Advancing Erosion Control Analysis: A Comparative Study of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and Robotic Total Station Techniques for Sediment Barrier Retention Measurement

Sediment Barriers (SBs) are crucial for effective erosion control, and understanding their capacities and limitations is essential for environmental protection. This study compares the accuracy and effectiveness of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and Robotic Total Station (RTS) techniques for quantifying sediment retention in SBs. To achieve this, erosion tests were conducted in a full-scale testing apparatus with TLS and RTS methods to collect morphological data of sediment retention surfaces before and after each experiment. The acquired datasets were processed and integrated into a Building Information Modeling (BIM) platform to create Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). These were then used to calculate the volume of accumulated sediment upstream of the SB system. The results indicated that TLS and RTS techniques could effectively measure sediment retention in a full-scale testing environment. However, TLS proved to be more accurate, exhibiting a standard deviation of 0.41 ft³ in contrast to 1.94 ft³ for RTS and more efficient, requiring approximately 15% to 50% less time per test than RTS. The main conclusions of this study highlight the benefits of using TLS over RTS for sediment retention measurement and provide valuable insights for improving erosion control strategies and sediment barrier design.