Extraction and location of subway shield tunnel segment joints from RMLS point clouds

Precisely extracting segment joints in subway shield tunnels is critical for automated safety evaluation such as segment assembly quality inspection, dislocation and deformation detection and lining surface defects diagnosis. However, traditional extraction methods can only extract segment joints of...

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Main Authors: Liying Wang, Ze You, Yong Feng, Chunxi Xie, Mahamadou Camara
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-08-01
Series:International Journal of Digital Earth
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17538947.2025.2528627
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author Liying Wang
Ze You
Yong Feng
Chunxi Xie
Mahamadou Camara
author_facet Liying Wang
Ze You
Yong Feng
Chunxi Xie
Mahamadou Camara
author_sort Liying Wang
collection DOAJ
description Precisely extracting segment joints in subway shield tunnels is critical for automated safety evaluation such as segment assembly quality inspection, dislocation and deformation detection and lining surface defects diagnosis. However, traditional extraction methods can only extract segment joints of specific types (circumferential joints or radial joints) or specific assembly patterns (straight joints or staggered joints) and their extraction accuracy is easily affected by nearby tunnel facilities. To meet distinct engineering requirements, a Rail-borne Mobile Laser Scanning (RMLS) point cloud-based method capable of simultaneously identifying all joints types and patterns is presented. The proposed method first employs an elliptical fitting residual statistics algorithm to remove non-lining points, eliminating their adverse effects on joint extraction. Then, cross-sections corresponding to circumferential joints are automatically identified and spatially localized using an adaptive multi-threshold algorithm based on local intensity statistics, dividing the tunnel lining into individual shield rings. Finally, a novel curvature-based ratio metric, derived from the local bulge and liner distribution characteristics, is developed to identify and localize radial joints within each shield ring. Experiment results show that the proposed method achieves average IoU, recall, and accuracy of 92.8%, 95.3%, and 94.3%, respectively, even surpassing the performance of deep learning-based semantic segmentation network.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 1753-8947
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language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
record_format Article
series International Journal of Digital Earth
spelling doaj-art-55be29f1ca51445d990738c9debd82352025-08-25T11:28:42ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Digital Earth1753-89471753-89552025-08-0118110.1080/17538947.2025.2528627Extraction and location of subway shield tunnel segment joints from RMLS point cloudsLiying Wang0Ze You1Yong Feng2Chunxi Xie3Mahamadou Camara4School of Geomatics, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Geomatics, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, People’s Republic of ChinaDivision of Geoinformation Management, Department of Natural Resources of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, People’s Republic of ChinaInstitute of Surveying, Mapping and Geographic Information, China Railway Design Group Co., Ltd., Tianjin, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Geomatics, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, People’s Republic of ChinaPrecisely extracting segment joints in subway shield tunnels is critical for automated safety evaluation such as segment assembly quality inspection, dislocation and deformation detection and lining surface defects diagnosis. However, traditional extraction methods can only extract segment joints of specific types (circumferential joints or radial joints) or specific assembly patterns (straight joints or staggered joints) and their extraction accuracy is easily affected by nearby tunnel facilities. To meet distinct engineering requirements, a Rail-borne Mobile Laser Scanning (RMLS) point cloud-based method capable of simultaneously identifying all joints types and patterns is presented. The proposed method first employs an elliptical fitting residual statistics algorithm to remove non-lining points, eliminating their adverse effects on joint extraction. Then, cross-sections corresponding to circumferential joints are automatically identified and spatially localized using an adaptive multi-threshold algorithm based on local intensity statistics, dividing the tunnel lining into individual shield rings. Finally, a novel curvature-based ratio metric, derived from the local bulge and liner distribution characteristics, is developed to identify and localize radial joints within each shield ring. Experiment results show that the proposed method achieves average IoU, recall, and accuracy of 92.8%, 95.3%, and 94.3%, respectively, even surpassing the performance of deep learning-based semantic segmentation network.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17538947.2025.2528627Mobile laser scanningshield tunnelsegment jointpoint cloudsellipse fittingcurvature-based ratio feature
spellingShingle Liying Wang
Ze You
Yong Feng
Chunxi Xie
Mahamadou Camara
Extraction and location of subway shield tunnel segment joints from RMLS point clouds
International Journal of Digital Earth
Mobile laser scanning
shield tunnel
segment joint
point clouds
ellipse fitting
curvature-based ratio feature
title Extraction and location of subway shield tunnel segment joints from RMLS point clouds
title_full Extraction and location of subway shield tunnel segment joints from RMLS point clouds
title_fullStr Extraction and location of subway shield tunnel segment joints from RMLS point clouds
title_full_unstemmed Extraction and location of subway shield tunnel segment joints from RMLS point clouds
title_short Extraction and location of subway shield tunnel segment joints from RMLS point clouds
title_sort extraction and location of subway shield tunnel segment joints from rmls point clouds
topic Mobile laser scanning
shield tunnel
segment joint
point clouds
ellipse fitting
curvature-based ratio feature
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17538947.2025.2528627
work_keys_str_mv AT liyingwang extractionandlocationofsubwayshieldtunnelsegmentjointsfromrmlspointclouds
AT zeyou extractionandlocationofsubwayshieldtunnelsegmentjointsfromrmlspointclouds
AT yongfeng extractionandlocationofsubwayshieldtunnelsegmentjointsfromrmlspointclouds
AT chunxixie extractionandlocationofsubwayshieldtunnelsegmentjointsfromrmlspointclouds
AT mahamadoucamara extractionandlocationofsubwayshieldtunnelsegmentjointsfromrmlspointclouds