Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in Structural Health Monitoring Based on Photogrammetric Methods
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Abstract
Structural health monitoring analyzes the behavior of a given structure over time, providing those responsible for its safety with valuable information. Several instrumentation methods, mainly employing contact sensors, assess parameters relevant to evaluating structural integrity. However, the cost of contact instrumentation and the problematic access to specific structures often limit the application of these methods. This paper employed a technique for the three-dimensional reconstruction of a structure through stereoscopy, using images obtained by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a short-distance photogrammetric survey. A UAV obtained images of the beam in its unloaded and loaded stages with a steel-beam bending test as the subject. The photographs were then reconstructed in a digital environment, and the displacements suffered by the beam due to load were measured. The displacements discovered through photogrammetric techniques were compared to those obtained by displacement transducers placed under the beam. The displacements estimated by photogrammetry were close to the values measured by the transducers, demonstrating the technique’s potential for application in real structures.
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