ANALYSIS OF THE ACCURACY OF TERRESTRIAL LASER SCANNER AND ITS POTENTIAL FOR DETERMINING THE RADIUS AND CENTER COORDINATES OF VERTICAL CIRCULAR OIL TANKS
The paper discusses the developments in terrestrial Laser Scan TLS for precise measurement. It compares the accuracy attainable with those of measurements carried out on the same base-line using Electronic Total station instrument. In the study, mathematical models were formulated which enabled for the determination of tank radius and center point coordinates together with the corresponding accuracies. To test the validity of the models, measurements were carried out to determine tank radius and center point coordinate for various height of the tank from 2m to 22m. The results indicate that the accuracy with which the tank radius and center point coordinates were determined increases with height from a value of 2.3mm at 2m to 1.0mm at 22m for radius and a corresponding increase in position fix accuracy from the base of the tank to the top. In general the results show that terrestrial Laser Scan yields better results, then for Total station measurement in the determination of vertical circular oil tank radius and center point coordinates and should therefore be used for such studies.
