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Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute

J Korea Inst. Struct. Maint. Insp.
  • Indexed by
  • Korea Citation Index (KCI)
Title A Research on Applicability of Drone Photogrammetry for Dam Safety Inspection
Authors 박동순(DongSoon Park) ; 유진일(Jin-Il Yu) ; 유호준(Hojun You)
DOI https://doi.org/10.11112/jksmi.2023.27.5.30
Page pp.30-39
ISSN 2234-6937
Keywords 드론; 댐 안전; 안전점검; 디지털 모델; Photogrammetry Drone; Dam safety; Safety inspection; Digital model; Photogrammetry
Abstract Large dams, which are critical infrastructures for disaster prevention, are exposed to various risks such as aging, floods, and earthquakes. Better dam safety inspection and diagnosis using digital transformation technologies are needed. Traditional visual inspection methods by human inspectors have several limitations, including many inaccessible areas, danger of working at heights, and know-how based subjective inspections. In this study, drone photogrammetry was performed on two large dams to evaluate the applicability of digital data-based dam safety inspection and propose a data management methodology for continuous use. High-quality 3D digital models with GSD (ground sampling distance) within 2.5 cm/pixel were generated by flat double grid missions and manual photography methods, despite reservoir water surface and electromagnetic interferences, and severe altitude differences ranging from 42 m to 99.9 m of dam heights. Geometry profiles of the as-built conditions were easily extracted from the generated 3D mesh models, orthomosaic images, and digital surface models. The effectiveness of monitoring dam deformation by photogrammetry was confirmed. Cracks and deterioration of dam concrete structures, such as spillways and intake towers, were detected and visualized efficiently using the digital 3D models. This can be used for safe inspection of inaccessible areas and avoiding risky tasks at heights. Furthermore, a methodology for mapping the inspection result onto the 3D digital model and structuring a relational database for managing deterioration information history was proposed. As a result of measuring the labor and time required for safety inspection at the SYG Dam spillway, the drone photogrammetry method was found to have a 48% productivity improvement effect compared to the conventional manpower visual inspection method. The drone photogrammetry-based dam safety inspection is considered very effective in improving work productivity and data reliability.