GEOBIM, BIM integrated geohazard monitoring of at risk slopes and historical retaining structures

Abstract

Over time, structures such as slopes and retaining walls are increasingly deteriorating, resulting in a risk of collapse. Factors such as climate change, human activities, societal development, rapid growth of cities, increasing population and economy make geological disasters occur more frequently than usual. Geological hazards of nature, slope collapse, slope fractures or slope movements have become a problem to be solved by civil engineering. With the advent of low-cost sensors, optical topographic surveying and BIM (Building Information Modelling), such risk could be mitigated and, in some cases, eliminated. The main aim of this research was to use wireless sensors to monitor slopes that are potentially at risk and to incorporate all the information obtained in BIM (Building Information Modelling), in order to make a digitalized vision of the structures in real time. High precision and innovative tools, such as drone flights and slope scanners were utilized for a detailed analysis of the risk of change in the geohazards including soil slopes and historic retaining walls. Through the combination of data from sensors with point clouds generated from drone flights, an early warning system was developed. This early warning system was clearly able to display when there was surface changes therefore highlighting the areas of high risk of collapse. This thesis shows how continuous real-time surveillance of soil slopes and retaining walls can be achieved clearly and concisely, in a cost-effective manner.