1 Transition curves in Road Design

Thepurposeofthisdocumentistoprovidedetailsofvariousspirals,theircharacteristicsandin
whatkindofsituationstheyaretypicallyused.Typicalspirals(ortransitioncurves)usedin
horizontalalignmentsareclothoids(alsocalledasidealtransitions),cubicspirals,cubic
parabola,sinusoidalandcosinusoidal.
 Index
1 Transition curves in Road Design..............................................................................................................1
1.1.1 Transition curves...........................................................................................................................3
1.1.2 Superelevation...............................................................................................................................3
1.1.2.1 Method of maximum friction................................................................................................3
1.1.2.2 Method of maximum superelevation..................................................................................4
1.1.3 Length of Transition Curve..........................................................................................................4
1.2 Clothoid...................................................................................................................................................4
1.2.1 Clothoid geometry.........................................................................................................................8
1.2.2 Expressions for various spiral parameters...............................................................................9
1.2.3 Clothoids in different situations................................................................................................11
1.2.4 Staking out Northing and Easting values for Clothoid.........................................................12
1.3 Cubic Spirals.......................................................................................................................................13
1.3.1 Relationships between various parameters...........................................................................13
1.4 Cubic Parabola....................................................................................................................................14
1.4.1 Minimum Radius of Cubic Parabola........................................................................................15
1.5 Sinusoidal Curves...............................................................................................................................15
1.5.1 Key Parameters...........................................................................................................................16
1.5.2 Total X Derivation........................................................................................................................16
1.5.3 Total Y Derivation........................................................................................................................17
1.5.4 Other Important Parameters.....................................................................................................17
1.6 Cosinusoidal Curves..........................................................................................................................18
1.6.1 Key Parameters...........................................................................................................................19
1.6.2 Total X Derivation........................................................................................................................19
1.6.3 Total Y Derivation........................................................................................................................20
1.6.4 Other Important Parameters.....................................................................................................21
1.7 Sine Half-Wavelength Diminishing Tangent Curve.......................................................................22
1.7.1 Key Parameters...........................................................................................................................22
1.7.2 Curvature and Radius of Curvature.........................................................................................23
1.7.3 Expression for Deflection..........................................................................................................25
1.7.4 Total X derivation........................................................................................................................26
1.7.5 Total Y Derivation........................................................................................................................26
1.7.6 Other Important Parameters.....................................................................................................26
1.8 BLOSS Curve......................................................................................................................................27
1.8.1 Key Parameters...........................................................................................................................27
1.8.2 Total X Derivation........................................................................................................................28
1.8.3 Total Y Derivation........................................................................................................................28
1.8.4 Other Important Parameters.....................................................................................................29
1.9 Lemniscates Curve.............................................................................................................................30
1.10 Quadratic spirals.................................................................................................................................30
1.11 Transition curves to avoid.................................................................................................................30
1 .1 .1 Tra n sit ion cu r v es

Primaryfunctionsofatransitioncurves(oreasementcurves)are:

Toaccomplishgradualtransitionfromthestraighttocircularcurve,sothatcurvature
changesfromzerotoafinitevalue.
Toprovideamediumforgradualintroductionorchangeofrequiredsuperelevation.
Tochangingcurvatureincompoundandreversecurvecases,sothatgradualchangeof
curvatureintroducedfromcurvetocurve.

Tocallaspiralbetweenastraightandcurveasvalidtransitioncurve,ithastosatisfythe
followingconditions.

Oneendofthespiralshouldbetangentialtothestraight.
Theotherendshouldbetangentialtothecurve.
Spiralscurvatureattheintersectionpointwiththecirculararcshouldbeequaltoarc
curvature.
Alsoatthetangentitscurvatureshouldbezero.
Therateofchangeofcurvaturealongthetransitionshouldbesameasthatoftheincreaseof
cant.
Itslengthshouldbesuchthatfullcantisattainedatthebeginningofcirculararc.

1 .1 .2 Su p e re levatio n

Therearetwomethodsofdeterminingtheneedforsuperelevation.

1 .1 .2 .1 Meth o d o f max imu m f r i ctio n

Inthismethod,wefindthevalueofradiusabovewhichwedontneedsuperelevationneedsto
beprovided.Thatisgivenbythefollowingequation.

Wv 2
fW
gR

v2
R
fg

Iftheradiusprovidedislessthantheabovevaluethathastobecompensatedby
 v2 (tan f )

gR (1 f tan )

1 .1 .2 .2 Meth o d o f max imu m sup e re levatio n

Inthismethodwejustassumethatthereisnofrictionfactorcontributingandhencemake
surethatswayingduetothecurvatureiscontainedbythecant.

v2
R
g tan

1 .1 .3 L en g th o f Tra n sit ion Cu r v e

Typicallyminimumlengthoftransitioncurveisequaltothelengthofalongwhich
superelevationisdistributed.Iftherateatwhichsuperelevationintroduced(rateofchangeof
superelevation)is1inn,then

L nE

Eincentimeters
n1cmpernmeters

Bytimerate(tr):

ev
L
tr
trtimerateincm/sec

Byrateofchangeofradialacceleration:

Anacceptablevalueofrateofchangeofcentrifugalaccelerationis1ft/sec**2/secor
(0.3m/sec**2/sec),untilwhichuserdoesntfindanydiscomfort.Basedonthis:
v3
L
R

rateofchangeofradialaccelerationinm/sec**3
1.2 Clothoid

Anidealtransitioncurveisthatwhichintroducescentrifugalforceatagradualrate(bytimet).

So, F t

Centrifugalforceatanyradiusrisgivenby:

Wv 2
F t
gr

Assumingthatthespeedofthevehiclethatisnegotiatingthecurveisconstant,thelengthof
thetransitionnegotiatedtooisdirectlyproportionaltothetime.

lt

So,l1/r

lr const Ls Rc

Thus,thefundamentalrequirementofatransitioncurveisthatitsradiusisofcurvatureatany
givenpointshallvaryinverselyasthedistancefromthebeginningofthespiral. Suchacurve
iscalledclothoidofGloversspiralandisknownasanidealtransition.

lr LR
1 l

r LR

As1/risnothingbutthecurvatureatthatpoint,curvatureequationcanbewrittenas:

d 1 l

dl r LR

l
d dl
LR

Integrating,weget
l2
C
2 RL
Whereisthedeflectionanglefromthetangent(atapointonspirallength l)

Atl=0; =0

Substitutingthese,wegetC=0

Hencetheintrinsicequationoftheidealtransitioncurveis:
l2 dy
(InCartesiancoordinates,slopecanbeexpressedas )
2 RL dx

Also the total deflection angle subtended by transition curve of length L and
radius R at the other end is given by:

s = L/2R (a circular arc of same length would change the direction by L/R)

Further,ifweexaminethecurvatureequationitisevidentthatrateofchangeofcurvatureis
constant.
d l d2y
Curvature (Afunctionof )
dl LR dx 2

Differentiatingbothsideswithrespecttol,weget

d 2 1 d3y
Rateofchangeofcurvature= Const (alsoexpressedas )
dl 2 LR dy 3

FollowingillustrationgivesexampleofaSCScurvefitbetweentwo straights.
1 .2 .1 C lo th oid g eo metr y

DetailsofanSCSfittingarepresentedinthefollowingfigure.Spiralbeforecurve(points
TCD)isoflength175metersandspiralafterthecurveisof125meters.

Followingarethekeyparametersthatexplainthisgeometry.

LDTterms Inthefigure Description

L1 TCD LengthofthespiralfromTStoSC
PI V Pointofhorizontalintersectionpoint(HIP)
TS T Pointwherespiralstarts
SC D Pointwherespiralendsandcircularcurvebegins
i1 s1 Spiralangle(or)DeflectionanglebetweentangentTVtangential
directionattheendofspiral.
T1 TV Total(extended)tangentlengthfromTStoPI
 X1 TotalX= TangentdistanceatSCfromTS
TD2
Y1 TotalY= OffsetdistanceatSCfrom(tangentat)TS
D2D
P1 AB TheoffsetofinitialtangentintothePCofshiftedcurve(shiftof
thecircularcurve)
K1 TA AbscissaoftheshiftedcurvePCreferredtoTS(ortangent
distanceatshiftedPCfromTS)
B SiftedcurvesPC
LT1 TD1 Longtangentofspiralin
ST1 DD1 Shorttangentofspiralin
RP O Centerpointofcircularcurve
c c Anglesubtendedbycircularcurveinradians
Totaldeflectionanglebetweenthetwotangents
R R Radiusofthecircularcurve

Similarlyaretheparametersforthesecondcurve.Alsonotethefollowingpointsthatfurther
helpsinunderstandingthefigureshownabove.

LinepassingthroughTVisthefirsttangent
VistheactualHIP
ActualcircularcurveinthealignmentsisbetweenDandCS
Thedottedarc(inbluecolour)isextensionofthecirculararc
ThedottedstraightBV1(inbluecolourparalleltotheoriginaltangent)istangentiallineto
theshiftedarc.
BistheshiftedcurvesPCpoint.
SoOBisequaltoRofcircularcurveandOAiscollineartoOBandperpendiculartothe
actualtangent.
DistheSCpoint
DD1isthetangentatSC
DD2isaperpendicularlinetotheactual(extended)tangent.
Andsimilarlyforthespiralout.

1 .2 .2 Ex p re ssio n s f o r var i o u s sp ira l p a ra mete rs

TwomostcommonlyusedparametersbyengineersindesigningandsettingoutaspiralareL
(spirallength)andR(radiusofcircularcurve).Followingarespiralparametersexpressedin
termsofthesetwo.
1. Flatnessofspiral= A LR
l2
2. Spiraldeflectionangle(frominitialtangent)atalengthl(alongspira)l=
2 RL
L
3. s =Spiralangle(subtendedbyfulllength)
2R
4. = s1+ c+ s2(where cistheanglesubtendedbythecirculararc).

l4 l8
x l * [1 ...]
40 R 2 L2 3456R 4 L4

Atl=L(fulllengthoftransition)

L2 L4
5. TotalX L * [1 ...]
40 R 2 3456R 4

l3 l4 l8
y [1 ...]
6 RL 56 R 2 L2 7040 R 4 L4

Atl=L(fulllengthoftransition)

L2 L2 L4
6. TotalY [1 ...]
6R 56 R 2 7040R 4
1 y
7. tan ( ) =Polardeflectionangle
x 3
P = shift of the curve = AE BE

8. P TotalY R (1 cos s )
9. K=TotalXR*SIN s(=TA.Thisisalsocalledasspiralextension)

Total (extended) tangent = TV = TA + AV

10.Tangent(extended)length=TV= ( R P ) tan K
2
In the above equation we used total deflection angle

P* TAN /2 is also called as shift increment;

 11.LongTangent=TD1=(TotalX)(TotalY)*COT s
12.ShortTangent=DD1=(TotalY)*(COSEC s)

Some cool stuff:- At shifted curve PC point length of spiral gets bisected. This
curve length TC = curve length CD.

1 .2 .3 C lo th oid s in d if f e re n t si t u a t ion s

Simple Clothoid
Simpleclothoidistheonewhichisfitbetweenastraightsectionandacircularcurvefor
smoothtransition.Keyparametersareexplainedinsection2.2.2

Reversing Clothoid
ThisconsistsoftwoClothoidswithopposingcurvaturesandisgenerallyfitbetweentwocurves
ofoppositedirection.InthegeometryanSS(spiralspiral)pointisnoticedwithZERO
curvature.Alsotypicallythisshouldbethepointatwhichflatsurface(crosssection)happens.

Besidestheparametersexplainedinsection2.2.2(foreachofthespirals)followingconditions
areusuallyobserved.

ForunequalA1andA2(forR1>R2) A1 1.5 A2
Forthesymmetricalreversingclothoid
ThecommonClothoidparametercanbeapproximatedby:
3
AR 4 24dRR

Wheredisthedistancebetweentwocircularcurves
d C C 1 R1 R 2

R1 R2
andsurrogateradius RR
R1 R2

Egg-shaped Clothoid
Thisisfitbetweentwocurvesofsamedirection,butwithtwodifferentradii.Conditionsfor
successfuleggshapedcurveare:
Smallercircularcurvemustbeontheinsideofthelargercircularcurve.
Theyarenotallowedtointersectwitheachotherandshouldnotbeconcentric.
 Theeggshapedspiralparametercanbeapproximatedto:

3
AE 4 24dRE

Wheredisthedistancebetweentwocircularcurves
d R1 R 2 C1C 2

R1 R2
andsurrogateradius RE
R1 R2

1 .2 .4 Sta k in g o u t Nor t h ing an d Ea stin g value s fo r C lo thoid

Weknowstation,northing(N)andeasting(E)valuesoftheTSpoint.Alsofromtheequations
givenintheSections2.2.1and2.2.2,wecouldgetvariouspointsonthespiral.Usingthesewe
couldextract(N,E)valuesofanyarbitrarypointonthespiral.Suppose

listhelengthofthespiral(fromTS)atanyarbitrarypointonspiral
Listhetotallengthofthespiral
Ristheradiusofcircularcurve(attheendofthespiral).
ETS iseasting(orxvalue)ofthespiralstartpointTSinCartesiancoordinatesystem.
N TS isnorthing(oryvalue)ofthespiralstartpointTSinCartesiancoordinatesystem.
El iseasting(orxvalue)ofarbitrarypointonthespiral(atlength l).
N TS isnorthing(oryvalue)ofarbitrarypointonthespiral(atlength l).
E ischangeintheeastingfromTStoarbitrarypointonspiral.
N ischangeinthenorthingfromTStoarbitrarypointonspiral.
istheanglebetweenEast(X)axisandthetangentmeasuredcounterclockwise
istheanglesubtendedatTSbyextendedtangentandthechordconnectingTSand
arbitrarypointonspiral(ispositiveifthespiralisrighthandside;andnegativeifthe
spiralislefthandside).
disthelengthofthespiralchordfromTStopointanypointonthespiral.
S l isthestationvalueofthealignmentatthatarbitrarypoint.
STS isthestationvalueofthealignmentatTS

Fromaboveinformation,weknowthat
l S l S TS
Knowingthevalueofl
 l4 l8
x l * [1 ...] (Preapproximationequationsseesection2.2.2)
40 R 2 L2 3456R 4 L4

l3 l4 l8
y [1 ...] (Preapproximationequationsseesection2.2.2)
6 RL 56 R 2 L2 7040 R 4 L4

Oncexandyareknown

y
tan 1 ( )
x
1 =Anglesubtendedbychord(fromTStothepointonspiral)withrespecttoXaxis
(measuredcounterclockwise)

Alsolengthofthechord= d x2 y2

Withthesewecancompute
E d cos 1
N d sin 1

Giventhis ( N l , El ) ( N TS N , ETS E )

Ifweneed(N,E)valuesatregularintervals(say50m)alongthespiralwecancomputethem
usingtheabovesetofequations.

1.3 Cubic Spirals

Thisisfirstorderapproximationtotheclothoid.

Ifweassumethatsin = ,thendy/dl=sin = =l**2/2RL

Onintegratingandapplyingboundaryconditionsweget,

l3
13. y
6 RL
l2
14.
3 6R
1 .3 .1 Rela tio n sh ip s b etween var i o u s p a ra mete rs

Mostoftheparameters(LikeA,P,KEtc)forcubicspiralaresimilarto clothoid.Those
whicharedifferentfromclothoidare:

ThereisnodifferenceinxandTotalXvalues,aswehaventassumedanythingaboutcos .

L
l2
x cos( )dl
0
2 L2 R 2

l4 l8
x l * [1 ...]
40 R 2 L2 3456R 4 L4

Atl=L(fulllengthoftransition)

L2 L4
15. TotalX L * [1 ...]
40 R 2 3456R 4

l3
y
6 RL

Atl=L(fulllengthoftransition)

L2
16. TotalY
6R
y
tan
x
17. =Polardeflectionangle


3

Up to 15 degrees of deflection - Length along Curve or along chord (10 equal

chords)?

1.4 Cubic Parabola

Ifweassumethatcos=1,thenx=l.
Furtherifweassumethatsin=,then
 18.x=land TotalX L
x3 L2
19. y and TotalY
6 RL 6R

Cosine series is less rapidly converging than sine series. This leads to the
conclusion that Cubic parabola is inferior to cubic spiral.

However, cubic parabolas are more popular due to the fact that they are easy to
set out in the field as it is expressed in Cartesian coordinates.

Restallotherparametersaresameasclothoid.Despitethesearelessaccuratethancubic
spirals,thesecurvesarepreferredbyhighwayandrailwayengineers,becausetheyare
veryeasytoset.

1 .4 .1 M in imu m R ad iu s of C u b ic Parab ola

RL
Radiusatanypointoncubicparabolais r
2 sin cos 5
1
Acubicparabolaattainsminimumrat tan
5
So, rmin 1.39 RL

So cubic parabola radius decreases from infinity to rmin 1.39 RL at 24 degrees,

5 min, 41 sec and from there onwards it starts increasing again. This
makes cubic parabola useless for deflections greater than 24 degrees.

1.5 Sinusoidal Cur ves

Thesecurvesrepresentaconsistentcourseofcurvatureandareapplicabletotransitionbetween
0to90degreesoftangentdeflections.Howeverthesearenotpopularastheyaredifficultto
tabulateandstakeout.Thecurveissteeperthanthetruespiral.

Followingistheequationforthesinusoidalcurve

l2 L 2l
20. 2 cos 1
2 RL 4 R L
 Differentiatingwithlwegetequationfor1/r,whereristheradiusofcurvatureatanygiven
point.

2LR
r
21. 2l
2l L * SIN
L

XandYvaluesarecalculateddl*cos ,anddl*sin .

1 .5 .1 Key Para mete rs

Radiusequationisderivedfromthefactthat
2l
2l L * sin
d 1 L

dl r 2LR

Ifwefurtherdifferentiatethiscurvatureagainw.r.tlengthofcurveweget

d 2 1 1 2
22.Rateofchangeofcurvature= 2
cos
dl LR LR L

Unlike clothoid spirals, this rate of change of curvature is not constant in

Sinusoidal curves. Thus these transition curves are NOT true spirals
Chakri 01/20/04

Twomostcommonlyusedparametersbyengineersindesigningandsettingoutatransition
curveareL(spirallength)andR(radiusofcircularcurve).Followingarespiralparameters
expressedintermsofthesetwo.

l2 L 2l
23.Spiralangleatalengthlalongthespiral= 2 cos 1
2 RL 4 R L
L
24. s =Spiralangle[subtendedbyfulllength(or)l=L]
2R
=s1+c+s2(wherecistheanglesubtendedbythecirculararc).

1 .5 .2 Tota l X De r i vatio n

dx dl cos
 l2 L 2l
25. x dl cos ,where 2 cos 1
2 RL 4 R L

Tosimplifytheproblemletusmakefollowingsubfunctions:

2 * l
26.If
L

27.
L2
x l 1 4 2

L3

3 5 20 3 30 240 60 2 sin 30 cos sin 120 * cos
32 R 3840 R
5 2

Atl = L(fulllengthoftransition);x=Xand=.Substitutingtheseinaboveequationwe
get:

96 4 160 2 420 L2
TotalX X L 1 * 2
3840 4 R
28.
3
L
X L 0.02190112582400869 2
R

1 .5 .3 Tota l Y D e r i vatio n

dy dl sin

l2 L 2l
29. y dl sin ,where 2 RL 4 2 R cos 1
L

1 1 L 1 1 5 209 L3
TotalY Y L 2
* *
6 4 R 336 160
2
128 4 3072 6 R 3
30.
L L3
X L 0.1413363707560822 0.0026731818162654 3
R R
1 .5 .4 O the r I mpo r t a n t Para mete rs

Atl = L(fulllengthoftransition);becomesspiralangle=s.Substitutingl=Linequation
20weget:

L
31. s (deflectionbetweentangentbeforeandtangentafter,ofthetransitioncurve)
2R
y
32. l arctan( ) =Polardeflectionangle(atadistancelalongthetransition)
x
TotalY
33. L arctan( ) =Anglesubtendedbythespiralschordtothetangentbefore
TotalX
P = shift of the curve = AE BE
34. P TotalY R (1 cos s )

35. K TotalX R sin s (=TA.Thisisalsocalledasspiral/transitionextension)

Total (extended) tangent = TV = TA + AV

36.Tangent(extended)length=TV= ( R P ) tan K
2
In the above equation we used total deflection angle

P* TAN /2 is also called as shift increment;

37.LongTangent=TD1= TotalX - TotalY * cot s

38.ShortTangent=DD1= TotalY * cos ec s

Some cool stuff: - What is the length of spiral by shifted curve PC point. Is curve
length TC = curve length CD.

1.6 Cosinusoidal Cur ves

FollowingistheequationfortheCosinusoidalcurve

1 L l
39. l * sin
2R L
 Differentiatingwithlwegetequationfor1/r,whereristheradiusofcurvatureatanygiven
point.
2R
r
40. l
1 cos
L

1 .6 .1 Key Para mete rs

Previousequationisderivedfromthefactthat
l
1 cos
d 1 L

dl r 2R

Ifwefurtherdifferentiatethiscurvatureagainw.r.tlengthofcurveweget

d 2 l
41.Rateofchangeofcurvature= 2
sin
dl 2 RL L

Unlike clothoid spirals, this rate of change of curvature is not constant in

Cosinusoidal curves. Thus these transition curves are NOT true spirals

Twomostcommonlyusedparametersbyengineersindesigningandsettingoutatransition
curveareL(spirallength)andR(radiusofcircularcurve).Followingarespiralparameters
expressedintermsofthesetwo.

1 L l
42.Spiralangleatalengthlalongthespiral= l * sin
2R L
L
43. s =Spiralangle[subtendedbyfulllength(or)l=L]
2R
44. = s1+ c+ s2(where cistheanglesubtendedbythecirculararc).

1 .6 .2 Tota l X De r i vatio n

dx dl cos
 45. x cos dl

Tosimplifytheproblemletusmakefollowingsubfunctions:

L l l
Fromeqn.43weget> sin
2R L L

*l
46.If
L
L2 L 3 sin * cos
47. x l * 2 sin cos
8 R 3 2
2 2
2

Atl = L(fulllengthoftransition);x=Xand=.Substitutingtheseinaboveequationwe
get:

2 2 9 L3
TotalX X L *
48 2 R 2
48.
L3
X L 0.0226689447 2
R

1 .6 .3 Tota l Y D e r i vatio n

dy dl sin

L l l
Fromeqn.43wehave sin
2R L L

*l
49.If
L

50.
L 2 L3 4 sin 2 * cos 16 cos 3 2 3
y L* 2 ( cos 1) 3 2
cos 6 sin
2 R 2 48 4 R 3 4 3 3 4

Atl = L(fulllengthoftransition);x=Xand=.Substitutingtheseinaboveequationwe
get:
 1 1 L 6 4 54 2 256 L3
TotalY Y L 2 * * 3
4 R 1152 4 R
51.
L L3
Y L * 0.1486788163576622 0.0027402322400286 * 3
R R

1 .6 .4 O the r I mpo r t a n t Para mete rs

Atl = L(fulllengthoftransition);becomesspiralangle=s.Substitutingl=Linequation
20weget:

L
52. s (deflectionbetweentangentbeforeandtangentafter,ofthetransitioncurve)
2R
y
53. l arctan( ) =Polardeflectionangle(atadistancelalongthetransition)
x
TotalY
54. L arctan( ) =Anglesubtendedbythespiralschordtothetangentbefore
TotalX
P = shift of the curve = AE BE
55. P TotalY R (1 cos s )

56. K TotalX R sin s (=TA.Thisisalsocalledasspiral/transitionextension)

Total (extended) tangent = TV = TA + AV

57.Tangent(extended)length=TV= ( R P ) tan K
2
In the above equation we used total deflection angle

P* TAN /2 is also called as shift increment;

58.LongTangent=TD1= TotalX - TotalY * cot s

59.ShortTangent=DD1= TotalY * cos ec s

Some cool stuff: - What is the length of spiral by shifted curve PC point. Is curve
length TC = curve length CD.
1.7 Sine Half-Wavelength Diminishing Tangent Cur ve

ThisformofequationisasexplainedbytheJapaneserequirementdocument.Oninvestigating
theequationsgivenbyJapanesepartners,itisfoundthatthiscurveisanapproximationof
Cosinusoidalcurveandisvalidforlowdeflectionangles.

X 2 a2 1
Equationgivenintheabovesaiddocumentis y 1 cos a where a x
R 4 2 2
X
andxisdistancefromstarttoanypointonthecurveandismeasuredalongthe(extended)
initialtangent;XisthetotalXattheendoftransitioncurve.

1 .7.1 Key Para mete rs

Substitutingavalueintheaboveequationweget

1 x2 X 2 x
60. y 2 1 cos
R 4 2 X

Supposeifweassumeaparameter (inradians)asafunctionofx

*x
61.asin
X
d X
62. and dx d
dx X

thenequation69canberearrangedas:

X 2 2
63. y 2 1 cos
2 R
2

Derivationofywithrespecttoxis

dy d
dy
*
X2
sin * X sin
dx d dx 2 R
2
X 2R

dy X
64. sin
dx 2R
 dy X
Butweknowthat tan sin ,whereisdeflectionangleofthecurvew.r.t
dx 2R
initialtangent.

Atfulllengthoftransitionx=Xandhence=.And=s(totaldeflectionangleofcurve)

X
65. tan s X
2R 2R

Rewriting73usingaboveequationweget
dy 1
tan tan s * sin
dx

Hence the name sine half-wavelength diminishing tangent.

1 .7.2 C u r vat u re a nd Ra d iu s o f C u r vat u re

Curvatureatanypointonacurveisinverselyproportionaltoradiusatthatpoint.Curvatureis
1 d
typicallyexpressedas Curvature
r dl

InCartesiancoordinateswecanexpressthesameas
d2y
1 d dx 2
66. r

dl 2 3/ 2
dy
1
dx

Differentiatingequation73withrespecttoxagain,weget

d dy d
d2y

d dy
*
X
1 cos * 1 1 cos
dx 2
dx dx d dx dx 2R X 2R

d2y 1
67.
2
1 cos
dx 2R
substitutingequations76and73into75weget
1
1 d
1 cos
2R
68. r dl 2 3/ 2
X
1 sin
2R

SupposeRsistheradiusofcurveatx=X(whereitmeetssimplecircularcurve);
atx=X, becomes .Substitutingtheseinequation77weget

1 1
1 1
1 (1)
2R R
rx X Rs 2 3/ 2 3/ 2
X X 2
1 0 1
2R 2 R

3/ 2
X 2
69. Rs R * 1
2 R

So far we havent made any approximations and this equation of Rs is very

accurate for the curve given Chakri 01/25/04

Howeverpurposeofatransitionistograduallyintroduce(orchange)curvaturealong
horizontalalignment,andcurvatureofthistransitioncurveatthepointwhereitmeetsthe
circularcurveshouldbeequaltothatofcircularcurve.Itisobviousfromtheaboveequation
2

(no.78)that Rs R ,unless
X
1 ,inotherwardsX<<2R.
2R

Thusthiscurvefunctionwillbeagoodtransition,onlyifspiralissmall(comparedtoradius)
orforlargeradiiforcircularcurvesorwhenthedeflectionisforthespiralistoosmall.

Thiswarrantstotheassumptionthat
2
dy
0 and tan 2 0
dy
tan
dx dx

substitutingaboveexpressionintoequation75weget

d2y
70. 1 d dx 2 d2y


r dl 1 0 2 3/ 2
dx 2
 1 2R
r
2
d y 1 cos
dx 2

2R
71. r
1 cos

1 .7.3 Ex p re ssio n f o r De f l ection

Fromequation79weknowthat
1 d d 2 y 1
2 1 cos
r dl dx 2R

2
dy
0 and tan 2 0 ,itissafetoassumethat
dy
When tan
dx dx
x l

X L

This assumption is more accurate than cos ( ) =1, where X = L. In the current
assumption, X stays less that the spiral length.

* x *l
72. and
X L
L
73. dl d

usingthemwithequation79
d 1
1 cos
dl 2R

1
d 1 cos * dl 1 1 cos * L d
2R 2R

Integratingbothsidesweget
L
1 cos d L sin C
2R 2R
 whenl=0,=0,=0andsubstitutingtheminaboveequationwegetC=0.

L
74. sin
2R

1 L *l 1 L *x
or l sin or l sin
2R L 2R X

1 .7.4 Tota l X de r i vatio n

Bycarefullyexaminingtheequation83,itisevidentthatsinehalfwavelengthdiminishing
tangentcurvedeflectionexpressionisverysameasCosinusoidalcurve.

HencewecanconcludethattheTotalXofthiscurveissimilartoonein equation55.

2 2 9 L3
TotalX X L 2
* 2
48 R
L3
X L 0.0226689447 2
R

1 .7.5 Tota l Y D e r i vatio n

1 x2 X 2 x
Tostartwiththiscurveisexpressed y 1 cos
R 4 2 2 X
Atthefulllengthofthespiral>l=L;x=Xandy=Y

1 X2 X2 X X 1
2
1
TotalY Y 2 1 cos 2 1 (1)
R 4 2 X R 4 2

1 1 X2
TotalY Y 2 *
4 R
X2
Y 0.14867881635766
R
1 .7.6 O the r I mpo r t a n t Para mete rs

Atl = L(fulllengthoftransition);becomesspiralangle=s.Substitutingl=Linequation
20weget:
L
75. s (deflectionbetweentangentbeforeandtangentafter,ofthetransitioncurve)
2R

X X
But from equation 73 we know tan s . So s arctan
2R 2R

y
76. l arctan( ) =Polardeflectionangle(atadistancelalongthetransition)
x
TotalY X
77. L arctan( ) 0.14867881635766 =Anglesubtendedbythespiralschord
TotalX R
tothetangentbefore

P = shift of the curve = AE BE

78. P TotalY R (1 cos s )

79. K TotalX R sin s (=TA.Thisisalsocalledasspiral/transitionextension)

Total (extended) tangent = TV = TA + AV

80.Tangent(extended)length=TV= ( R P ) tan K
2
In the above equation we used total deflection angle

P* TAN /2 is also called as shift increment;

81.LongTangent=TD1= TotalX - TotalY * cot s

82.ShortTangent=DD1= TotalY * cos ec s

1.8 BLOSS Cur ve

DrIng.,BLOSShasproposed,insteadofusingtheClothoidtheparabolaof5 th degreesasa
transitiontouse.ThishastheadvantagevisvistheClothoidthattheshiftPissmallerand
thereforelongertransition,withalargerspiralextension( K).Thisisanimportantfactorinthe
reconstructionoftrack,ifthestretchspeedissupposedtobeincreased.Moreoverthisismore
favorablefromaloaddynamicpointofviewifsuperelevationramparises.
1 .8 .1 Key Para mete rs

Followingistheequationfordeflectionangleasafunctionoftransitioncurve
l3 l4
83.
RL2 2RL3

Hencethecurvatureequationcanbewrittenas:

1 d 3l 2 2l 3
84. k 2 3
r dl RL RL

RL3
85. r

3Ll 2 2l 3
istheequationforradiusatanypointalongthecurvewherelengthto

thatpointfromstartisl.

1 .8 .2 Tota l X De r i vatio n

dx dl cos

l3 l4
86. x cos * dl ,where
RL2 2RL3

usingTaylorsseriesfor cos integratingandsubstitutingl=Lweget

L3 L5
87. X TotalX L
43.8261R 2 3696.63R 4

1 .8 .3 Tota l Y D e r i vatio n

dx dl sin

l3 l4
88. y sin * dl ,where
RL2 2RL3

usingTaylorsseriesfor sin integratingitweget

 l4 l5 l 10 l 11 l 12 l 13
y
4 RL
2
10 RL3 60 RL6 44 RL7 96 RL8 624 RL9

andsubstitutingl=Lweget

3L2 L4
89. Y TotalY
20 R 363.175R 3

1 .8 .4 O the r I mpo r t a n t Para mete rs

Atl = L(fulllengthoftransition);becomesspiralangle=s.Substitutingl=Linequation
92weget:
L
90. s (deflectionbetweentangentbeforeandtangentafter,ofthetransitioncurve)
2R
y
91. l arctan( ) =Polardeflectionangle(atadistancelalongthetransition)
x
TotalY
92. L arctan( ) =Anglesubtendedbythespiralschordtothetangentbefore
TotalX

P = shift of the curve = AE BE

L2 L4
93. P TotalY R (1 cos s )
40 R 6696.58 R 3
94. K TotalX R sin s (=TA.Thisisalsocalledasspiral/transitionextension)

L L3 L5
K
2 504 R 2 99010 R 4

Total (extended) tangent = TV = TA + AV

95.Tangent(extended)length=TV= ( R P ) tan K
2
In the above equation we used total deflection angle

P* TAN /2 is also called as shift increment;

96.LongTangent=TD1= TotalX - TotalY * cot s

97.ShortTangent=DD1= TotalY * cos ec s

Some cool stuff: - What is the length of spiral by shifted curve PC point. Is curve
length TC = curve length CD.
1.9 Lemniscates Curve

Thiscurveisusedinroadworkswhereitisrequiredtohavethecurve transitionalthroughout
havingnointermediatecircularcurve.Sincethecurveissymmetricalandtransitional,
superelevationincreasestillapexreached.Itispreferredoverspiralforfollowingreasons:
Itsradiusofcurvaturedecreasesmoregradually
Therateofincreaseofcurvaturediminishestowardsthetransitioncurvethusfulfillingthe
essentialcondition
Itcorrespondstoanautogenouscurveofanautomobile

For lemniscates, deviation angle is exactly three times to the polar deflection
angle.

1.10 Quadratic spirals

Ifl>L/2,then

Followingistheequationforthequadraticcurve

L 2l 3 4l 3
6 RL2

Differentiatingwithlwegetequationfor1/r,whereristheradiusofcurvatureatanygiven
point.
RL2
r
L2 2 L l
2

Else
Followingistheequationforthequadraticcurve
2l 3

3RL2

Differentiatingwithlwegetequationfor1/r,whereristheradiusofcurvatureatanygiven
point.
 RL2
r
2l 2