5 Types of Chains In Surveying

Chain Surveying

In the chain surveying method, the actual land areas are divided into small triangles and then each side of the triangle is measured directly using a chain or tape.

There are different Types of Chains in surveying to measure the area of land. Chain surveying is measured only in linear measurements which means length and width, it does not take an angular measurement, also suitable for small and less obstructed areas. Chain surveying is also known as chain Triangulation.

Types of Chains In Surveying

The following are types of chains in surveying,

1. Metric Chain
2. Revenue Chain
3. Engineer’s Chain
4. Surveyor Chain
5. Steel Band or Band Chain

1. Metric Chain:

This metric Chain is widely used  among other types of chains in surveying and it

This metric chain is widely used among the other types of chain in surveying and is available in standard lengths like 5m, 10m, 20m, and 30m.

But in the surveying field mostly 20m length metric chain is used, and some specific interval tallies are fixed that makes the measurement process easy.

For 5m to 10m chain lengths – tallies are fixed at every 1m length.

For 20m to 30m chain length – Tallies are fixed at every 5m length.

In this chain, the letter “m” is indicated on each tally in the metric chain, and the length of the chain is imprinted on the brass handle of a chain.

2. Revenue Chain:

This Revenue chain is commonly used in the cadastral type of survey, and the standard size of the chain is 33ft it is divided into 16 links, thus each link is equal to 2.06 feet long.

3. Engineer’s Chain:

This Engineer’s Chain is 100 feet long and it consists of 100 links which means each link is 1 foot long; also reading is taken in Decimal and Feet.

In Engineer’s Chain every 10 links means (10 feet) a brass tag is present with no. of 10 links.

Read More: 10 Types of Land Survey | What Is Land Surveying | Types of Land Surveyors | Types of Land Surveying

4. Surveyor Chain:

This Surveyor Chain is 66 feet long and divided into 100 links so that each link equals 0.66 feet long.

The surveyor chain is also known as Gunter’s surveying Chain.

5. Steel Band or Band Chain:

This steel Band chain consists of a long narrow strip of blue steel of uniform width of 12mm to 16mm and a thickness of 0.3 to 0.6mm.

The metric steel band is available in lengths of 20m and 30m, during continuous use the length of the chain gets altered and its length is shortened due to the bending of the links.

You May Also Like:

• Compass Surveying | Compass Survey | 3 Types of Compass In Surveying
• Surveying and Levelling MCQ
• 10 Types of Land Survey | What Is Land Surveying | Types of Land Surveyors
• 23 Surveying Instruments and Their Uses | Instruments Used In Surveying 
• What Is Total Station | Components of Total Station | Parts of Total Station