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The estimation of buried pipe diameters using ground penetrating radar

Article  in  OR Insight · July 2005

DOI: 10.1784/insi.2005.47.7.394

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 GPR

The estimation of buried pipe diameters using ground

penetrating radar

C Windsor, L Capineri, P Falorni, S Matucci and G Borgioli

The generalised Hough transform method is applied to the corresponding positions yi, along the arc, depending on the
measurement of the diameters of buried cylindrical pipes by number of variables to be determined. In the generalised
Ground Penetration Radar (GPR). 600 MHz radar scans Hough method many such sets of times are chosen randomly
across long pipes, buried in one metre or so of soil, show from points on the arcs. The results are presented for example
complex reflection patterns consisting of a series of inverted as peaks in an accumulator space for each variable.
hyperbolic arcs. The method is demonstrated for a 0.18 m radius concrete
The time of flight t(y) as the probe is scanned along pipe buried at a nominal 1 m depth in a road. Using data
an axis, y, perpendicular to the pipe, shows an arc whose acquired at 600 MHz frequency (around 0.16 m wavelength
shape depends on four unknown variables: y0, the position in soil) the estimated radius was 0.174 ± 0.059 m.
of the centre of the pipe along the scan, z0, the depth of the
pipe centre, R, its radius and V the velocity in the medium. 1. Introduction
Analytic expressions for the solution of these variables have The location and classification of buried pipes is of considerable
been obtained. They use sets of between 1 and 4 times ti at economic importance. Most roads carry a large assortment of
such pipes with widely differing diameters. A measurement of
Dr Colin G Windsor FRS, DPhil, FInstP, FInstNDT, 116, New Road, pipe diameter would be an important feature in pipe identification.
East Hagbourne, OX11 9LD, UK ,Colin Windsor read Physics at Oxford, Ground penetrating radar is already an important technique in
followed by a DPhil measuring magnetic materials and a PostDoc year at buried pipe location(1-3). An antenna close to the surface emits a
Yale. He returned to Harwell in its golden years to study itinerant metals short pulse of radiation, typically 1.5 cycles at the radar operating
using neutron scattering and simulation. He later used neural networks in frequency. By proper choice of the central frequency, it is able to
a variety of industrial applications particularly signature verification. He is
penetrate the road and the soil beneath it to a depth of a metre or
now a consultant with UKAEA fusion.
so. Reflections from buried pipes are detected by the same antenna
Colin Windsor, 116, New Road, East Hagbourne, OX11 9LD. Tel +44 or by a different one. The reflected intensity and phase depends on
01235 812083; E-mail: colin.windsor@virgin.net; Web: freespace.virgin. the different dielectric properties of the pipe and the soil. Figure 1
net/colin.windsor
shows a typical installation for observing pipes under roads.
Lorenzo Capineri received the Laurea in Electronic Engineering in 1988, A portable source emits pulses of 600 MHz frequency (around
and the Doctorate in Non Destructive Testing in 1993. He has recently been 0.2 m wavelength in average soil) with a pulse length of order
appointed a professor in Electronics at the Department of Electronics and one half-cycle corresponding to 1.6 ns or 0.125 cm equivalent
Telecommuncations of the University of Florence, Italy. His current research
distance. This choice of central frequency is a compromise
activities are in design of ultrasonic and pyroelectric sensors, electronic
instruments design and ultrasound signal processing for non-destructive
between the necessity of reaching depths of a metre, which
testing and biomedical applications.
PierLuigi Falorni graduated in Informatic Engineering with Laurea degree
at Università degli Studi di Firenze with a thesis on advanced processing
methods for ground penetrating data (GPR). At present he is doctorate
student in Non Destructive Testing at the same University, and he is
coauthor of two papers on GPR image processing.
Serena Matucci obtained her Laurea degree in Mathematics at the
University of Florence (Italy) in 1993, and the Doctorate in Mathematical
Physics in 1998. From 2000 she has a permanent position as a Researcher
at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Florence, joining to the
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications. Her current research
activities concern the qualitative behaviour of the solutions of ordinary
differential equations and difference equations.
Giovanni Borgioli obtained his Laurea degree in Physics at the University
of Florence (Italy) in 1974. His research activities has been devoted to heat
diffusion, neutron transport, kinetic theory and quantum transport. He was
appointed as Associated Professor of Rational Mechanics at the ʻPolitecnico
di Torinoʼ in 1987 and in 1990 he returned to the Engineering Faculty of
the University of Florence, joining to the Department of Electronics and
Telecomunications.
All the other authors are with the Dipartimento Elettronica e Figure 1. The experimental layout for the radar scans. The
Telecomunicazioni, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via S. Marta 3, 50139 probe was scanned across the road, defining the axis y. The
Firenze, Italy. Tel/Fax +39 055 4796376/517; E-mail: Capineri@ieee.org, ranges s1(y) to the concrete pipe and s2(y) to the metal pipe can
Pfalorni@supereva.it, borgioli@det.unifi.it, matucci@det.unifi.it; Web: be inferred from the times of flight to the two objects providing
www.echommunity.com/staff.htm that the radar velocity in the medium is known

Insight Vol 47 No 7 July 2005 1

requires a relatively low frequency, versus accuracy of diameter
determination, which improves with increasing frequency.
Conventionally the reflected intensity, I(y,t) is presented as a
ʻB-scanʼ. That is, recorded as a function of the time of flight, t, as the
antenna is moved across the road in the direction y, perpendicular
to the pipe axis.
Figure 2 shows the conventional B-scan representation of such
data as a grey scale representing reflected intensity, with time of
flight (or range) vertical, and distance across the road horizontal.
The source was a FC=600 MHz central frequency pulsed RIS model
radar developed by the IDS company at Pisa, Italy(4). The image
is acquired with a time sampling of TS =0.25x10-9s, and with a
lateral step of 0.01 m. The average soil velocity V was estimated
at 1.23x108 ms-1 and corresponding to an axial vertical pixel, or
voxel, size Vx TS /2= 0.0154 m and wavelength λC=V/ FC=0.205 m.
This image is centred on two buried pipes. The location was a
test ground and the nature of both pipes was known. The pipe on
the left was a concrete drainage pipe of radius 0.18 m buried at a
nominal depth of about 1 m. That on the right was an electrical Figure 2. The time of flight t in ns plotted against the distance
utility cable of radius 0.04 m also buried at a nominal depth of across the road y in pixels for two pipes buried under the road.
1 m. The radar image of each pipe takes the form of an inverted The pipe (A) in the centre is a concrete pipe of 0.36 m and that
on the right (B) a small electrical cable of 0.08m diameter. The
hyperbola describing the range changes as the antenna is moved crosses were drawn manually by eye to detail the shape of the
across the pipe. It is immediately seen that the nature of the two principal reflection from each object
hyperbolas are different. Both hyperbolas are well defined. The
concrete pipe has a dark central peak with two reasonable defined s = [(y - y0)2 + zo2]1/2 – R + V t0/2 .....................(3)
light ʻringingʼ peaks above and below. The electric cable has a where the zero time t0 is an offset for range and will be put equal to
light central hyperbola with little ringing. The crosses suggest peak zero for the following Figures.
positions defined by the independent eyes of two of the authors. Figure 3 shows the plot of range s on position across the road
Automatic algorithms for the extraction of hyperbolas cannot yet y for a pipe of finite diameter resembling the concrete pipe A in
manage the performance of the human eye in this situation of many Figure 2. Directly above the pipe at y = y0 the range is equal to the
overlapping hyperbolas. We shall show that the detailed shape of depth less the pipe radius R. This point will be called the ʻapexʼ
these hyperbolas can reveal the pipe diameter directly. point. At small distances from above the pipe, (y - y0 )< z0 the range
Several authors have considered the problem of pipe and bar is parabolic with the curvature:
diameter measurement from radar data. Morabito et al(5) report that
reliable differentiation between bar diameters was not possible from d2s/dz2 = 1/z0 ......................................(4)
the shape of the hyperbolic patterns. More progress has been made It is seen therefore that the curvature alone provides an estimate
using linearly polarised waves in two directions. Shaw et al(6) have of the depth of the centre of the pipe, but no information on its
used transducers along different axes to estimate bar diameters in radius. At large distances from the pipe centre the square of the
concrete. Hunik(7) used linearly polarized waves to evaluate the size depth zo becomes negligible to the square of the distance away from
of sub-surface cable with a 500 MHz central frequency radar. the pipe (y - y0) and the range becomes asymptotically equal to the
distance less the pipe radius:
2. The detailed form of the hyperbolic arcs lim y - y0 >> z0 s= y - y0 - R ..........................(5)
from buried pipes
This large distance limit does therefore give direct information
Consider a strongly reflecting pipe of radius R at a position (y0, on the pipe radius.
z0) in a medium of velocity V. The equation for the range V t/2 to
and from the front surface of the pipe less a zero range V t0/2, at a
general position y along the scan is:
V t/2= [(y - y0)2 + zo2]1/2 – R + V t0/2 ...................(1)
Note that the desired pipe diameter R appears as a direct
subtraction from the zero range V t0/2. It follows that for precise
pipe radius measurements, the time zero must be measured with
precision. This can be obtained for example by performing a cross
correlation a typical reflection from the front surface of the road
(the ʻmain bangʼ) with the signal from the antenna. Alternatively it
may be estimated from an average scan in a region of the full scan
without significant reflections.
2.1 The case when the velocity is known
Very often there is some knowledge of the velocity in the medium
V. If this is the case then the time of flight measurements may
readily be converted into the range s:
s = V t/2, .........................................(2) Figure 3. A 0.36 m diameter pipe buried at z0=1 m depth under
the road at a nominal position y0=1 m. The range s is plotted as
It is then possible to remove the velocity from equation (1) and a function of the probe position y for the pipe (thick line) and for
write it solely is term of the range: a point source at the centre of the pipe (thin line)

2 Insight Vol 47 No 7 July 2005


Figure 4. The ranges s for a point reflector (faint line) and
for pipes of diameter increasing by a factor of 2, all of which
are centred so that the top surface is at the same depth. The
curvature of the hyperbolic curves at the apex decreases with
increasing diameter of the pipe
Figure 4 shows the changes in the reflection hyperbola as the
pipe radius increases. To make the shape change clearer, all pipes
have been changed in depth so that their top surface is the same
depth below the surface, giving a constant apex point range. A point
source plus three pipes of increasing radius and their respective
ranges are shown. It is seen that at least on this scale the shape
changes of the reflection hyperbolas are quite marked. Most notably
the curvature at the apex point decreases with increasing radius.
2.2 The case when the velocity is not known: the influence
of the ratio R/V
In general the velocity in the medium V is not well known and the
first step will be to estimate it. One way is to observe a reflection
from a ʻpoint-likeʼ object such as a pipe whose radius is small
compared to the depth z0. When Figure 3 is plotted as time of flight
rather than range across the pipe even the point-like curve splits into
a family of curves for each value of velocity. The limiting gradient
at distances far from the pipe is equal to half the velocity.
lim y - y0 >> z0 dt/dy = 2/V ............................(6)
This result is independent of the object depth and radius. Thus
providing the hyperbolic arcs can be followed for some distance
from the pipe, it is straightforward to estimate the velocity.
In general, we have pipes of unknown radius in a inhomogenous
medium of unknown velocity and we must return to the general
case of equation 1. Let us consider objects observed at a given apex
point at a time of flight tA. We also define tD=2R /V as the time of
flight to travel the distance of the diameter. We may introduce a
parameter p= tD/tA=2R / V tA which thus represents the ratio of the
time taken across a diameter to the time taken to the top of the
pipe.
At this point y = y0, tA=(2/V)[ z0 – R] and equation 1 becomes:
t= (tA+tD) [(y - y0)2 +z02]1/2 / z0 – tD .....................(7)
Differentiating twice with respect to y and putting y = y0, we
have for the curvature CA at the apex point d2t/dy2y=y0 = CA = 2/( z0V)
and we have for the time t expression:
t = (1 + p) [ta + Ca(y - y0) /] (1 + p) – p ta .............(8)
2 1/2
Insight Vol 47 No 7 July 2005
In Figure 5 we see illustrated the differently shaped time
hyperbolas from pipes of increasing values of p; that is increasing
radius to velocity ratio. All have a constant apex time and curvature,
and it is seen that the curves hardly diverge until we reach some
metres from the pipe. Eventually the slope of the hyperbola increases
for the larger p values. As equation 6 indicated, within the linear
region of the hyperbola the slope is defined only by the velocity.
This Figure shows the general problem of buried pipe diameter
measurement. The position of the apex point is generally easy to
measure, as is the curvature in the immediate neighbourhood of the
apex point. Only when the measurements are extended towards the
linear region of the hyperbola does it become possible to distinguish
simultaneously both velocity and pipe radius.
To summarise this section, we may note the following practical
points:
1. The time of the surface reflection t0 adds directly to the pipe
transit time 2R /V and must therefore be measured with as much
precision as possible.
2. In general it is most easy to measure near the hyperbola apex
point where the reflected intensity is likely to be largest. The
time of flight at the apex tA, and its curvature CA are sufficient to
give the pipe radius if the velocity in the medium is known.
3. If the velocity is unknown, it is most easily estimated from the
gradient of the linear regions of hyperbolas at large distances
from the pipe.
4. If no such regions exist, the detailed shape of the reflected
hyperbola may be used to give information on both the pipe
radius and velocity information. This last point was evident
from Figure 5, and will be explored in the coming sections.
These observations may be expressed mathematically as
follows. There are three readily measured quantities:
Apex time tA= 2(z0 - R)/V
Apex curvature CA=2/(z0V)
Slope S = V/2
Note that only the apex time includes the radius. These relate to
the desired variables:
Radius: R=1/(CA.S) - S.tA
Depth: z0=1/(CA.S)
Velocity V=2S
3. The generalised Hough transform for
analysing the hyperbolas generated by
scans across buried pipes
A typical radar image of buried pipes in a road, as in the B-scan of
Figure 2, contains a series of overlapping hyperbolas from many
Figure 5. The time of flight t for pipes having the same apex
point and initial curvature Ca. The curves have different values
of the ratio parameter p=tD/ta
3
different objects of varying kinds and at varying depths. If each
hyperbola can be isolated, as with the two hyperbola marked with
crosses then several methods are available. For example, the points
can be fitted to equation 1 to find the parameters giving the least
squares residual. In general this is not possible, as the hyperbola
overlap and any one region cannot be unambiguously associated
with a particular hyperbola. A solution to this problem is provided
by the generalised Hough transform developed from the work of
Zu, Oja and Kultanen(8), and described for the application of radar
evaluation of point-like buried objects by Windsor and Capineri(9).
Consider a strongly reflecting pipe of radius R at a position (y0,
z0) in a medium of known velocity V, as in Figure 6. Given three
examples of equation 3 measuring the ranges s1, s2, s3 at probe
positions y1, y2, y3 it is possible to solve for the three unknowns
R, y0, z0. The algebra in this case is straightforward, and can be
checked by use of analytic engines such as MAPLE(10). Any
numerical solution is readily checked by choosing an actual set
of values for the parameters, R, y0, z0, taking three example values
y1, y2, y3, and evaluating the ranges s1, s2, s3 from equation 3. The
proposed solution for the variables should then give the exact
results assumed. The solution for the radius R, is:
R =(1/2) [s12(y3-y2)+ s22(y1-y3)+ s32(y2-y1) +(y3-y2)(y1-y3)(y2-y1)]/
[s1(y3-y2)+ s2(y1-y3)+ s3(y2-y1)] ...................................................(9)
The solution for the position y0 can be written in a similar
form:
y0 =(1/2) [s1(y32-y22)+s2(y12-y32)+s3(y22-y12) - (s3-s2)(s1-s3)(s2-s1)]/
[s1(y3-y2)+ s2(y1-y3)+ s3(y2-y1)] ...................................................(10)
The depth solution is presented in terms of R, y0 as solved
above:
z0= [(s1+R) – (y1-y0) ] ........................... (11)
2 2 1/2
For reference we give here the much simpler solution for a point
reflector at (y0, z0). Since there are only two unknowns, just two
range examples s1, s2 are needed.
y0 =(1/2) [(y22-y12) - (s22-s12)]/(y2-y1)
z0= [s1 – (y1-y0) ] ............................................(12)
2 2 1/2
A solution of similar complexity is that of a point-like reflecting
object at a position (y0, z0) in a medium of unknown velocity V.
Given three examples of equation 1 measuring the times t1, t2,
t3 at probe positions y1, y2, y3 it is possible to solve for the three
unknowns V, y0, z0:
V = -2{(y3-y2)(y1-y3)(y2-y1) /[t12(y3-y2)+ t22(y1-y3)+ t32(y2-y1)]}1/2
y0 = (1/2) [(y22-y12) –(V/2)2( t22-t12)]/(y2-y1)
z0= [(V/2) t – (y1-y0) ] ...........................................................(13)
2 2 2 1/2
1
Lastly we consider the four unknowns solution of a pipe of
radius R buried at a position (y0, z0) in a medium of known velocity
V. The algebra is straightforward:
V =2{ [ t1(y4-y3)(y3-y2)(y4-y2) + t2(y4-y3)(y1-y4)(y3-y1)
- t3(y2-y1)(y1-y4)(y4-y2) - t4(y2-y1)(y3-y2)(y3-y1) ]/
[t1t2 (t2-t1)(y4-y3)- t3t2 (t3-t2)(y1-y4) + t4t3 (t4-t3)(y2-y1)
-t1 t4 (t1-t4)(y3-y2) – t1t3 (t3-t1)(y4-y2) - t2t4 (t4-t2)(y3-y1)]}1/2 ............(14)
R = -(1/V){(y3-y2)(y1-y3)(y2-y1) +(V/2)2[ t12(y3-y2)+
t22(y1-y3)+ t32(y2-y1)]/[t1(y3-y2)+ t2(y1-y3)+ t3(y2-y1)]....................(15)
y0 = (1/2){ [(y22-y12) – (V/2)2( t22-t12) - RV(t2-t1) ]/(y2-y1)}...........(16)
z0= {(R + Vt1/2) – (y -y ) ] .....................................................(17)
2 2 1/2
1 0
4 Insight Vol 47 No 7 July 2005
Figure 6. This picture shows the change of range s estimated
at three different radar positions (y1, y2, y3) across a buried pipe
with centre position (y0, z0) and radius R
4. Hough transform results for a 0.36 m
diameter pipe buried at 1 m depth
In order to test these formula against experimental data we consider
the two pipes of Figure 2. The 0.18 m radius concrete pipe ʻAʼ on
the left proves to be a good example of a pipe whose radius, being
comparable with the central radar wavelength λC, is sufficient to
cause appreciable discrepancies from point-like behaviour. The
electrical pipe of 0.04 m radius ʻBʼ is small enough to be considered
as a point-like object under these experimental conditions.
A first step is to take the pipe B, assumed as a point reflector,
and evaluate the mean velocity in this area under the road from the
Hough transform to the points along the scan B. This is performed
by taking triplets of times (y1,t1), (y2, t2), (y3, t3) at probe positions
from the hyperbolic arc B and solving equation 12 for the three
unknowns (y0, z0, V).
An important concept in the Hough method is that of an
ʻaccumulator spaceʼ which is used to evaluate the distribution of the
solution among the unknown variables. In this present example there
are three unknowns and the most general Hough accumulator space
is 3-dimensional A(i, j, k), with boxes (i, j, k) whose ordinates give
the values of each variable, (y0, z0, V) within the resolution of the
boxes. Such 3-dimensional spaces are not always the most useful,
and are certainly difficult to visualise. In addition many pixels may
be required for a given resolution. In practice what is often required
is the integral of this distribution over those variables not of direct
interest. For example in this case we wish to evaluate the velocity,
V. This can be achieved by using a 1-dimensional accumulator array
A(k), as shown in Figure 7. These one-dimensional distributions
allow detailed resolution without the use of too many pixels. Simple
statistical analysis of the distribution A(k), readily allows the
evaluation of the centre of gravity or mean value as:
<V> = Σk V k A(k)/ Σk A(k) ...........................(18)
The error or root mean square standard deviation is given by:
VRMS = { Σk V k 2. A(k)/ Σk A(k) - <A(k)>2 }1/2 ............(19)
For example in the case of the scan B the mean value of the
velocity and its RMS error is <V>=1.174 ± 0.039 x108m/s.
Having established an estimate of the signal velocity in the
region of the measurements, a second step is to consider pipe A
and estimate its radius. At first we consider the velocity known,
and make as estimate of the radius using equation 11. In Figure 8
we show the one-dimensional distribution for the pipe radius. A
clear peak is seen with <R>=0.174 ± 0.059 m. This is a good result
given the known true value R=0.18 m. These results are confirmed
in Figure 9 which shows the two-dimensional histogram in (y0, R)
obtained by integration only over the z0 variable. Once again the
high accumulation area of the plot is seen to come just below the
radius 0.2 m.
It is interesting that if the same data are analysed using equation 12
for a point reflector with the best fixed velocity estimate from
Figure 7, the accumulator space histogram has a broad distribution
Figure 7. An evaluation of the velocity of the radar signal in
the soil evaluated from reflections from a point-like electric
cable of small radius R=0.04 m buried at around 1 m depth.
The velocity results were accumulated only over the range
0.85 to 1.35 x 108ms-1 shown by the black points. The vertical
line indicates the mean velocity value 1.174 x 108ms-1 and the
horizontal line the standard deviation 0.039 x 108ms-1
with a strange winged shape extending well outside the range of the
radius/position plot of Figure 8. This indicates the unsuitability of
point-reflector theory for pipes of radius large compared with the
range precision.
For a single hyperbola the Generalised Hough Transform
method is not unique. For example a simple minimisation can be
made of the residual between the calculated expression for the
Figure 8. An evaluation of the radius of the pipe ‘A’ evaluated
from the radar signals. The pipe has a radius of 0.18 m and is
buried at around 1 m depth. The vertical line gives the mean
radius value 0.174 m and the horizontal line the full width half
height for a standard deviation equal to 0.059 m
Insight Vol 47 No 7 July 2005
Figure 9. The section from the 3-dimensional accumulator
space in the three variables y0, z0, and R showing the estimated
radius of the pipe plotted against the central position of the pipe
along the scan y across the road. It is seen that the diameter of
the pipe is close to 0.2 m close the known radius of the concrete
pipe of 0.18 m
time of flight given by equation 3 and the experimental points as
the unknown parameters in equation 3 are varied. This does not
work in general since, as is seen clearly in Figure 2, the hyperbolic
reflections from different pipes usually interfere and there is no
easy way to assign given points on hyperbolas to particular pipes. In
contrast the Generalised Hough Transform does not need any such
assignment, and Figure 10 shows an example result when a radius
determination is made of both pipes A and B simultaneously.
A disappointing result from this study is that when the full four-
dimensional equation 14-17 is used then the results are inconclusive.
Figure 10. The corresponding case to Figure 9 but with reflections
from both pipes A and B from Figures 1 and 2 included in the
calculation. Once again the radius of just below 0.2 m is clearly
seen for pipe A, while pipe B shows a much smaller radius of
order 0.04 m
5
The central position of the pipes across the road is well defined
but the depth, radius and velocity are clearly correlated and each
individual section shows a wide spread in values.
5. Conclusions
A method based on the generalised Hough transform for the
estimation of buried pipe diameters is demonstrated using
experimental data. The method works in two steps: first the velocity
in the soil is estimated from the reflection from a nearby point-like
reflector. Secondly this velocity value is used in the estimation of
pipe position, depth and diameter of a second buried pipe.
The general case of the reflected signal from a pipe of unknown
position, depth, diameter and velocity has been solved theoretically,
and gives good results with precise simulated data. However in the
case of real data, or of simulated data with appreciable added timing
errors, the solution is unsatisfactory, with large errors arising from
correlations between the depth, diameter and velocity. The sources
of uncertainty arise from the finite sampling time, the radar antenna
pattern that limits the number of experimental points, and the errors
in either automatic or manual extraction methods. The sensitivity
of all these factors in the case of the 4-unknowns problem is being
investigated. The next step in the analysis has been to evaluate the
errors in the unknown parameters given known experimental errors
in the position and range measurements. Preliminary results in this
direction are being reported(11). It is clear that in the 4-unknown
solution, correlations between the variables of radius (R), depth
(z0) and velocity (V) are high, although the position (v0) remains
less correlated. This may limit the applicability of the 4-variable
solution.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the company IDS spa, Pisa,
Italy for providing the radar data and Prof Benedetta Morini for her
useful comments and suggestions.
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