Inspection equipment study for subway tunnel defects by grey-scale image processing

In recent years, much attention has been paid to Machine Vision-Based (MVB) technology for tunnel main defect (leakage and crack) inspection as an innovative technology. Based on the principle of MVB technology, various researchers have developed tunnel inspection equipment, but most of them need either a trailer or an external power supply, which cannot meet the demand of subway tunnel inspection in China. The limited inspection time, high demand for precision, rigid requirements of operational management and high cost of the equipment restrict the application of this method in China. MTI-100 (Moving Tunnel Inspection) was developed under these circumstances. To capture stable, high-quality images of the lining surface as the raw data of inspection, an image capture system is well designed based on CCD (Charge-coupled Device) camera scanning. Additionally, equipment optimization design of the mechanism and electricity requirements for the inspection accuracy of subway tunnel inspection is investigated. The maximal size and weight of equipment elements determined the convenience of inspection, which is primarily conditioned by these designs. The effects of lighting and vibration have been considered. A method to calculate the image shift caused by vibration is proposed. The software network is another core component of the equipment, which connects the image acquisition, image storage and defect recognition. The famous Otsu method is used for leakage recognition. A new algorithm based on the features of the local image grid is developed to recognize cracks. A comparative study shows its high accuracy for crack recognition. Finally, a simulative tunnel test and field inspection are undertaken to verify the performance of the non-destructive subway tunnel inspection equipment. Through these tests, the accuracy, stability, repeatability, labor intensity and efficiency of the equipment have been verified. A real project test certified that the developed MTI-100 is quite suitable for practical tunnel inspection.