A New 3D Scanner for Digitizing Discontinuity Surface Roughness

In this study, a new 3-dimensional scanner is developed to digitize the roughness of the discontinuity surfaces of rock mass. The device uses a camera and a laser which projects a line on the surface with right angle. The camera is placed diagonally to the surface so the profile of the surface can be recorded and can be digitized by direct linear transformation algorithm. The system consists of three main parts: hardware, electronic card and software. In the mechanical setup, the laser and the camera are scrolled along a rail by a worm gear which is driven by a step motor. Electronic card controls the laser and the step motor according to the commands from the software. Camera calibration, scanning, image analysis, detection of the laser stripe and direct linear transformation calculations are made by using the developed software. By using this device, a 3D topography of the surface can be obtained. With this data the roughness can be analyzed.