Application of the terrestrial laser scanner in the monitoring of earth structures

Abstract

Abstract Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) assists in the detection of the unsafe behaviour of slopes and scarps. It also facilitates the assessment of the stability of earthworks. Earth structures are those that are usually made of qualified ground material. One may distinguish between point structures such as mounds, forts and dams, and linear structures such as roads, railways and flood embankments. This article concerns the problem of monitoring and analysing of the effects associated with the unstable behaviour of selected earth structures. TLS enables remote sensing of surface changes in a simple and automated manner. Regular, multiple measurements with the laser scanner are applied in long-term monitoring of the behaviour of the selected objects. The discrete numerical models using, for example, the finite element method (FEM) take into account geotechnical properties of substrate and allow for the risk assessment and stability testing of such structures. The numerical model of the structure along with the parameters of the substrate are introduced into the FEM package. This allows for the analysis of stresses, strains and displacements, along with different loading cases. The work here presents a few selected earth structures for which the aforementioned analyses have been undertaken.