Rock Mass Characterization by UAV and Close-Range Photogrammetry: A Multiscale Approach Applied along the Vallone dell’Elva Road (Italy)

Geostructural rock mass surveys and the collection of data related to discontinues provide the basis for the characterization of rock masses and the study of their stability conditions. This paper describes a multiscale approach that was carried out using both non-contact techniques and traditional...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inGeosciences (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 11; p. 436
Main Authors Migliazza, Maria, Carriero, Maria Teresa, Lingua, Andrea, Pontoglio, Emanuele, Scavia, Claudio
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.11.2021
Subjects
Aerial surveys
Discontinuity
Earth science
Failure analysis
Failure mechanisms
geostructural survey
Kinematics
Morphology
Multiscale analysis
Photogrammetry
point cloud
Roads
Roads & highways
Rock masses
Rocks
Shear strength
Slope stability
Slopes
Software
Surveying
Surveys
UAV technique
Unmanned aerial vehicles
Italy
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Summary:Geostructural rock mass surveys and the collection of data related to discontinues provide the basis for the characterization of rock masses and the study of their stability conditions. This paper describes a multiscale approach that was carried out using both non-contact techniques and traditional support techniques to survey certain geometrical features of discontinuities, such as their orientation, spacing, and useful persistence. This information is useful in identifying the possible kinematics and stability conditions. These techniques are extremely useful in the case study of the Elva valley road (Northern Italy), in which instability phenomena are spread across 9 km in an overhanging rocky mass. A multiscale approach was applied, obtaining digital surface models (DSMs) at three different scales: large-scale DSM of the entire road, a medium-scale DSM to assess portions of the slope, and a small-scale DSM to assess single discontinuities. The georeferenced point cloud and consequent DSMs of the slopes were obtained using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and terrestrial photogrammetric technique, allowing topographic and rapid traditional geostructural surveys. This technique allowed us to take measurements along the entire road, obtaining geometrical data for the discontinuities that are statistically representative of the rock mass and useful in defining the possible kinematic mechanisms and volumes of potentially detachable blocks. The main purpose of this study was to analyse how the geostructural features of a rock mass can affect the stability slope conditions at different scales in order to identify road sectors susceptible to different potential failure mechanisms using only kinematic analysis.
ISSN:2076-3263
2076-3263
DOI:10.3390/geosciences11110436