Surface Deformation Detection Using GPS

Xiaoli Ding, Yongqi Chen, Jianjun Zhu and Dingfa Huang

Abstract:	Many man-made and natural structures such as buildings, bridges, dams, and slopes undergo various forms of deformations. Precise monitoring of the progressive deformations of these structures can often provide vital information on their stability and safety status. GPS has provided a very useful tool for monitoring structural deformations. It offers many advantages over traditional surveying techniques that measure relative geometric quantities (i.e., distances, angles and height differences) between selected points, and also over techniques that employ geotechnical instrumentation. In general, GPS is more accurate, efficient, highly automatic and low labor intensive. However, GPS also has its disadvantages when used for such applications. One limiting factor for large-scale use of GPS is its high cost. With standard approaches of using GPS, if permanent GPS receivers are used for monitoring deformations, a receiver is required for each point that needs monitored. If there are a large number of points to be monitored, the cost of GPS hardware can be prohibitively expensive for most practical applications. For example, Hong Kong has tens of thousands of natural and cut slopes and a large number of these slopes are unstable and potentially dangerous. To determine the deformation and failure mechanism of a slope, a number of points on the slope often need monitored. GPS has not been used much at all for such applications mainly due to the high cost involved. An approach of detecting surface deformation based on the use of GPS multipath signals is presented in this paper. The approach has the advantage that one antenna can be used to monitor multiple points or the entire surfaces and is hence much more cost effective. The general GPS multipath effect will be discussed first. The basic principle of testing and computing surface deformations by using multipath signals will then be introduced. Some preliminary test results will be given at the end.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 12th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1999) September 14 - 17, 1999 Nashville, TN
Pages:	53 - 62
Cite this article:	Ding, Xiaoli, Chen, Yongqi, Zhu, Jianjun, Huang, Dingfa, "Surface Deformation Detection Using GPS," Proceedings of the 12th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1999), Nashville, TN, September 1999, pp. 53-62.
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