Our Surveying Solutions for Landfills

This project is a monthly drone flyover of a landfill cell for volumetric analysis. A total of 200 images were taken at an average height of 80m above ground level in a double grid layout. A total of 5 control targets were used to align the project to the site co-ordinate system with the alignment checked to 3 independently measured targets to ensure project accuracy.

A point cloud was created from the overlapping images. This point cloud was edited to remove surface ‘noise’ such as landfill structures, vehicles, plant etc. to create a digital terrain model (DTM) of the top of waste surface. Volumes were calculated comparing the monthly waste surface to the as-built base-of-landfill and final profile models to report on waste airspace consumed/available. A monthly ortho-image was also created to monitor cell compaction and filling patterns.

This new landfill site in regional Victoria has been four years in the making. From preliminary analysis to final asbuilt survey, Landair Surveys has worked closely with the local council’s waste management team to streamline the design and construction processes.

In late 2014 Landair Surveys was engaged by the local council to develop several preliminary landfill design scenarios for project cost/benefit analysis. Title re-establishment surveys were completed and an initial feature & level survey was undertaken combining land and aerial survey techniques. A best-fit landfill position, potential airspace, bulk earthworks volumes and individual landfill layer volumes were determined following industry design standards.

The chosen preliminary layer models produced by Landair were then used by the Council’s engaged engineers to fast-track landfill design and environmental reports for EPA Victoria.

Excavation began late 2016 and throughout the construction process Landair was involved in various drill-blast setouts, regular volume surveys, cut/fill analysis and construction checks.

The final asbuilt survey was completed mid-2017 and checks undertaken to confirm construction was within design tolerances. For stakeholder communication the model shown was created by draping the corresponding aerial ortho-image over the measured 3D mesh.

This project is a fortnightly drone survey for stockpile volumes at a metropolitan landfill. New landfill cell construction is underway and the necessary construction materials are being stockpiled on site for future use. The deliverables given to the client each fortnight are volume plans, stock increase/decrease reports and an ortho-image of the cell location.

For each flyover approximately 350 images are taken at a flying height of 110m above ground level. Using photogrammetry software, the overlapping images are used to create a dense point cloud of the cell area. The point cloud is cleaned and then decimated to a 50mm point spacing. A 3D mesh is then created from the point cloud and further refined for volumetric analysis.

This 3D model shows the key transitions a landfill goes through from a cell currently being filled with waste, to another cell in the process of being capped, to a finished rehabilitated cell.

The land survey was completed for EPA reporting purposes and a corresponding aerial image was used to create the textured mesh shown.

For this site, Landair Surveys also manages the client’s spatial data by creating & maintaining a single point-of- reference file easily accessible by the waste management team. All historical spatial data has been aligned to a common coordinate system and assigned to relevant layers for ease of viewing and analysis. Information such as design surfaces, site infrastructure, historical imagery, gas extraction lines, asbuilt cell records, etc. are stored within the data file creating a virtual landfill that can be viewed in 3D.