Harnessing a direct scan-to-modeling approach for structural mechanics

Abstract

To ensure the safety and reliability operation of infrastructures, accurate and rapid condition assessment of in-service infrastructures is extremely imperative. Image technologies and techniques, as a non-destructive evaluation (NDE) tool, have created new opportunities to achieve this. It is able to resolve sub-millimeter details including surface flaws and defects, providing a foundation for quantitatively linking observable features to operational performance. This linkage is possible when the quantified feature is directly integrated into tools suitable for describing mechanical response, such as the finite element method. However, the workflow associated with this integration is indirect and presents challenges. This work creates a pathway for a direct scan-to-model strategy suitable for translating condition data derived from a 3D laser scanning system into a computation model capable of describing the mechanical response of the component. The geometric characterization capabilities of the proposed approach and the influence of scan resolution on the geometric characterization are explored. Results of this study provide the foundation of a computational framework for establishing the fundamental link between visually observable geometric changes and the numerical models that engineers use to understand the performance of engineered systems.