Ground Penetrating Radar

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
Civil engineering applications
Probing into soil to detect pipelines and tanks
Cavities
Thickness determination
Locating reinforcement
Identifying deterioration
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
These quantities depend
on spatial configuration
and materials

The thickness of a layer
is given by:



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

i r
i
i
Ct
d
,
2

Principle
The amount of
reflected energy at an
interface is governed
by:


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

Material Dielectric
Constant
Air 1
Water 81
Concrete 6-12
HMA 4-7
Ice 1.5
Metals
Typical Dielectric Constants
Instrumentation
The typical instrumentation for GPR
includes the following:
Antenna
Air-couple
Ground-coupled
Control Unit
Display device
Storage device
http://www.cait.rutgers.edu/finalreports/GPR-RU4474.pdf
Instrumentation
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 Complete reflection
Air 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



In general, fast scanning
and saves money
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

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.