Photogrammetry App for Roughness Profile

Project ID: 1382
Principal Investigator: Matthew Klein
Research Topic: Repair and Maintenance
Funded Fiscal Years: 2015
Keywords: app, concrete repair, concrete, photogrammetry, smartphone, tablet

Research Question

Can an app be developed that uses a smartphone or tablet's camera to generate a photogrammetry based model of a concrete surface that relates the surface profile of the model to the corresponding standard roughness for determining if the concrete surface roughness is optimal for concrete repairs?

Need and Benefit

The determination of surface roughness for concrete repair is a subjective, low repeatability process. It involves using nine standard rubber samples that are used to compare the concrete surface to. When the concrete is prepared properly it should match a particular roughness on the samples. If the comparison is performed incorrectly, the repair is compromised and will not last as long as expected.

By using a quantitative method that involves generating a 3D model section and performing calculations to determine the closest match to the standard samples, the concrete repair can be performed with a higher degree of accuracy in its integrity. If the concrete is properly prepared, the chances of the repair performing as expected are increased.

Contributing Partners

Contact the Principal Investigator for information about partners.

Research Products

Bureau of Reclamation Review

The following documents were reviewed by experts in fields relating to this project's study and findings. The results were determined to be achieved using valid means.

Photogrammetry App for Roughness Profile (final, PDF, 202KB)
By Matthew Klein
Publication completed on September 30, 2015

An alternative to traditional methods of determining roughness of concrete for repair preparation is to use a photogrammetry smartphone app. The app would be installed on a smartphone that can take pictures and process them to create a model. The model is compared against standardized Concrete Surface Profile replicas to find the best match and then report the Concrete Surface Profile number.

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Last Updated: 6/22/20