Detection of geometric properties of discontinuities on the Špičunak rock slope (Croatia) using high-resolution 3D Point Cloud generated from Terrestrial Laser Scanning

Rock mass characterization is a very important part of engineering geological investigation. For a better understanding of the rock mass behaviour, it is crucially important to obtain as much as possible information about the discontinuity network, especially about orientation and the number of dominant discontinuity sets. The traditional methodology includes field mapping which dominantly produces a limited amount of data and consequently only a rough estimate about discontinuity network. To increase the number of measurements and to eliminate orientation bias, rock mass on the Špičunak rock slope in Gorski kotar, Croatia, was analysed using a combination of 3D Point Cloud and Textured Mesh Model generated from 3D Point Cloud by Poisson surface reconstruction. Both models were obtained from Terrestrial Laser Scanning. Two considerably different parts of a rock slope, with different weathering conditions and different degrees of fracturing were mapped. Discontinuities were mapped in the field and on the models using manual mapping techniques and semi-automated methods. Manual mapping on a 3D Point Cloud and Textured Mesh Model was done by Compass plugin and by Trace a polyline tool in Cloud Compare software version V2.12 and semi-automated mapping methods were done by Discontinuity Set Extractor and qFacet Fast Marching plugin for Cloud Compare software version V2.12. This study was used to show how the application of different methodologies, for the detection of geometric properties of discontinuities, influences the result. Statistical analyses were performed on the collected data to determine differences in the accuracy between the mapping techniques. Manual mapping on the 3D Point Cloud and high-resolution Textured Mesh Model showed good agreement with field measurements, apart from the higher number of discontinuities mapped by remote sensing methods. On the other hand, significant deviations were found between manual and semi-automated mapping techniques. Semiautomated methods did not correctly detect certain discontinuities, especially bedding planes that are perpendicular to a rock face. Also, semi-automated methods overestimate the number of discontinuity sets, especially in a highly weathered and highly fractured rock mass. These differences between methods can influence kinematic analysis results. Based on the results, an appropriate methodology was proposed to utilize the advantages of both manual and semiautomated methods. The proposed approach presents a powerful tool to accurately map and measure discontinuity orientation with results comparable to the field measurements.