Use of a 3D Structured-Light Scanner to Determine Volume, Surface Area, and Shape of Aggregates
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33, Issue 9
Abstract
The standard method of using a caliper to determine aggregate particle dimensions is not sufficient to describe the shape, texture, angularity, and volume of particles, and there is not a reference method to determine aggregate surface area. A three-dimensional (3D) structured-light scanner seems to be a viable and economical alternative with enough speed to obtain 3D data from hundreds of particles. This work used a 3D scanner to evaluate morphological properties of coarse aggregates and compared results with those from conventional techniques. Two types of aggregates (around 60 particles of each type) were scanned and manually measured by a single operator with a digital caliper using two different methodologies: (1) the minimum bounding box (MBB), and (2) a conventional standard test method (STD). The 3D structured-light scanner proved to be accurate for assessing the morphology, surface area, and volume of coarse aggregates, and with a processing rate of , it was faster than other techniques such as X-ray computed microtomography (micro-CT) or laser scanning. Compared with the manual method (caliper) or the most commonly used two-dimensional (2D) image analysis techniques, it also was more accurate. The MBB using a caliper overestimated volume by about 17% and underestimated surface area by 11%, which was estimated by assuming an ellipsoid with the dimensions obtained. The 2D circularity had a poor correlation with the 3D sphericity, especially for flat or elongated particles.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
Sérgio C. Angulo thanks CNPq grant number 305564/2018-8, and FAPESP grant numbers 2014/50948-3 (National Institute of Science and Technology, Advanced Eco-Efficient Cement Based Technologies) and 2016/20420-2. Paulo H. F. Loz thanks FAPESP grant number 2017/25826-0. The authors thank Escola Politecnica, USP, for providing the funds to acquire the 3D scanner. The information and views in this study are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FAPESP or CNPq. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33 • Issue 9 • September 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 6, 2020
Accepted: Jan 4, 2021
Published online: Jul 12, 2021
Published in print: Sep 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Dec 12, 2021
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