Experimental assessment of the performance of terrestrial laser scanners in monitoring the geometric deformations in retaining walls

Algadhi, Ali; Psimoulis, Panos; Grizi, Athina; Neves, Luis

Abstract

The Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) has a great potential to be used in monitoring structures, specifically retaining walls, due to its fast acquisition and contactless function. However, previous research showed that the accuracy of deformation estimation using the TLS varied between few millimeters to a few centimeters. The Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of retaining walls is executed according to their serviceability limits, and has to be taken with a tolerance of a few millimeters. Therefore, the aim in this study is to propose methods and approaches that ensure that the accuracy of the deformation estimation using the TLS is within 1-2mm. This study is based on experimental assessment, where the main scenarios of geometric deformations in retaining walls are simulated through an experimental device (i.e., wooden sheet). The wooden sheet was scanned by a TLS from distance varying from 10-27m with scanning angle varying between 0∘and20∘. The wooden sheet was designed to simulate three main scenarios of deformation (i.e., lateral displacement, settlement and tilt) with amplitudes varying from 2to16mm and 0.2∘to1.6∘ for tilt. This study presents a holistic attempt based on controlled experiments to evaluate the performance in monitoring deformation, using a multi-parametric analysis and identifying approaches to enhance the application of TLS in monitoring deformation of wall-type structures, such as retaining wall. The TLS measurements were compared to robotic total station measurements as well as absolute measurements using a ruler. These strategies should enhance the efficient use of the TLS in monitoring small geometric deformations.

Citation

Algadhi, A., Psimoulis, P., Grizi, A., & Neves, L. (2025). Experimental assessment of the performance of terrestrial laser scanners in monitoring the geometric deformations in retaining walls. Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-025-00916-y

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 25, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Feb 22, 2025
• Publication Date: Feb 22, 2025
• Deposit Date: Apr 12, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 14, 2025
• Journal: Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring
• Print ISSN: 2190-5452
• Electronic ISSN: 2190-5479
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-025-00916-y
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/47624700
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13349-025-00916-y
• Additional Information: Received: 15 September 2023; Accepted: 25 January 2025; First Online: 22 February 2025; : ; : The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential Conflict of interest.