United States Department of Transportation
i
Effective implementation of ground penetrating radar (GPR) for condition assessment & monitoring of critical infrastructure components of bridges and highways.
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2015-01-01
[PDF-9.74 MB]
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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.
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