Use of Small UAVs for Field Measurement of Hydraulic Parameters in Small Drainage Basins

Details

• Creators:
  Do, Jitae ; Wang, Binbin ; Deng, Baolin ; Adu-Gyamfi, Yaw ; Belk, Katilin ; Holmes, John
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Missouri--Columbia. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Corporate Contributors:
  Missouri. Department of Transportation. Construction and Materials Division ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Bathymetry Data Collection Drainage Basins Drones Feasibility Analysis Floods Peak Discharge
• Publication/ Report Number:
  cmr 26-004
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report (December 2024-February 2026)
• Corporate Publisher:
  Missouri. Department of Transportation
• Abstract:
  This project evaluated the feasibility, accuracy, and practical use of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for measuring hydraulic parameters, water-surface elevation (WSE), surface velocity, bathymetry, and discharge, in small to medium Missouri drainage basins. UAV-based measurements offer non-contact alternative to traditional field methods in hazardous environments or high-flow conditions. A comprehensive literature review of 522 publications (2010–2024) was conducted and found that reported errors showed radar-based WSE and hyperspectral/multispectral bathymetry as the most accurate, while PTV showed the highest accuracy with a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 10.7%, while the surface velocity method (SV) yielded the lowest discharge error (MAPE = 12.4%). For the field studies in the next phase, six field sites were selected from 21 candidate locations, to represent diverse channel and hydrologic conditions. Five sites were surveyed using UAV photogrammetry, LiDAR, PIV/PTV, and sonar-based bathymetry. Discharge was estimated using GM and surface-velocity approaches (SV). GM used LiDAR geometry, bathymetry, roughness, and slope, while SV used PIV/PTV at all sites. UAV-based discharge estimates showed 22.2– 25.3% difference relative to USGS rating curves. SV produced more consistent accuracy across sites, while GM was highly sensitive to roughness and geometry. SV is recommended when field time is limited, and GM when detailed channel data are available.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  TR202510
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1b9f9588b349575ce8e83bac1de5485d5376cc4bb916722cc03b78b1210713fe55b89c72e7f85934ce127ebe8c9ac8789a1e5656d483b2a3db87360f8a742fdd
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/89395/dot_89395_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 8.19 MB ]