A possible implementation of non-destructive data surveys in the definition of BIM models for the analysis of road assets

Recently, a strong push towards the use of BIM-based procedures and practices in the field of linear transport infrastructures has been addressed. In Italy, a series of ministerial decrees have been approved to encourage the use of this methodology in the design and management operations of civil works. In such a framework, a novel approach to the management phases of civil works is required, based on different types of data and analyses within an integrated process, making use of digital models of the assets. This study aims at defining a procedure able to integrate non-destructive surveys data, such as those from Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Mobile Laser Scanner (MLS), into a BIM model of a road infrastructure. The different types of surveys allow to implement useful and multiple pieces of information regarding the assets of the infrastructure in the corresponding BIM model. The main goal of the research is to optimize the management phase of a road by combining different observations, made by separate operators, in a unified BIM environment, to define a methodology that can be applied to real infrastructures. In order to validate the proposed methodology, a digital model of a real highway has been generated by making use of non-destructive survey data obtained from inspections that have been carried out by means of GPR and MLS. The different datasets have been individually processed so that they could be unified in a single BIM model. As a result, the use of specifically designed parametric sections, along with the processed datasets, allowed to define a BIM model of the road that can also be analyzed in areas that usually cannot be reached by operators. This allows a more efficient management of the asset, showing that the proposed methodology could be a viable tool in the monitoring operations of linear transport infrastructures.