Measurement of Abrasion on Concrete Surfaces with 3D Scanning Technology

Hydraulic structures play an important role in regulation and transport of water in reservoirs and open channels. Examples of such structures include concrete spillways, stilling basins, flumes, weirs, dam, and culverts. Under the impact of water flow, the concrete surfaces suffer inevitably from abrasive erosion. Most existing standards for abrasion determine mass loss or discrete depth measurements. In this study, 3D laser scanning technology was used to determine abraded volume loss and surface topography in addition to mass loss. Surface scans were analyzed using commercial software. Assuming standard concrete density, it was generally found that mass measurements were higher than expected when compared with the calculated volume measurements, but the ranking of resistance is the same for both techniques. The scanning technology presents an alternative method to measure abrasion.