Study on Time-Domin Reflectormetry (TDR) Test

Background
Time-Domain Reflectormetry (TDR) is a technique commonly used in electrical engineering for
detection of faults in transmission lines. It involves sending an electrical pulse along a pair of
transmission line / cable and receiving the reflection induced by any discontinuities in the line.
By measuring the time for the pulses to travel from the pulse generator to the point of
discontinuity, the corresponding distance can be estimated. The working principle is as below:
Working Principle
The propagation velocity of an electromagnetic wave Vp, travelling along a coaxial cable is as
below:
v p=

1
LC

where L = the cable inductance in unit of henries per metre

C = the capacitance in unit of farads per metre

The propagation velocity is related to the material properties by the following expression:
v p=

vc

Where

vc

= the speed of light in vacuum (3 x 108 m/s)

= dimensionless property called dielectric constant
(air

= 1, grout

= 10, water

= 80)

Hence by measuring the pulse traveling time along the soil nail and multiply it with the
propagation velocity, we can estimate the length of the soil nail.
Remarks: the propagation velocity of electrical pulse in grout is 30% less than that in air. If there
is a void along the grouted soil nail, the pulse travel time will be shorter than fully grouted soil
nail.
Testing Procedure

Study on Time-Domin Reflectormetry (TDR) Test

1) Determine the pulse propagation velocity,

vr

, from at least 3 nos. of soil nails (namely:

calibration nails) of known length. The calibration nails are selected by the RSS. It is
suggested that the longest soil nails to be selected for better accuracy.
vr =

2 Ld
tc

where

Ld

= design length of soil nail

tc

= pulse travel time in copper wire

2) Move line 1 on the display panel of TDR to the starting point of reflected pulse
corresponding to the clip

3) Connect the clip to the test nails and move line 2 to the one with largest amplitude. Record
the time of travel between line 1 and 2

4) Repeat the step 3 & 4 with different pulse width, one with < 5ns and one > 5ns. Select the
t
most clear and distinct reflection for calculation of pulse traveling time in copper wire, c

Study on Time-Domin Reflectormetry (TDR) Test

5) Repeat Step 3-5 for three calibration nails and the average of the measured pulse velocity is
called Reference Pulse Propagation Velocity.
6) PWL randomly selects soil nails (namely: test nails) for TDR tests. The number of soil nails to
be tested is according to the summary table below:

Study on Time-Domin Reflectormetry (TDR) Test

Sample Lot Size
25
26 - 50
51 - 90
91 - 150
151 - 280
281 - 500
501 - 1200

Minimum no. of TDR tests

Alert Criterion
5
1
8
1
13
1
20
2
32
4
50
6
80
11
Li
7) The length of tested soil nail,
, is determined based on the equation below:
Li =

vr t
2

8) If an anomalous TDR results were found, i.e. the deduced length is 15% less than the designed
length, RSS shall forward the results to the designer and seek for advice. The designer may
review the design / study the site record to consider the follow-up action required.
9) If Alert criterion was reached, the RSS and designer should determine if it is warranted to test
all the soil nails by TDR method. Other investigation technique such as Electrical Resistance
Method, Magnetometry or extraction of soil nail, may also be useful to identify the cause(s) of
anomalous.
Uncertainties
By nature, TDR is an indirect way of measuring the length of soil nail in which it is inevitable
that uncertainties will be introduced during the course of measurement and interpretation of the
results. The uncertainties can be divided into two main group, nail independent uncertainty and
nail dependent uncertainty, and are listed below.
Nail-independent uncertainty

Build-in error of testing instrument

Human judgment

Nail-dependent uncertainty

Wire type
Grout annulus aging and integrity
Reinforcement diameter
Reinforcement length
Reinforcement connectors (couplers)

A study on the uncertainties was carried out by Dr. Raymond Cheung and Dr. Dominic Lo of
GEO and the results are summarized in the table below.

Study on Time-Domin Reflectormetry (TDR) Test

Type of
Uncertainty

Uncertainty
Build-in error of
testing instrument

Nailindependent
uncertainty

Details of Error
According to the
manufacturer
specification, the error is
generally less than 1%
- Electrical impedance
along the soil nail is not
constant
-Wave dispersion

Human judgment

Wire type

Human identification of
the point of initial
reflection from the soil
nail end may vary.
Different type of wire
(diameter and plastic
sheaths enclosure) have
different dielectric
constant
Aging of grout may
affect the pulse
propagation velocity.

Nail-dependent
uncertainty

Grout annulus
aging and integrity

Nail-dependent
uncertainty
Reinforcement
diameter

Reinforcement
length

If the integrity of grout in

calibration nail is
significantly vary from
test nail, i.e. void in grout
annulus. The
interpretation of test nail
length is affect.
Reinforcement diameter
may affect the pulse
propagation velocity.

Reinforcement length
may affect the pulse
propagation velocity.

Test & Results

Test on repeatability was

carried out by single
operator and multi
operator. Variation of
measurement by multioperator is larger than
single operator.

Judgm

Calibration on
fault cable det
should be carr
regularly.
Standardizing
procedure and
guidelines on
interpretation.

Calibration na
selected on the
site.

Test results on pulse

propagation velocity in
different type of wire vary
from 0.192 to 0.252 m /ns
which are significant.

The calibratio
test nails shall
same type of w

Pulse propagation velocity

on 1-7d, 42d,128d and
1827d after grouting
showed that age of grout
has no significant effect
on the test results.

Insignificant e
the age of grou
was carried ou
completion of

No special test on grout

characteristics alone.

Measurement on pulse
propagation velocity on
25, 32 and 40mm dia. bar
were carried out and no
significant difference was
found.
Measurement on pulse
propagation velocity on
8,10,12,13,14m bar were
carried out and no

The error caus

grout annulus
reflected in the
uncertainty.

Insignificant e
bar diameter

Insignificant e
bar length

Study on Time-Domin Reflectormetry (TDR) Test

Couplers may affect the

pulse traveling time.
Reinforcement
couplers

significant difference was

found.
The presence of coupler
may cause a slightly
longer travel time.
Each coupler may
lengthen the deduced
length by 10-20mm.

Therefore the major causes of error come from: 1) Human judgment and 2) wire types.

The effect is n

Study on Time-Domin Reflectormetry (TDR) Test

Here showed different types of discontinuity and the corresponding waveform.

Baic schematic TDR waveforms

Study on Time-Domin Reflectormetry (TDR) Test

My Opinion
Even in a small slope feature, the geology may vary greatly. Therefore, the selection of
calibration nail to give a representative pulse propagation velocity is important. Otherwise the
interpretation of nail length will be adversely affected.
For example, slope feature: 3SW-C/C625, which I supervised during the training in LPM3
division, the upper portion of the slope was a filled slope. Based on the visual inspection, drilling
record and some core recovery, it was confirmed that it was formed with boulder material with
some cement mortar to construct the formation level of the scatter above the slope crest. The
lower portion was a cut slope. After trimming of the existing protective hard cover, in-situ
material of highly to moderately decomposed granite was found. During the grouting works, the
soil nails near the slope crest experienced some excessive grout loss while those near the slope
toe did not have this problem. Therefore, in the accuracy point of view, I will suggest the soil nail
without grouting problem for determination of Reference Pulse Propagation Velocity. And those
nails with excessive grout loss should be selected for testing for confirmation of the grouting
quality as well as the length of soil nail. However, I should not make any recommendation to
PWL staff due to the procedure requirement.
Another important point to note is that, each lot of nails to be tested should be constructed with
same batch of steel, wire cable, cement grout material and grout mix such that the possible error
caused by variation of material properties can be minimized.
Even if an abnormal reading is recorded during the TDR test, we should not conclude that the
tested nail is a short nails. This is because TDR test is a non-destructive test which is not a
physical measurement on the tested nail and there are different types of uncertainties caused by
human, geology and machinery. Therefore, before coming into conclusion, we should carry out
more study on the available information such as site diary, grouting records, TDR test results in
the whole site, GI logs, etc. If necessary we can extract the concerned nails for detailed study on
cause of short interpreted length.
Discussion
As stipulated in Figure A3(b) of Guidelines on Test Procedure using Time Domain
Reflectormetry to determine the length of installed soil nail, a negative pulse is reflected from
the far end of the soil nail if the wire and reinforcement are short-circuited there. This negative
pulse is significantly different from other intermediate fluctuation which may be easier for the
operator to identify. I wonder if there is any strong reason to adopt an open circuit instead of a
close circuit.