You are on page 1of 12

Lab 4: Area and Volume Computations

CE 111 Section 1
February 23, 2015

Crew:
Jordan Eikamp
Brandon Raleigh
Andrew Suiter

Objective:
The objective of this lab is to learn how to measure areas of irregular shapes using a
planimeter. Also, a goal of this lab is to determine areas and volumes (of cut and fill) of cross
sections from established coordinates.
Introduction:
Measuring areas of regions is an important part of surveying. Rather than physically
measuring the region and calculating the area, if the region is already mapped it can be more
convenient to measure the area directly from the map. If the region is an irregular shape, a
planimeter can be used to measure the area. A surveyor uses a planimeter to trace the region
on a map. The difference between the final and initial reading of the planimeter is the area of
the region traced (on the map). Once this area is measured, the map scale is used to convert
the area into the correct units for the actual region (not on the map). This method saves time
compared to physically measuring the region and calculating the area.
For some projects, soil (or other material) must be added to or removed from a site
based on elevation needs. To calculate the volume of cut (material to be removed) or fill
(material to be added), surveyors can look at areas of cross sections of a project. After
calculating the areas of cross sections at each end of a station, surveyors take the average of
the two areas and multiply that by the length of the station (or the length until volume switches
between cut and fill). These volume calculations let surveyors know where the need additional
material, where they need to remove material, and whether they will need to borrow or have
excess material.

Task 1: Measuring Area Using a Planimeter


Procedure:
Before any measurements were taken, each group member handled the planimeter and
made sure everyone knew how to read the instrument. Each planimeter has a constant
associated with it that is used to calculate areas of regions. Before taking any measurements,
the group had to determine the planimeter constant. To do this, a square of known area was
drawn (in this experiment the square was 3x3). The square was then traced 3 times with the
planimeter and the number of revolutions the planimeter made each time was recorded. The
mean and standard error of the mean of the number of revolutions were calculated (see
Appendix A). Using the equation (Area) = (Constant) x (Number of revolutions), the constant
could now be solved for using the known area of the square and the mean of the number of
revolutions.
With the constant of the planimeter now known, the planimeter could be used to
measure an unknown area of a region. Given a map with a region outlined, the region was
measured 3 times with the planimeter and the area was calculated each time, along with the
mean and standard error of the mean for the area (see Appendix A).
Because the planimeter was being used to measure a region on a map, the area
measurements were in units of square inches. The map scale allowed the group to convert this
area on the map (in units of square inches) to units that correspond to the actual region (for this
lab, acres). The group then converted the mean area measured with the planimeter to acres
(see Appendix A).
Results:
Planimeter Constant = 9.8901
Standard Error of the Mean of Planimeter Constant = 0.00569

Region on Map: Area Calculations


Reading 1

Reading 2

Reading 3

Mean

Standard
Error of the
Mean

Planimeter
Reading

0.511

0.456

0.538

0.502

0.0241

Area on map
(in2)

5.05384 in2

4.50989 in2

5.32087 in2

4.962 in2

0.3656 in2

1.04 acres

1.22 acres

1.14 acres

0.08165
acres

Area of actual
1.16 acres
region (acres)

Table 1: The results from Task 1

Task 1 Analysis:
Knowing the constant for our planimeter, the area of a plot of land on a map was
calculated. The results of this test are found in Table 1. The area of the region in the map was
found to be 4.962 in^2 on the paper, and using the conversion factor of 1 in = 100 ft. we were
able to determine the area of the plot of land to be 1.14 acres. The standard error of the mean
was calculated for the area of the parcel on the paper as well as the area of the actual parcel in
acres. The standard error of the mean for the area on the paper in square inches was a bit high,
but it did not end up effecting the standard error of the mean for the area of the parcel in acres.
The map of the parcel of land, the planimeter readings used in the calculations, and the
calculations themselves can be found on the second page of Appendix A.

Task 2: Measuring Area Using a Planimeter


Procedure:
In this part of the Lab we were given information that described the cross sections at
three stations, 100 ft. apart, for a two lane roadway, and were asked to calculate the cumulative
earthwork quantities at each station. In order to do this, the cross sections were first drawn out
and coordinates plotted for each point on the section. These coordinates were then put in a
tabular format and the coordinate method for finding area was utilized to determine the area of
each cross section. All of this information is located on the third and fourth pages of Appendix A.
Using the area for the cross section at each station, the average end area volumes of cut and fill
were calculated for the space between stations 1 & 2 and 2 & 3. These volumes were then used
to calculate the cumulative earthwork quantities at each station - assuming station 1+00 started
with 0 yd3 of material.

Results:
Cross Section Areas:
A1+00: 85.02 ft2 (cut)
A2+00: 70.55 ft2 (fill)
A3+00: 140.50 ft2 (fill)

Average End Area Volume:


Ve 1-2 (cut): 157.447 yd3 (cut)
Ve 1-2 (fill): 156.778 yd3 (fill +20% for shrinkage)
Ve 2-3 (cut): 0 yd3 (cut)
Ve 2-3 (fill): 468.989 yd3 (fill +20% for shrinkage)

Cumulative Earthwork Quantities:


Ve 1+00: 0 yd3
Ve 2+00: 0.669 yd3 (waste material)
Ve 3+00: 468.32 yd3 (fill material)

Task 2 Analysis:
The cross sections for Task 2 can be found on the third and fourth pages of Appendix A.
Using the coordinate method, the area of each section was determined, and the results of these
calculations can be found above. The tables of coordinates that were used to calculate the area
of each section are located on the third and fourth pages of Appendix A.
Using these cross sectional areas, the average end area volumes in cut and fill were
calculated between the stations. To adjust for shrinkage, 20% was added to the volumes in fill.
These calculations can be found on the fourth page of Appendix A, and the results are listed
above in the Task 2 Results section.
The cumulative earthwork quantities were then calculated, assuming that at station 1+00
we started with 0 yd3 of material. Between stations 1+00 and 2+00 the quantities of cut and fill
needed were almost equal, so the area between stations 2+00 and 3+00 will require the vast
majority of the fill material needed for the project. Overall, 468.32 yd3 of fill material will be
needed to complete work on this project. The cumulative earthwork quantities at each station
can be found above, and the calculations are located on the fourth page of Appendix A.

Conclusions

In this lab, the planimeter was used to determine the area of a given parcel of land by
determining the planimeter constant using an area of known volume. This tool is very useful in
determining the area of a plot of land because it requires only an aerial photograph or scaled
map of the plot. In Task 2, the cumulative earthwork quantities were calculated for a two lane
roadway divided by 3 stations. Using the cross section at each station, the volume of earthwork
in cut and fill between each of the stations was calculated and used to determine the cumulative
earthwork quantities needed at each station for the entire project. These types of earthwork
calculations can be very useful in future surveying labs and projects.

Appendix A:

Appendix A cont:

Appendix A cont:

Appendix A cont:

You might also like