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Simulation Analysis For Under Pavement Drainage Detection By Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 27th Annual Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems (SAGEEP), Mar 2014, cp-400-00030
Abstract
Subsurface drainage systems are a critical enabler of the proper performance of roadways. Effective maintenance of these drains can significantly extend a pavement’s service life. However, many reconstructed or refurbished roads are built on top of pre-existing drainage systems that are not clearly delineated. Maintenance is thus challenging in that location and subsequent inspection of these systems can be time consuming and laborious. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) offers a potentially effective and efficient means to perform this task. In this paper, a group of simulations performed using GPRMAX2D software are examined to explore the influence of road cross-section designs on sub-pavement drainage conduit GPR signatures, and evaluate the effectiveness of alternate GPR antennae configurations in locating these buried conduits in different ground conditions. Two different models were explored to simulate conduit detection. In addition, different pipe and soil conditions were modeled, such as pipe size, pipe material, soil moisture level, and soil type. Four different quantitative measurements are used to analyze GPR performance based on different key factors. The four measurements are 1) signal to background ratio (SBR) in dB; 2) signal to receiver noise ratio (SNR) in dB; 3) signal energy in Volts; and 4) average signal band power in Watts.