magnetic pole located considerably south of the north pole
defined by the earth’s rotational axis.
The magnetic pole is not fixed in position, but rather
changes its position continually.
The direction of a magnetized needle defines the magnetic
meridian at that point at that time.
Because the magnetic meridian changes as magnetic north
changes, magnetic meridians do not make good lines of
reference.
Grid Meridians
In plane surveys it is convenient to perform the work in a
rectangular XY coordinate system in which one central
meridian coincides with a true meridian.
All remaining meridians are parallel to this central true
meridian.
This eliminates the need to calculate the convergence of
meridians when determining positions of points in the
system.
The methods of plane surveying, assume that all
measurements are projected to a horizontal plane and that
all meridians are parallel straight lines. These are known
as grid meridians.
Assumed Meridians
On certain types of localized surveying, it may not be necessary to establish a true,
magnetic, or grid direction.
However it is usually desirable to have some basis for establishing relative directions within
the current survey. This may be done by establishing an assumed meridian.
An assumed meridian is an arbitrary direction assigned to some line in the survey from
which all other lines are referenced.
This could be a line between two property monuments, the centerline of a tangent piece of
roadway, or even the line between two points set for that purpose.
The important point to remember about assumed meridians is that they have no relationship
to any other meridian and thus the survey cannot be readily (if at all) related to other
surveys
Azimuths
The azimuth of a line on the ground is its horizontal angle measured from the meridian to the
line. Azimuth gives the direction of the line with respect to the meridian.
It is usually measured in a clockwise direction with respect to either the north meridian or
the south meridian. In plane surveying, azimuths are generally measured from the north.
When using azimuths, one needs to designate whether the azimuth is from the north or the
south.
Azimuths are called true (astronomical) azimuths, magnetic azimuths, grid azimuths, or
assumed azimuths depending on the type of meridian referenced.
Azimuths may have values between 0 and 360 degrees.
 Principles of Compass Surveying
• Compass surveying is done by using traversing.
• A traverse is formed by connecting the points in the plot by means of a series of
straight lines.
Closed Traverse
A traverse is said to be closed traverse when the traverse formed a
closed circuit as shown in the figure. In this case, both starting and
terminating points of the traverse coincide with each other. It is suitable
for the survey of boundaries of ponds, sports grounds, forests, etc.
Open Traverse
A traverse is said to be open traverse when the traverse starts at one
point and terminates at another point as shown in the figure. Open
traverse is also called as unclosed traverse. It is suitable for surveying of
roads, coastal lines, etc.
Methods of Traversing
The traversing is performed by four different methods and these
methods are classified according to the survey instrument used. The
methods are as follows.
1.Chain Traversing
2.Compass Traversing
3.Theodolite Traversing
4.Plane Table Traversing
 Chain Traversing
• Chain traversing is done by taking linear measurements only. Hence, chain or
tape is enough for chain traversing. The angle between the adjacent traverse
lines is measured using the chain angles concept. Chain traversing is performed
in areas such as ponds etc. where it is difficult to adopt triangulation.
• The chain angles concept is nothing but finding the angle between two adjacent
sides by establishing the third side using tie stations. This angle between the
sides can also be fixed by establishing a chord of known length between the
sides.
 Compass Traversing
In the case of compass traversing, both linear and angular measurements of
traverse lines are taken by using chain and prismatic compass respectively. Both
fore bearing and back bearings are measured and required corrections for local
attraction are applied. If any closing error is obtained while plotting of traverse,
then Bowditch rule is applied for the adjustment of error.
 Theodolite Traversing
In the case of theodolite traversing, the linear measurements are done by using
chain or stadia method and angular measurements are done by theodolite. Using
theodolite, the magnetic bearing of the first traverse line is measured and from
that magnetic bearing of other sides are calculated. This method is very accurate
compared to other methods.
 Plane Table Traversing
In the case of plane table traversing, the measuring and plotting of the traverse on the paper are
done simultaneously. The plane table equipment is set up at every traverse station one by one
in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. The sides of each traverse station are drawn on
paper to a suitable scale. If there is any closing error, graphical methods are used for its
adjustment.