Effective implementation of ground penetrating radar (GPR) for condition assessment & monitoring of critical infrastructure components of bridges and highways.

Details

• Creators:
  Goulias, Dimitrios ; Scott, Michael
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Maryland (College Park, Md.). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Ground penetrating radar
  • Structural health monitoring
  • Condition surveys
  • Pavement management systems
  • Precast concrete
  • Bridge decks
  • Quality control
• Publication/ Report Number:
  MD-15-SHA-UM-3-11
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Maryland
• Corporate Publisher:
  Maryland. State Highway Administration. Office of Policy & Research
• Abstract:
  Recently Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) started to explore use of Ground Penetrating Radar ; (GPR) technology to provide quantitative information for improved decision making and reduced operating ; costs. To take full advantage of the GPR capabilities, improved analysis techniques need to be developed and ; implemented. The objective of this study was to assist SHA engineers, technicians, and decision makers in ; their current effort to explore the use of GPR in assessing the condition of critical infrastructure components ; and to identify potential improvements in GPR data analysis. The research team closely interacted with ; representatives from selected divisions of the Office of Materials Technology (OMT) to identify potential ; GPR applications using existing equipment accessible to SHA, targeting critical high priority areas for ; analysis and improvement. In regards to pavement structures, a new methodology was suggested to improve ; the accuracy of GPR data analysis. The initial analysis and results indicated that Multi-scale Pavement GPR ; data Analysis (MPGA) has significant potential to add value and accuracy to pavement thickness data used in ; pavement management and rehabilitation analysis. The MPGA results indicate that pavement thickness data ; trends can be identified based on either automated or semi-automated procedures based on target variability ; levels of thickness uniformity, and thus can be used to efficiently evaluate pavement material layers. ; Similarly, for bridge deck analysis, techniques such as migration imaging (for concrete cover depth ; measurement applications among others) and Fourier analysis of GPR waveforms (for qualitative bridge deck ; moisture analysis) were used in addition to emerging techniques such as Short Time Fourier Transform ; analysis (for anticipated quantitative moisture analysis) for improving GPR data interpretation. Migration and ; Fourier techniques were illustrated corresponding to GPR data collected using a GPR array on selected bridge ; decks in the Salisbury, MD area. When applied appropriately, such techniques can provide more reliable ; analysis of bridge deck inspection than conventional means. In terms of precast concrete, this study has shown ; how GPR can be used to address several of the inspections needed in precast concrete production, including ; an evaluation of concrete cover depth, reinforcement location, and section thicknesses. The testing and ; demonstration showed significant potential for quality control using GPR.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  SHA/UM/3-11
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/28443/dot_28443_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 9.74 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:e898bbfd093abc4e58f6b60a4b5623b15ba0e1aa1019671587e22df56b231a33