Quantitative Attribute Analyses with Ground Penetrating Radar for Infrastructure Assessments and Structural Health Monitoring

Abstract

In civil structures and infrastructure, assessing true performance and characterizing unusual structural behaviors can help avoid severe structural problems. To further refine or validate the conclusions from structural health monitoring (SHM) analyses, nondestructive evaluation or techniques (NDE or NDT) can be applied in conjunction with SHM approaches. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is an NDT that has been used to investigate defects and internal features in concrete structures, but is not commonly used to assess mechanical properties for the purposes of SHM. As a preliminary investigation of the effectiveness of attribute analysis techniques, a GPR survey was conducted on Streicker Bridge (a pedestrian bridge on Princeton University campus with embedded fiber-optic strain and temperature sensors). The bridge was constructed in two phases, where different curing conditions produced different material properties (compressive strength of 51 MPa and 59 MPa). Both standard processing techniques and attribute analysis techniques were employed to interpret GPR reflections in each phase of construction to identify construction elements and to compare the attribute signatures of different strength concretes.Though this study presents primarily relative differences, the sensitivity of these attributes to material property differences is confirmed. This validates SHM studies of the bridge and indicates the potential of the attribute analysis method for material characterization, especially as a compliment to other SHM and NDE techniques.

Early Crack Detection of Reinforced Concrete Structure Using Embedded Sensors

“…Presently, NDT used in civil engineering structures, are easier to handle due to the continuous development of measuring technology and, taking into account the “correct” evaluation of the results, provide a reasonable basis for a reliable assessment of the actual condition of the structure. There are various NDT techniques have been used for decades, currently more than 70 types of standardized testing methods can be applicable to the evaluation of concrete structures, e.g., acoustic emission [3,4,5,6], infrared thermography [7,8,9], ground-penetrating radar [10,11,12,13], Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) [14,15], or digital image correlation (DIC) [16,17,18].…”

Piezoceramic-Based Damage Monitoring of Concrete Structure for Underwater Blasting

“…The most popular nondestructive testing techniques in blasting engineering are the ultrasonic-velocity method [6,7], ground-penetrating-radar (GPR) techniques [8,9], and impact-echo approaches [10]. Natural initial damage (microcracks and holes) in rock mass develops and extends until a crack develops under the blasting load.…”

Portable and Easily-Deployable Air-Launched GPR Scanner

“…Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) systems [1] are widely used for underground detection and imaging, thanks to the capability of detecting both metallic and non-metallic objects. Several applications can be cited, such as analysis and inspection of infrastructures [2,3], archaeological survey [4,5], glacier thickness analysis [6], material characterization [7,8] or landmine and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) detection [9][10][11][12][13]. With respect to other underground detection methodologies such as magnetometry, GPR allows detecting both metallic and non-metallic targets.…”