Surface profiling system for measurement of engineering structures

A surface-profile measurement system is introduced, with emphasis on the design and the measuring principles of the system. Originally developed for the measurement of imperfections in large-scale steel silos, the system consists of a measuring trolley, associated supporting equipment, and a software package. The measuring trolley, when pulled over a measured surface, continuously records the information on the geometric shapes of the surface. The recorded information is then used to calculate the profiles of the measured surface based on least-squares principles. The profile measurement system offers several advantages over existing profile measurement techniques, especially in determining the surface geometry of large engineering structures.