Abstract: High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is commonly the material of choice for covered anaerobic lagoons (CAL) at wastewater treatment plants. The membrane floats on the wastewater, and hence is called a “floating cover”, and is used for odour control and to harvest the methane-rich biogas as a renewable resource to generate electricity. The floating cover is an expensive and high-value asset that demands an efficient methodology for the determination of a set of engineering quantities for structural integrity assessment. Given the dynamics of the anaerobic activities under the floating cover, the state of deformation of the floating cover is an engineering measurand that is useful for its structural health assessment. A non-contact measurement strategy is preferred as it offers practical and safety-related benefits over other methods. In collaboration with Melbourne Water Corporation (MWC), an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) assisted photogrammetry approach was developed to address this need. Following the definition of the appropriate flight parameters required to quantify the state of deformation of the cover, a series of periodic flights were operated over the very large floating covers at MWC’s Western Treatment Plant (WTP) at Werribee, Victoria, Australia. This presentation aims to demonstrate the effectiveness and practicality of this inspection technique to determine the state of deformation of the floating covers measured over a ten-month period


Bio: Wing Chiu is a member of academic staff at the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Monash University. His research interests are in the fields of structural mechanics, structural health monitoring and advance composite structures. He has long-standing research collaborations with researchers from Australia, USA, Europe, Singapore and Indonesia. Chiu’s work on structural health monitoring of aerospace structures has led to him extending his work to civil structures and bio-medical structures. He co-chairs the Asia Pacific Workshop Structural Health Monitoring and is a member of the Editorial Board of two International Journals - Polymers and Polymer Composites and the International Journal of Structural Health Monitoring. Chiu applies his engineering knowledge to solve everyday problems through professional engineering consultancies in engineering noise and vibration. He is passionate about undergraduate education and in infusing solutions to real world engineering issues in his engineering courses.