MOSTOLES, Glenn N.

September 7, 2017
CEE34 201534046 CEET416 T01

COMPOUND CURVE

Simple horizontal curves are preferred for their ease of computation and staking.
However, situations often arise when a Compound Horizontal Curve better suits a given
design situation. A Compound Curve consists of two or more consecutive curves that
are joined at a point of tangency and are located on the same side of a common
tangent to form a continuous arc. Though their radii are in the same direction, they are
of different values.

The most commonly used compound horizontal curve designs are the Two-
centered and Three-centered. It is possible for a curve to have four or more centers;
however, these are complicated to compute and stake. Three curves should be
considered a practical limit for compound curves.

Application

Owing to the inequality of their tangent distances, Compound Curves permit the
fitting of a location to the topography with much greater refinement than do simple
curves. Conditions often occur in railroad and highway location here the changes in
direction between established tangents can only be accomplished economically by
compound curves. This is true in mountainous terrain or along a large river winding close
to a rock bluff. Turning movements for many design vehicles are also best represented
by compound horizontal curves. However, since compound curves are more hazardous
than simple curves, they should never be used where a simple curve will do.
General Parts and their Definitions

PI - Point of Intersection of the Back and Forward Tangent

PC - Point of Curvature; point of change from the Back Tangent to the Circular Curve
PT - Point of Tangency; point of change from the Circular Curve to the Forward Tangent
PCC - Point of Compound Curvature; point where the two curves connect
TL = Long Tangent of the Compound Curve
TS = Short Tangent of the Compound Curve
I = Total Intersection Angle of the Compound Curve
X = Distance from PC to PT in the direction of the Backward Tangent
Y = Perpendicular Distance from the Backward Tangent to the PT

FORMULAS

Two-Centered Compound Curve

1 = Intersection Angle of the flatter curve

2 = Intersection Angle of the sharper curve

R1 = Radius of the flatter curve

R2 = Radius of the sharper curve

I = 1 + 2
X = R2 sin I +(R1 - R2 ) sin 1
Y = (R1 - R2 ) (cos I - cos 1 )
(R2 - R1 ) cos I + (R1 - R2 ) cos 2
TL =
sin I
 (R1 - R2 ) cos I - (R1 - R2 ) cos 1
TS =
sin I
R1 sin I - TL cos I - TS
sin 2 =
sin I

Three-Centered Compound Curve

1 = Intersection Angle of the flattest curve

2 = Intersection Angle of the middle curve

3 = Intersection Angle of the sharpest curve

R1 = Radius of the flattest curve

R2 = Radius of the middle curve

R3 = Radius of the sharpest curve

I = 1 + 2 + 3
X = (R1 - R2 ) sin 1 + (R2 - R3 ) sin (1 + 2 ) + R3 sin I
Y = (R1 - R3 ) cos I - (R1 - R2 ) cos I -(R2 - R3 )+ R3 cos (1 + 2 )
(R3 - R1 ) cos I + (R1 - R2 ) cos (2 + 3 ) + (R2 - R3 ) cos 3
TL =
sin I
(R1 - R3 ) cos I - (R1 - R2 ) cos 1 - (R2 - R3 ) cos (1 + 2 )
TS =
sin I