Ground Penetrating Radar

Gonzalo Gallo CEE 498KM

Outline
Introduction Principle Instrumentation Data Analysis Advantages and Limitations Manufacturers and costs

Introduction
RADAR

Radio Detection and Ranging

Detect target in free space Determine the range Probing into soil to detect pipelines and tanks Cavities Thickness determination Locating reinforcement Identifying deterioration

Civil engineering applications

Principle
An EM pulse is sent through an antenna, penetrating into the surveyed material A portion of the energy is reflected back to the antenna when an interface between materials of dissimilar dielectric constants is encountered

http://www.cait.rutgers.edu/finalreports/GPR-RU4474.pdf

Principle
The reflected signal has information on:
how quickly the signal traveled how much was attenuated

The thickness of a layer is given by:

di !

Ct i 2 I r ,i

These quantities depend on spatial configuration and materials

where di is the thickness of layer i, ti the total travel time through that layer, C is the speed of light and r,i the dielectric constant of the layer

Principle
The amount of reflected energy at an interface is governed by:
V1, 2 ! I r1  I r 2 I r1  I r 2
Typical Dielectric Constants

Material Air Water Concrete HMA Ice Metals

where 1,2 is the reflection coefficient and r1 and r2 are the dielectric constants

Dielectric Constant 1 81 6-12 4-7 1.5

Instrumentation
The typical instrumentation for GPR includes the following:
Antenna
Air-couple Ground-coupled

Control Unit Display device Storage device

Instrumentation

http://www.cait.rutgers.edu/finalreports/GPR-RU4474.pdf

http://georadar.ids-spa.it/images/new/gpr_products/antennas.gif

Instrumentation
Another configuration is a portable arrangement
Small, hand-held dipole antenna

Used for locating rebar, embedments, voids, and other abnormalities 2.4lbs 10 penetration

http://www.ndtjames.com/catalog/rebarLocators/datascanMKII.html

Data Analysis
Before using calibrate
Copper plate Air Complete reflection Complete transmission

Establish dielectric constant of test surface with reflected energy equation

Data Analysis
Techniques for analysis
Cluster analysis Topographic plotting Quantitative peak tracking Peak plotting
http://www.cait.rutgers.edu/finalreports/GPR-RU4474.pdf

Advantages and Limitations

Advantages
Fast speed scanning with non-contact antennas Very sensitive to presence of embedded metal objects Sensitive to the presence of moisture

Limitations
Rebar reflects as arch patterns if dense, individual bars are no longer discerned Limitations if dielectric properties are similar Dielectric properties unknown Material loss Difficult in thin layers Extensive data Operator dependant

In general, fast scanning and saves money

Manufacturers and costs

Hand-held
Datascan MKII
James Instruments ND $12.000

IRIS systems
Penetradar

GSSI handy-scan
$6.500 b&w $10.000 color

http://ndtdirect.com/shop/products.asp?viewall=1&stritem=CN-JA-RB1,CN-JA-RB2,CN-JA-RB3&keyword=Concrete&id1=44&id2=136 http://www.penetradar.com/GPR_Vehicles.htm

Manufacturers and costs

Antennas
Air-coupled Ground-coupled Penetradar Corporation

http://www.penetradar.com/GPR_Vehicles.htm

Manufacturers and costs

Vehicular GPRs
Single antenna Multiple antennas Custom configurations

Penetradar Corporation GSSI (GeographicalSurvey Systems, Inc.) $48.000 (includes vehicle, antenna, software and training)
http://www.penetradar.com/GPR_Vehicles.htm

Links and References

http://www.geophysical.com/ http://www.penetradar.com/ http://ndtdirect.com/ http://www.ndtjames.com/ http://www.cait.rutgers.edu/finalreports/GPR-RU4474.pdf Al-Qadi, I.L. and Lahouar (2005). Measuring layer thickness with GPR Theory to practice. Construction and Building Materials, 19, 763-772 ACI Committee 228, (2003). In-place methods to estimate concrete strength (ACI 228.1R-03). Farmington Hills: American Concrete Institute.