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Grade(slope)Wikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Grade(slope)
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Thegrade(alsocalledslope,incline,gradient,pitchorrise)ofaphysicalfeature,landformor
constructedlinereferstothetangentoftheangleofthatsurfacetothehorizontal.Itisaspecial
caseofthegradientincalculuswherezeroindicatesgravitationallevel.Alargernumberindicates
higherorsteeperdegreeof"tilt".Oftenslopeiscalculatedasaratioof"rise"to"run",orasa
fraction("riseoverrun")inwhichrunisthehorizontaldistanceandriseistheverticaldistance.
Thegradesorslopesofexistingphysicalfeaturessuchascanyonsandhillsides,streamandriver
banksandbedsareoftendescribed.Gradesaretypicallyspecifiedfornewconstructions(suchas
roads,landscapegrading,roofpitches,railroads,aqueducts,andpedestrianorbicyclecirculation
routes).

d=run
h=rise
l=slopelength
=angleofinclination

Contents
1 Nomenclature
1.1 Equations
2 Roads
3 Environmentaldesign
4 Railways
4.1 Compensationforcurvature
4.2 Continuousbrakes
5 Seealso
6 References
7 Externallinks

Nomenclature
Thereareseveralwaystoexpressslope:
1.asanangleofinclinationtothehorizontal.(Thisistheangleoppositethe"rise"sideofatrianglewitharightanglebetweenvertical
riseandhorizontalrun.)
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2.asapercentage,theformulaforwhichis

whichcouldalso

beexpressedasthetangentoftheangleofinclinationtimes100.In
theU.S.,thispercentage"grade"isthemostcommonlyusedunitfor
communicatingslopesintransportation(streets,roads,highwaysand
railtracks),surveying,construction,andcivilengineering.
3.asapermillefigure,theformulaforwhichis

whichcould

alsobeexpressedasthetangentoftheangleofinclinationtimes
1000.ThisiscommonlyusedinEuropetodenotetheinclineofa
railway.
4.asaratioofonepartrisetosomanypartsrun.Forexample,aslope
thathasariseof5feetforevery100feetofrunwouldhaveaslope
ratioof1in20.(Theword"in"isnormallyusedratherthanthe
mathematicalrationotationof"1:20").Thisisgenerallythemethod
usedtodescriberailwaygradesinAustraliaandtheUK.
Anyofthesemaybeused.Gradeisusuallyexpressedasapercentage,but
thisiseasilyconvertedtotheanglefromhorizontalortheother
expressions.
Slopemaystillbeexpressedwhenthehorizontalrunisnotknown:therise
canbedividedbythehypotenuse(theslopelength).Thisisnottheusual
waytospecifyslopeitfollowsthesinefunctionratherthanthetangent
Illustrationofgrades(percentages),anglesindegreesandratio.
function,soitcallsa45degreeslopea71percentgradeinsteadofa100
percent.Butinpracticetheusualwaytocalculateslopeistomeasurethe
distancealongtheslopeandtheverticalrise,andcalculatethehorizontalrunfromthat.Whentheangleofinclinationissmall,usingtheslope
lengthratherthanthehorizontaldisplacement(i.e.usingthesineoftheangleratherthanthetangent)makesonlyaninsignificantdifference.
Railwaygradientsareusuallyexpressedintermsoftheriseinrelationtothedistancealongthetrackasapracticalmeasure.Incaseswherethe
differencebetweensinandtanissignificant,thetangentisused.
InEurope,roadgradientsaresignedasapercentage.[1]

Equations
Gradesarerelatedusingthefollowingequationswithsymbolsfromthefigureattop.
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Tangentasaratio

Thisratiocanalsobeexpressedasapercentagebymultiplyingby100.
Anglefromatangentgradient

Ifthetangentisexpressedasapercentage,theanglecanbedeterminedas:

Iftheangleisexpressedasaratio(1inn)then:

Roads
Invehicularengineering,variouslandbaseddesigns(cars,SUVs,trucks,trains,etc.)areratedfortheirabilitytoascendterrain.Trains
typicallyratemuchlowerthancars.Thehighestgradeavehiclecanascendwhilemaintainingaparticularspeedissometimestermedthat
vehicle's"gradeability"(or,lessoften,"gradeability").Thelateralslopesofahighwaygeometryaresometimescalledfillsorcutswherethese
techniqueshavebeenusedtocreatethem.
ThesteepestroadsintheworldareBaldwinStreetinDunedin,NewZealandandCantonAvenueinPittsburgh,Pennsylvania.[2]TheGuinness
WorldRecordlistsBaldwinStreetasthesteepeststreetintheworld,witha35%grade(19)overallanddisputed38%grade(21)atits
steepestsection.25000ballsofchocolatearerolleddownthe350mlongstreetinanannualcharityCadburyJaffaRace.In2001,astudent
waskilledwhenthewheeliebinsherodedownthestreethitatrailer.[3]ThePittsburghDepartmentofEngineeringandConstructionrecorded
agradeof37%(20)forCantonAvenue.[4]Thestreethasformedpartofabicycleracesince1983.[5]

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10%slopewarning
sign,Netherlands

7%descentwarning
sign,Finland

Atrolleybusclimbingan18%
gradeinSeattle

25%slopewarningsign,
Wales

A1371metrelongstretch
ofrailroadwitha20
(2%)slope,Czech
Republic

AcarparkedonBaldwin
Street

30%slope
warningsign,
over1500m.
LaRoutedes
Crtes,Cassis,
France

LookingdownCanton
Avenue

Environmentaldesign
Grade,pitch,andslopeareimportantcomponentsinlandscapedesign,gardendesign,landscapearchitecture,andarchitectureforengineering
andaestheticdesignfactors.Drainage,slopestability,circulationofpeopleandvehicles,complyingwithbuildingcodes,anddesign
integrationareallaspectsofslopeconsiderationsinenvironmentaldesign.

Railways
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Rulinggradientslimittheloadthatalocomotivecanhaul,includingtheweightofthelocomotiveitself.
Ona1%gradient(1in100)alocomotivecanpullhalf(orless)oftheloadthatitcanpullonleveltrack.
(Aheavilyloadedtrainrollingat20km/honheavyrailmayrequiretentimesthepullona1%upgrade
thatitdoesonthelevelatthatspeed.)EarlyrailwaysintheUnitedKingdomwerelaidoutwithvery
gentlegradients,suchas0.05%(1in2000),becausetheearlylocomotives(andtheirbrakes)werefeeble.
Steepgradientswereconcentratedinshortsectionsoflineswhereitwasconvenienttoemployassistant
enginesorcablehaulage,suchasthe1.2kilometres(0.75miles)sectionfromEustontoCamdenTown.
Extremelysteepgradientsrequiretheuseofcables(suchastheScenicRailwayatKatoombaScenic
World,Australia,withamaximumgradeof122%(52),claimedtobetheworld'ssteepestpassenger
carryingfunicular[6])orsomekindofrackrailway(suchasthePilatusrailwayinSwitzerland,witha
maximumgradeof48%(26),claimedtobetheworld'ssteepestrackrailway[7])tohelpthetrainascend
ordescend.

GradeindicatornearBellville,
WesternCape,SouthAfrica,
showing1:150and1:88grades.

Gradientscanbeexpressedasanangle,asfeetpermile,feetperchain,1inn,x%orypermille.Sincesurveyorslikeroundfigures,the
methodofexpressioncanaffectthegradientsselected.
Thesteepestrailwaylinesthatdonotutilizearacksysteminclude:
13.5%(1in7.40)Lisbontram,Portugal
11.6%(1in8.62)Pstlingbergbahn,Linz,Austria[8]
11.0%(1in9.09)CassScenicRailwayUSA(formerloggingline)
9.0%(1in11.11)LignedeSaintGervaisVallorcine,France
8.0%(1in12.5)JustoutsidetheTobstoneJct.StationintheTombstoneJunctionThemePark.Therailroadlinetherehadaruling
gradeof6%(1in16.7).
7.1%(1in14.08)ErzbergRailway,Austria
7.0%(1in14.28)BerninaRailway,Switzerland
6.0%(1in16.7)Arica,ChiletoLaPaz,Bolivia
6.0%(1in16.6)DocklandsLightRailway,London,UK
5.89%(1in16.97)Madison,Indiana,UnitedStates[9]
5.6%(1in18)Flm,Norway
5.3%(1in19)FoxfieldRailway,Staffordshire,UK
5.1%(1in19.6)SaludaGrade,NorthCarolina,UnitedStates
5.0%(1in20)KhyberPassRailway,Pakistan
4.0%(1in25)CologneFrankfurthighspeedrailline
4.0%(1in25)BolanPassRailway,Pakistan
4.0%(1in25)(211.2feet(64m)per1mile(1,600m))TaranaOberonbranch,NewSouthWales,Australia.
4.0%(1in25)MatheranLightRailway,India[10]
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4.0%(1in26)RewanuiIncline,NewZealand.FittedwithFellcenterrailbutwasnotusedformotivepower,butonlybraking
3.6%(1in27)EcclesbourneValleyRailway,HeritageLine,Wirksworth,Derbyshire,UK
3.6%(1in28)TheWestmereBank,NewZealandhasarulinggradientof1in35,howeverpeaksat1in28
3.33%(1in30)UmgeniSteamRailway,SouthAfrica[11]
3.0%(1in33)severalsectionsofValleyHeightsKatoombaline,BlueMountains,NewSouthWales,Australia.[12]
3.0%(1in33)TheentireNewmarketLineincentralAuckland,NewZealand
3.0%(1in33)OtiraTunnel,NewZealand,whichisequippedwithextractionfanstoreducechanceofoverheatingandlowvisibility
2.7%(1in37)BraganzaGhats,BhorGhatandThullghatsectionsinIndianRailways.
2.7%(1in37)ExeterCentraltoExeterSt.Davids,UK(seeExeterCentralrailwaystation#Description)
2.7%(1in37)PictonElevation,NewZealand
2.65%(1in37.7)LickeyIncline,UK
2.0%(1in50)NumerouslocationsonNewZealand'srailwaynetwork
1.51%(1in66)(1foot(0.3m)per1chain(20m))NewSouthWalesRailways,partofSouthline.
1.25%(1in80)Rudgwick(WestSussex)platformbeforeregradingtoosteepifatrainisnotprovidedwithcontinuousbrakes.
0.77%(1in130)Rudgwickplatformafterregradingnottoosteepifatrainisnotprovidedwithcontinuousbrakes.

Compensationforcurvature
Gradientsonsharpcurvesareeffectivelyabitsteeperthanthesamegradientonstraighttrack,sotocompensateforthisandmaketheruling
gradeuniformthroughout,thegradientonthosesharpcurvesshouldbereducedslightly.

Continuousbrakes
Intheerabeforetrainswereprovidedwithcontinuousbrakes,whetherairbrakesorvacuumbrakes,steepgradientswereaseriousproblem,
anditwasdifficulttostopsafelyifthelinewasonasteepgrade.Inanextremeexample,theInspectorinsistedthatRudgwickrailwaystation
inWestSussexberegradedbeforehewouldallowittoopen.Thisrequiredthegradientthroughtheplatformtobeeasedfrom1in80to1in
130.

Seealso
Aspect(geography)
Civilengineering
Constructionsurveying
Grading(engineering)
Cutandcover
Cutandfill
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Cut(earthmoving)
Embankment(transportation)
Gradeseparation
Inclinedplane
Listofsteepestgradientsonadhesion
railways.

Percentage
Permille
Roofpitch
Rulinggradient
Slope
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Slopestability
Slopestabilityanalysis

Surveying
Trench

Tunnel

References
1."TrafficsignsTheHighwayCodeGuidanceGOV.UK".www.gov.uk.Retrieved20160326.
2.Kiwiclimb:Hoofinguptheworld'ssteepeststreetCNN.com(http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/04/travel/worldssteepeststreetresidents/)
3.Internationalinbrief|Worldnews|TheGuardian(http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/mar/02/1)
4.Here:InBeechview(http://old.postgazette.com/pg/05030/448976.stm)
5.TheSteepestRoadOnEarthTakesNoPrisoners|Autopia|WIRED(http://www.wired.com/2010/12/thesteepestroadonearthtakesnoprisoners/)
6."Topfivefunicularrailways".SydneyMorningHerald.
7."AWONDERFULRAILWAY.".TheRegister(Adelaide:NationalLibraryofAustralia).2March1920.p.5.Retrieved13February2013.
8."TheNewPstlingbergRailway"(PDF).LinzLinienGmbH.2009.Retrieved20110106.
9.http://www.oldmadison.com/madview2.html
10.TheMatheranLightRailway(extensiontotheMountainRailwaysofIndia)UNESCOWorldHeritageCentre(http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/2
082/)
11.http://www.satransport.co.za/trains/maps/NMLDbnPmb.pdfTrainsandRailaccessedAugust29,2011
12.ValleyHeightsrailwaystation

Externallinks
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Categories: Physicalgeography Construction Transportationengineering Landscapearchitecture Horticultureandgardening
Environmentaldesign Unitsofangle
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