Geotechnical Application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for Estimation of Ground Settlement after Filling and Compaction

In geotechnical engineering field, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have been widely used to monitor ground deformation. The objective of this study is to apply the UAV in the field and compare it with the on-site dynamic cone penetration test (DCPT), considering the ground deformation and strength characteristics. The calibration test results show that a flight altitude of 25 m, side-frontal overlap of 80–80 %, and camera angle at 80° is the most reliable compositions. For the field test, UAV scanning using the data model generated by the point cloud and DCPT up to a depth of 500 mm after filling and compaction were conducted. The field test results revealed that the ground settlement measured by the UAV and on-site test was similar, and a larger settlement occurred when the ground was weaker. Thus, the UAV can be efficiently used to assess the strength characteristics as well as ground settlement.