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10 1 1 534 7872 PDF
10 1 1 534 7872 PDF
SUMMARY: The paper presents terrestrial laser scanning technology and its application as part
of landfill monitoring, with the purpose of better evaluating waste settlements. The move from a
discrete to a continuous representation of surface settlements is indeed expected to improve the
control of sanitary landfills. Laser scanning is introduced with regard to the aspects of field data
acquisition, processing and calibration. The first two experimental campaigns conducted at
Chatuzange landfill (France) are presented focusing at the present stage of the study on three test
zones located in three different cells. Selected areas were subdivided in 2 m wide elementary
grids in order to assess the average altitude of the ground surface as a function of the point cloud
density. In this respect, first results indicate that a density of 25 up to 50 recorded points / m2
(after treatment) is highly desirable. Also, results of the first two campaigns are illustrated by the
production of 3D elevation models and 2D horizontal profiles.
1. INTRODUCTION
Waste is a very compressible material which, when lifted in high embankments, induces major
technical constraints as well as economic concerns. The wastes enclosed in sanitary landfills are
characterized by differences in composition, age, placement and compaction practices resulting
in non-uniform surface movements (differential settlements). With a typical magnitude of
between 10 and 25 %, post-closure settlements represent in fact a serious threat to the integrity
and the performance of the cap cover and the associated structures.
In the framework of a research program conducted over the last 7 years at the University of
Grenoble, special attention has been given to control and predict waste settlements, including the
monitoring of several landfill sites using conventional geodetic techniques as well as various
internal instruments (inclinometers, buried plates / cells, extensometers) [(Olivier, 2003),
ADEME (2005)]. Concerning the conventional geodetic techniques triangulation and distance
measured with an electronic tachometer (also called total station) or a Global Positioning System
(GPS), despite their good precision, they are often unable to document the evolution of a landfill
with sufficient resolution to detect problems before they cause major environmental damages.
Proceedings Sardinia 2005, Tenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium
S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy; 3 - 7 October 2005
2005 by CISA, Environmental Sanitary Engineering Centre, Italy
Sardinia 2005, Tenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium
Figure 1. (a) Scanning instrument in operation (b) Cylindrical reflector (diameter 50 mm).
Sardinia 2005, Tenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium
By comparison to total stations that allow the recording of one physical point every few seconds,
ground-based laser scanning makes possible the measurement of up to 8 000 points per second.
The point cloud that is derived is characterized by a very high spatial density (or resolution) and
a precision typically ranging between 5 and 30 mm to be compared to the uncertainty of up to
100 mm reported by Carter et al. (1999) for airborne laser scanning.
The site, which is a pilot landfill satisfying to the ISO 14001 standard, is expected to become an
important field research laboratory within the framework of the Environment Programme of
the Rhne Alpes region.
Test zone 3
(95 m * 0.5 m)
Cell A
Cell F
Cell B
Cell E
Cell D
Figure 2. Plan views of Chatuzange landfill according to (a) the Digital Surface Model (DSM)
including surface structures (highlighted) and vegetation (b) the Digital Terrain Model
(DTM) with local x, y coordinates (in metres).
Sardinia 2005, Tenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium
Figure 3. Laser scanning at Chatuzange landfill (a) sensor embarked on top of a car (Campaign
1: Nov. 2004) (b) sensor mounted on a tripod (Campaign 3: March 2005).
Table 2 Main parameters associated to the first two laser scanning campaigns.
Parameter 20/11/2004 06/01/2005
- Number of stations 27 30
- Number of points / station 2.88 millions 2.88 millions
- Average quadratic error (Emq2) 5 mm 15 mm 5 mm 18 mm
- Number of readjustment points / station between 6 and 12 between 6 and 15
- Number of points considered 23 millions 24 millions
- Points remaining after filtering and sampling @ 3 cm 8.5 millions 11 millions
- Points remaining after filtering and sampling @ 8 cm 3.3 millions 3.3 millions
Stations of acquisition
Figure 4. Point cloud density (number of points / 4 m2) associated to the laser scanning campaign
1 (a) Initial point density (b) Final point density after filtering and sampling.
For each station, a panorama scan was executed, characterised by a field of view 360 x 80, an
angular resolution of 0.1 and an operation time of around 4 minutes for over 2 millions
measurement points. It was followed by the fine scanning of the reflectors and series of photos
covering the corresponding field of view.
spaced grid at a desired grid-node spacing of 8 cm (i.e. redundant points being removed).
The dataset has been homogenized in terms of its density according to the roughness of the
relief (plane zones being less dense than disturbed zones). Eventually, a point cloud of
approximately 3.3 millions points was obtained for each campaign (Table 2) representing
an average of 25 points / m (i.e. that is, referring to Figure 4b, around 100 points / 4 m2).
Following filtering and sampling of the data, a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) was generated with
a grid size of 20 cm (by triangulation of Delaunay) for fully covered cells A, B and C and with a
grid size of 50 cm (by kriging) for other cells.
Table 3 - Comparison of reference point elevations derived from traditional surveying and laser
scanning (Campaign 2 ; cell B)
Reference point Distance from 3D laser scanner Total station z i z i'
N Type scanner (m) x (m) y (m) z i (m) z i' (m) (m)
1 PE14 23.65 279.02 326.20 256.215 256.190 0.025
2 PE13 19.83 289.99 328.65 254.334 254.318 0.016
3 PS13 23.21 299.14 325.05 253.741 253.730 0.011
4 PE10 9.36 296.77 353.92 252.815 252.806 0.009
5 PS5 28.85 294.03 375.38 250.313 250.304 0.009
6 PT5 30.45 294.74 376.91 251.028 251.014 0.014
7 PE1 56.14 291.09 402.85 249.736 249.764 0.028
8 PE7 46.19 253.71 374.24 253.211 253.215 0.004
9 PE11 14.56 277.17 351.84 254.549 254.545 0.004
10 PE6 33.96 274.22 376.35 252.520 252.518 0.002
Sardinia 2005, Tenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium
1 p
zp = zi
p i =1
(2)
Looking at Figure 5b, the range of variation of n appears comprised between 64 and 464 (points /
4m2). Yet, only 9 elementary grids (in dash) present a value of n < 100. Corresponding average
altitudes are also given for every grid. Now, it is proposed to determine a threshold for p
(number of points) under which z p can not be considered as significant. One possible criteria
would be to find out the number p such that = z n z p where represents the level of
fluctuation considered as acceptable for the average altitude z p . In order to determine this
threshold, has been plotted as a function of p (varying between 5 and 400) for 10 randomly
selected grids (Figure 6). For p 150 (corresponding to a density of 37.5 points /m2), does not
exceed 10 mm. For p 200, remains under 5 mm further indicating the stabilisation of z p .
a b c d e f g h i j
a1 j1 1
54.489 54.495 54.501 54.498 54.515 54.546 54.592 54.620 54.642 54.648
436 417 447 446 400 388 352 360 346 303
54.279 54.320 54.353 54.382 54.406 54.454 54.482 54.503 54.521 54.557
2
429 396 391 410 398 375 324 382 320 292
54.181 54.223 54.262 54.278 54.291 54.322 54.345 54.364 54.409 54.425
3
326 310 367 390 450 464 447 439 392 349
54.098 54.114 54.118 54.119 54.125 54.153 54.156 54.181 54.209 54.216
4
317 337 360 419 429 436 438 389 363 357
53.999 53.999 53.988 53.966 53.951 53.957 53.959 53.991 54.036 54.070
5
295 327 343 352 364 317 355 349 328 330
53.878 53.864 53.843 53.820 53.810 53.800 53.815 53.841 53.882 53.930
6
273 269 271 217 207 213 217 257 276 281
a10 j10
53.773 53.763 53.743 53.717 53.685 53.716 53.749 53.762 53.807 53.861
7
216 210 190 201 87 76 99 187 192 220
53.732 53.714 53.678 53.658 53.654 53.657 53.683 53.697 53.788 53.880
8
181 160 216 204 198 173 138 73 120 120
53.711 53.715 53.662 53.629 53.630 53.615 53.631 53.675 53.745 53.836
9
107 85 133 147 160 173 150 151 119 85
53.671 53.696 53.635 53.655 53.684 53.573 53.536 53.566 53.609 53.660
10
150 102 81 228 288 157 84 64 76 109
Figure 5. Test zone 1 (20 m * 20 m) (a) Discretisation in 2 m * 2 m elementary grids (b) Average
altitude ( z n ) and number of points (n) associated to each elementary grid (after
filtrating) (Nov. 2004).
Sardinia 2005, Tenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium
= 10 mm
= 5 mm
Figure 6. = z n z p versus the number of points (p) for 10 randomly-selected elementary grids.
The above results were counter-checked considering in a similar way the other 90 elementary
grids composing Test zone 1. Similar trends were observed, confirming the necessity to guaranty
a minimum point density (after filtering) according to the overall accuracy expected.
54.2
55 54.1
54
54
z (m)
53.9
53.8
53
140 53.7
53.6
130
53.5
160
53.4
120 150
53.3
140
y (m)
110 130 x (m)
Figure 7. Representation of the average altitude ( zn ) of Test zone 2 (30 * 30 m) (130 m x 160
m ; 110 m y 140 m) discretised into 2 m * 2 m elementary grids.
Sardinia 2005, Tenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium
51
Slope separating (x, y) = (200, 460)
50
cells A & B
49
48
Altitude (m)
Cell B Cell A
47
46
y = - 1.6 x + 780
45
44
(x, y) = (250, 380)
43
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Distance (m)
Figure 8. (a) View of the slope separating cells A and B in the background (b) Horizontal profile
along the slope separating cells A and B.
Using a software dedicated to graphical applications, various types of contour / colour maps
representative of the terrain relief can be produced such as the one presented on Figure 7. Given
for instance a study zone subject to intensive collapse (Test zone 2 ; see Figure 2b), the
comparison of altitudes between two dates would precise the magnitude of settlement while
describing spatially the extent of differential settlement taking place. To that respect, illustrating
the possible effect of vertical wells dedicated to the collection of biogas or the recirculation of
leachate (in the case of bioreactors) on settlement can also be very interesting.
Ground-based 3D laser scanning technology represents a new method of surface modelling for
landfill applications. Where high resolution is required, point density and ease of implementation
are good assets. By comparison to conventional surveying, the application of the scanner
technique in landfills is expected to improve the assessment of cell capacity (before and during
filling operation) as well as the surveillance of covered cells during the post-capping period.
With regard to the surface structures (biogas drainage vents, rainwater drains, earth slopes,
dikes), the move from a discrete to a continuous representation of surface settlements (with
millions of points captured) will surely result in a better understanding of localised hydro-bio-
physical and mechanical interactions between waste and structures. In this regard, the laser
scanning technique offers a promising opportunity that should result in improved management of
landfills.
Focusing on the present research, further survey campaigns are foreseen that should result in a
more in-depth analysis of settlements based on the scanned data. The effect of the terrain
ruggedness and the cover grass on the data accuracy will be particularly controlled. A
geostatistical analysis is also expected in order to estimate the spatial distribution of settlements
and hence better depict the heterogenous nature of the waste material. Lastly, outputs from
Sardinia 2005, Tenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium
settlement variation maps and profiles will be discussed in the light of the conventional data
collected for the last 8 years and further analysed using the Incremental Settlement Prediction
Model (ISPM) [(Olivier, 2003), (ADEME, 2005)].
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank Mr Abdessahel Zerouali (student at the University of Grenoble) and
Loc Galisson (ATM3D) for their valuable help to the analytical work.
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<www-lirigm.ujf-grenoble.fr/Laboratoire/Personnel/folivier.html>
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