An Initial Trial of a 3-D Ground Penetrating Radar Designed for Pavements Applied to Concrete Bridge Decks

A limitation of conventional ground penetrating radar (GPR) systems used for concrete bridge deck investigations is the slow speed of data collection when using ground-coupled antennas. Conventional single or dual channel systems also achieve limited lateral coverage of the traffic lane per pass, reducing data collection productivity and increasing traffic disruption. This study tests a much faster and less disruptive approach using a new type of 3-dimensional (3-D) noise-modulated ground penetrating radar (NM-GPR) technology to enable traffic speed ground-coupled measurements. The equipment, originally developed in Australia for pavement investigations, was used to scan bare and asphalt-covered concrete bridge decks in Seoul, South Korea and near Brisbane, Australia. Data were collected using a range of equipment settings and were later assessed, using automatic rebar detection methods. Examination of the data showed that while the equipment was sufficiently fast to collect highly detailed 3-D data at highway speeds, the center frequency of the current antennas is too low for optimal bar resolution.Nonetheless, with minimal hardware changes this equipment appears suitable for bridge deck investigation,with considerable potential for much more efficient and less disruptive bridge deck investigations compared to conventional equipment.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AHD30 Standing Committee on Structures Maintenance.
• Authors:
  • Muller, Wayne
  • Gucunski, Nenad
  • Reeves, Bryan
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
• Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Photos; References;
• Pagination: 11p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge decks; Concrete; Evaluation and assessment; Ground penetrating radar; Nondestructive tests; Pavements
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01660335
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 18-06045
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 20 2018 9:27AM