Volume 10, Issue 1 - Special Issue: Deformation Monitoring

Adjustment and testing of a combination of stochastic and nonstochastic observations is applied to the deformation analysis of a time series of 3D coordinates. Nonstochastic observations are constant values that are treated as if they were observations. They are used to formulate constraints on the unknown parameters of the adjustment problem. Thus they describe deformation patterns. If deformation is absent, the epochs of the time series are supposed to be related via affine, similarity or congruence transformations. S-basis invariant testing of deformation patterns is treated. The model is experimentally validated by showing the procedure for a point set of 3D coordinates, determined from total station measurements during five epochs. The modelling of two patterns, the movement of just one point in several epochs, and of several points, is shown. Full, rank deficient covariance matrices of the 3D coordinates, resulting from free network adjustments of the total station measurements of each epoch, are used in the analysis.

Due to improved laser scanning technology, laser scanner based deformation analyses are presently widespread. These deformation analyses are no longer based on individual points representing the deformation of an object at selected positions. Instead, they are based on a large number of scan points sampling the whole object. This fact either leads to challenges regarding metrological aspects as well as regarding modeling aspects: – Estimating and quantifying spatial correlations between scan points and incorporating them into the deformation analysis – Separating the laser scanners’ internal systematic errors from areal deformations – Minimizing the bias at areal deformation analyses due to a worse network configuration and limited object knowledge – Developing freeform parameterizations to reproduce arbitrary areal deformations of an object by individual parameters – Incorporating an extended uncertainty model considering also model errors due to imperfect knowledge and simplification of the sampled object. – Only when considering all of these aspects, laser scanner based deformation analyses can benefit from the potential of the areal object sampling. This study aims at naming and reasoning these aspects. Furthermore, it introduces first methodologies and approaches for dealing with them.

In many geodetic engineering applications it is necessary to solve the problem of describing a measured data point cloud, measured, e. g. by laser scanner, by means of free-form curves or surfaces, e. g., with B-Splines as basis functions. The state of the art approaches to determine B-Splines yields results which are seriously manipulated by the occurrence of data gaps and outliers. Optimal and robust B-Spline fitting depend, however, on optimal selection of the knot vector. Hence we combine in our approach Monte-Carlo methods and the location and curvature of the measured data in order to determine the knot vector of the B-Spline in such a way that no oscillating effects at the edges of data gaps occur. We introduce an optimized approach based on computed weights by means of resampling techniques. In order to minimize the effect of outliers, we apply robust M-estimators for the estimation of control points. The above mentioned approach will be applied to a multi-sensor system based on kinematic terrestrial laserscanning in the field of rail track inspection.

Nowadays, the areal deformation analysis has become an important task in engineering geodesy. Thereby, not only manmade objects are of high interest, also natural objects, like plant organs, are focused more frequently. Thus, the analysis of leaf growth, i. e. the spatial development of the leaf surface, can be seen as a problem of deformation monitoring. In contrast to classical geodetic tasks, the absolute size of the deformation of the leaf surface is small, but usually great compared to the object size. Due to the optical characteristics of leaf surfaces, the point clouds, commonly acquired with high precision close-up laser scanners, provide a point-to-point distance that is small or equal compared to the measurement accuracy. Thus, the point clouds are usually processed and the leaf area is derived from a triangulation-based surface representation (mesh), resulting in a significant uncertainty of area calculation. In this paper, we illustrate the lacks of the mesh-based leaf area calculation. Using high precision gauge blocks as well as a number of tomato leaves, uncertainties of the area derivation are revealed and evaluated. The application of a B-spline approximation illustrates the advantages of an approximation-based approach and introduces the prospect for further research.

Global satellite navigation systems (GNSS) are a standard measurement device for deformation monitoring. In many applications, double-differences are used to reduce distance dependent systematic effects, as well as to eliminate the receiver and satellites clock errors. However, due to the navigation principle of one way ranging used in GPS, the geometry of the subsequent adjustment is weakened. As a result, the height component is generally determined three times less precisely than the horizontal coordinates. In addition, large correlations between the height and elevation dependent effects exist such as tropospheric refraction, mismodelled phase center variations, or multipath which restricts the attainable accuracy. However, for a kinematic analysis, i. e. for estimating high rate coordinate time series, the situation can be significantly improved if a common clock is connected to different GNSS receivers in a network or on a baseline. Consequently, between-station single-differences are sufficient to solve for the baseline coordinates. The positioning geometry is significantly improved which is reflected by a reduction of the standard deviation of kinematic heights by about a factor 3 underlining the benefits of this new approach. Real data from baselines at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt campus at Braunschweig where receivers are connected over 290 m via an optical fiber link to a common clock was analysed.

Antenna near-field effects are one of the accuracy limiting factors on GNSS-based distance measurements. In order to analyse these influences, a measurement campaign at an EDM calibration baseline site with optimum GNSS conditions was performed. To vary the distance between the antenna mount and the absolutely calibrated antennas, spacers with different lengths were used. Due to the comparison of the resulting GNSS-based distance measurements to a reference solution, the influences of the antenna near-field could be analyzed. The standard deviations of the differences to the reference solution, i. e., 0.31 mm for the distance and 0.46 mm for the height component, indicate that equal spacer and antenna combinations at both stations lead to a very high accuracy level. In contrast, different spacer and antenna combinations decrease the accuracy level. Thus, an identical set-up at both antenna stations and the usage of individually calibrated antennas minimize the near-field effects during the double-differencing process. Hence, these aspects can be identified as a prerequisite for highly accurate GNSS-measurements. In addition to near-field effects, the influence of satellite obstructions is investigated. Four realistic shadowing scenarios are numerically simulated on the basis of the observations, which were collected in the optimum surrounding of the EDM calibration baseline site. The comparison to nominal values indicates that a shadowing leads only to a slight decreasing of the accuracy. Consequently, there is a strong suspicion that multipath effects and signal distortions seem to have a greater influence on the accuracy of GNSS-based distance measurements than the satellite constellation.

New developments in distributed fibre-optic sensing allow the measurement of strain with a very high precision of about 1 µm / m and a spatial resolution of 10 millimetres or even better. Thus, novel applications in several scientific fields may be realised, e. g. in structural monitoring or soil and rock mechanics. Especially due to the embedding capability of fibre-optic sensors, fibre-optic systems provide a valuable extension to classical geodetic measurement methods, which are limited to the surface in most cases. In this paper, we report about the application of an optical backscatter reflectometer for deformation measurements along a driven pile. In general, pile systems are used in civil engineering as an efficient and economic foundation of buildings and other structures. Especially the length of the piles is crucial for the final loading capacity. For optimization purposes, the interaction between the driven pile and the subsurface material is investigated using pile testing methods. In a field trial, we used a distributed fibre-optic sensing system for measuring the strain below the surface of an excavation pit in order to derive completely new information. Prior to the field trial, the fibre-optic sensor was investigated in the laboratory. In addition to the results of these lab studies, we briefly describe the critical process of field installation and show the most significant results from the field trial, where the pile was artificially loaded up to 800 kN. As far as we know, this is the first time that the strain is monitored along a driven pile with such a high spatial resolution.

This study focuses on 3 Hz fatigue load testing of a reinforced concrete beam in laboratory conditions. Three-dimensional (3D) image time series of the beam’s top surface were captured with the Microsoft time-of-flight Kinect 2.0 sensor. To estimate the beam deflection, the imagery was first segmented to extract the top surface of the beam. The centre line was then modeled using third-order B-splines. The deflection of the beam as a function of time was estimated from the modeled centre line and, following past practice, also at several witness plates attached to the side of the beam. Subsequent correlation of the peak displacement with the applied loading cycles permitted estimation of fatigue in the beam. The accuracy of the deflections was evaluated by comparison with the measurements obtained using a Keyence LK-G407 laser displacement sensors. The results indicate that the deflections can be recovered with sub-millimetre accuracy using the centreline profile modelling method.

The deformation monitoring of structures and buildings is an important task field of modern engineering surveying, ensuring the standing and reliability of supervised objects over a long period. Several commercial hardware and software solutions for the realization of such monitoring measurements are available on the market. In addition to them, a research team at the University of Applied Sciences in Neubrandenburg (NUAS) is actively developing a software package for monitoring purposes in geodesy and geotechnics, which is distributed under an open source licence and free of charge. The task of managing an open source project is well-known in computer science, but it is fairly new in a geodetic context. This paper contributes to that issue by detailing applications, frameworks, and interfaces for the design and implementation of open hardware and software solutions for sensor control, sensor networks, and data management in automatic deformation monitoring. It will be discussed how the development effort of networked applications can be reduced by using free programming tools, cloud computing technologies, and rapid prototyping methods.

This paper presents the dynamic testing of a roadway, single-span, cable-stayed bridge for a sequence of static load and ambient vibration monitoring scenarios. Deck movements were captured along both sideways of the bridge using a Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and a Ground-based Microwave Interfererometer (GBMI) system. Cable vibrations were measured at a single point location on each of the six cables using the GBMI technique. Dynamic testing involves three types of analyses; firstly, vibration analysis and modal parameter estimation (i. e., natural frequencies and modal shapes) of the deck using the combined DIC and GBMI measurements. Secondly, dynamic testing of the cables is performed through vibration analysis and experimental computation of their tension forces. Thirdly, the mechanism of cable-deck dynamic interaction is studied through their Power Spectra Density (PSD) and the Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT) analyses. Thereby, the global (deck and cable) and local (either deck or cable) bridge modes are identified, serving a concrete benchmark of the current state of the bridge for studying the evolution of its structural performance in the future. The level of synergy and complementarity between the GBMI and DIC techniques for bridge monitoring is also examined and assessed.