Abstract
The visual analysis of surface cracks plays an essential role in tunnel maintenance when assessing the condition of a tunnel. To identify patterns of cracks, which endanger the structural integrity of its concrete surface, analysts need an integrated solution for visual analysis of geometric and multivariate data to decide if issuing a repair project is necessary. The primary contribution of this work is a design study, supporting tunnel crack analysis by tightly integrating geometric and attribute views to allow users a holistic visual analysis of geometric representations and multivariate attributes. Our secondary contribution is Visual Analytics and Rendering, a methodological approach which addresses challenges and recurring design questions in integrated systems. We evaluated the tunnel crack analysis solution in informal feedback sessions with experts from tunnel maintenance and surveying. We substantiated the derived methodology by providing guidelines and linking it to examples from the literature.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00371-016-1257-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The detection and documentation of cracks in the concrete surface of a tunnel are essential for assessing its condition
Abstracting from the specific problem domain of tunnel crack analysis we identified a general problem space emerging from the combination of geometric and attribute views, including obstacles and recurring design questions
Cooperating with experts from tunnel maintenance and tunnel surveying, we identified a series of tasks in the context of tunnel crack analysis
Summary
The detection and documentation of cracks in the concrete surface of a tunnel are essential for assessing its condition These cracks comprise a 3D polyline and several multivariate attribute values, such as length, width, orientation, and moisture. For instance, to identify patterns which endanger the structural integrity of the tunnel surface or assess the density of cracks along the tunnel and identify critical sections. Accomplishing such tasks and evaluating if a repair project is necessary typically requires the visual analysis of detailed geometric data and multivariate attributes simultaneously. Since geometric and attribute data are evaluated separately, no integrated workflow is supported resulting in tedious work to relate both aspects of the data
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