Working Procedures Derived From Lessons Learned on Bridge Inspections Using Terrestrial
E.H. Wang, K.T. Chang, M.C. Chen, C.Y. Wang and C.S. Chen
Bridges are important public assets and need periodic inspection. Excessive deformation or damages occurring at the main load-carrying members frequently raise concerns and detailed inspections are scheduled according to the judgment of field investigators. It is desirable to measure overall spatial information in a short period of time in order for decision makers to prevent disaster. To propose a standard procedure at routine bridge inspections using three-dimensional (3-D) laser scanners, the research team designed 3 full-scale tests to streamline equipment setup, data acquisition, precision assessment and the post-processing program. The final results suggest that 3-D laser scanners showing high-precision measuring capacity are suitable for and capable of obtaining 3-D measurements as required in a short time. The technology should be promoted for use during routine inspections of bridges to acquire the displacement information of critical structural elements for rapid safety evaluations. This paper proposes a working procedure summarizing lessons learned in the test program.
Keywords: Bridge inspection, terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), engineering surveying, structural deformation, disaster prevention