Imaging and Laser Scanning–Based Noncontact Deflection Monitoring Technique for Timber Railroad Bridges
Publication: Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction
Volume 28, Issue 1
Abstract
This study developed a noncontact deflection monitoring technique using terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) and images for faster, safer, and efficient 2D/3D bridge deflection measurements. The technique was applied to assess the serviceability performance of two timber trestle railroad bridges located in Florida and validated based on bridge deflections from deflectometers. A key challenge includes extracting control points that are visible both in images and TLS data due to different modalities of the data. Hence, this study presents a method of extracting linear features from both images and TLS data. The camera pose was derived from images and TLS data by using a linear feature-based registration algorithm. The deformations in the structure were then detected by measuring the points of interest for different loads. There are several unique contributions of the study. First, there is no requirement for the use of targets which improves the safety of bridge engineers. Second, it is a relatively cost-effective technique for obtaining bridge deflections due to moving train loads, as the use of a laser scanner as part of the noncontact technique is only once in a lifetime for a given bridge. Alternatively, total stations can also be used to capture linear features. Finally, this technique produced accurate deflection measurements using a linear feature-based registration technique. This study found that the noncontact deflection monitoring technique agrees well with actual deformations observed from deflectometers.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank and acknowledge the support by TRB Rail Safety 35 grant to carry out the study. Grateful acknowledgement is due to the facilities provided by the Department of Civil, Geomatics and Environmental Engineering (CEGE) at the Florida Atlantic University (FAU). The second author is grateful for the support provided by the Presidential Fellowship at FAU, Gangal’s Foundation Scholarship and Educational Scholarship provided by the Florida Structural Engineering Association, to carry out the research. The authors confirm contribution to the paper as follows. Study Conception and Design: S. Nagarajan, M. Arockiasamy, I. Srikanth, S. Khamaru. Data Collection: S. Nagarajan, M. Arockiasamy, I. Srikanth, S. Khamaru. Data Analysis: S. Nagarajan, I. Srikanth, S. Khamaru. Interpretation of Results: S. Nagarajan, I. Srikanth, S. Khamaru, M. Arockiasamy. Draft Manuscript Preparation: I. Srikanth, S. Nagarajan. Project Procurement and Management: S. Nagarajan, M. Arockiasamy. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction
Volume 28 • Issue 1 • February 2023
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 16, 2022
Accepted: Oct 7, 2022
Published online: Dec 14, 2022
Published in print: Feb 1, 2023
Discussion open until: May 14, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Bridge engineering
- Bridge tests
- Bridges
- Bridges (by material)
- Bridges (by type)
- Computer vision and image processing
- Continuum mechanics
- Displacement (mechanics)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering mechanics
- Equipment and machinery
- Field tests
- Geomatic surveys
- Geomatics
- Land surveys
- Lasers
- Linear functions
- Mathematical functions
- Mathematics
- Methodology (by type)
- Railroad bridges
- Skew bridges
- Solid mechanics
- Structural engineering
- Structural mechanics
- Tests (by type)
- Topographic surveys
- Wood bridges
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