Measurement of Deflection in Concrete Beams During Fatigue Loading Test Using the Microsoft Kinect 2.0

This study focuses on 3 Hz fatigue load testing of a reinforced concrete beam in laboratory conditions. Three-dimensional (3D) image time series of the beam’s top surface were captured with the Microsoft time-of-flight Kinect 2.0 sensor. To estimate the beam deflection, the imagery was first segmented to extract the top surface of the beam. The centre line was then modeled using third-order B-splines. The deflection of the beam as a function of time was estimated from the modeled centre line and, following past practice, also at several witness plates attached to the side of the beam. Subsequent correlation of the peak displacement with the applied loading cycles permitted estimation of fatigue in the beam. The accuracy of the deflections was evaluated by comparison with the measurements obtained using a Keyence LK-G407 laser displacement sensors. The results indicate that the deflections can be recovered with sub-millimetre accuracy using the centreline profile modelling method.