3D Laser Scanner aids research

Groundbreaking research at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Transportation Institute is using Laser Design technology.

Laser Design has announced that groundbreaking research is being done at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) Transportation Institute using its technology.

With a Laser Design RE-1208 3D laser scanning system, faculty in the civil and environmental engineering department, scans roadway materials with the purpose of improving the quality of our highways.

The research is federally funded by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) which was created in 1962 to conduct research in acute problem areas that affect highway planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance nationwide, through state departments of transportation.

With expertise in simulative pavement testing and mechanistic pavement design, the civil and environmental engineering department developed imaging techniques with the Laser Design scanning system to use on roadbed materials.

The 3D surface of aggregates are scanned to identify their properties, such as texture, shape, and surface characteristics.

The scan data add to the NCHRP's knowledge of how to build better, more stable roads.

The mechanics of asphalt concrete, an important infrastructure material for pavements, is a fundamental tool for understanding its complicated behavior.

New materials are compared to materials after they have been in service to determine how use breaks down their structure.

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Martin Schuster, President of Laser Design, noted, "Laser Design's non-contact laser scanning systems are ideal for scanning these small roadway particles.

They are irregularly shaped, so using a touch probe does not yield the highly accurate and complete data that our RE-1208 laser scanning system creates.

Comparisons between the 'before and after' particles are simplified with the Geomagic software program we supply with the system." Research findings are published as quickly as possible in NCHRP reports to keep transportation administrators and practicing engineers on the cutting edge of research in the field.

For years at the forefront of transportation research, the Virginia Tech Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering was recently ranked by the U.

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News and World Report survey in the top 15 of accredited civil engineering departments in the United States.

Although research currently centres around determining the characteristics of aggregates used in roadway construction, the department is looking for other opportunities to use the Laser Design non-contact scanning system to further research in the area of transportation engineering.

"Non-contact laser scanning is perfect for many academic applications," said Schuster.

"We have laser scanners in major universities worldwide being used to teach engineering and manufacturing courses, for medical research projects, and for 3D scanning of archeological and anthropological artifacts.

Our technology excels at creating models of intricate shapes for analysis and reverse engineering.".

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