SURFACE PROFILING SYSTEM FOR MEASUREMENT OF ENGINEERING STRUCTURES

A surface-profile measurement system is introduced, with emphasis on t he design and the measuring principles of the system. Originally devel oped for the measurement of imperfections in large-scale steel silos, the system consists of a measuring trolley, associated supporting equi pment, and a software package. The measuring trolley when pulled over a measured surface, continuously records the information on the geomet ric shapes of the surface. The recorded information is then used to ca lculate the profiles of the measured surface based on least-squares pr inciples. The profile measurement system offers several advantages ove r existing profile measurement techniques, especially in determining t he surface geometry of large engineering structures.