Measuring and monitoring of grain silos using laser scanning and total stations

Abstract

[Abstract]: In the last 10 years the laser scanning industry has grown to become a useful surveying tool in many industries. Laser scanning is now used in many areas such as mining, engineering, architecture and industrial pipe plant surveys. A laser scanner is a powerful survey tool that is able to survey and record upwards of fifty thousand points a second. This given today’s surveyor the option of recording vast amounts of field data in a fast and accurate manor. For this project I will be conducting deformation surveys on a concrete grain silo. I will be comparing the methods and accuracies of monitoring the grain silo for deformation using both the Leica ScanStation2 and the Trimble S6 robotic total station. The monitoring of deformation in grain silos was chosen because silos in general are subject to failure and deformation than most other structures. This can be contributed to the vast amounts of pressure the silos suffer during loading, storage and unloading. Other factors that contribute to silo failure and deformation in silos include poor maintenance, incorrect storage materials and incorrect silo design. This project used a Leica ScanStation2 to scan the silo and survey specified targets. The Trimble S6 total station was then used to survey the specified targets and use the laser scanning function to scan the silo. The results from the scan sessions were then analysed to compare the accuracies.