Abstract
It is estimated that corrosion causes around R260 Billion of damage to infrastructure and equipment
in the South African industry annually. Corrosion evaluation and protection in the marine environment
is well established. In the mining industry the field of corrosion evaluation is not as well established
as it could be. The evaluation and measurement of corrosion rates and physical deterioration of structures
through electrochemical measurement, visual inspection and non‐destructive test method
measuring techniques are well established. The use of sonar (ultrasonic) and laser scanning has been
investigated. Laser scanning technology has improved exponentially over the past years and terrestrial
and hand‐held units are now smaller, more manageable and affordable to the surveyor. Conventional
laser scanners are able to measure to an accuracy of millimeters and generate a point cloud of 1million
points per second in some cases. Latest developments in laser scanning include multi‐spectral analysis
and Red‐Green‐Blue (RGB) intensity values for each point. Point clouds of data can now be imported
into a CAD package and compared to design specifications. In the case where “as‐built” specifications
differ for the initial design, laser scanning allows the engineer the opportunity to compare and quantify
in minute detail the differences between the final structure and the original design...