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METHOD STATEMENT FOR

UNDERGROUND SERVICES DETECTION SURVEY

1. The presence of underground utilities/services along the proposed cable route site
will be determined using Ground Penetrating Radar (see enclosed primer for
reference). Additional scanning shall be done using Electromagnetic Pipe/Cable
Locator.
2. Scanning shall cover up to 0.5 m on both sides of proposed cable routes. Where
utilities are found, detection shall trace their path up to the limits of the survey.
3. Probable location of underground utilities will be marked on the ground by paint.
Positions will be determined by RTK-GPS or Total Station measurements.
4. Manhole/Chamber covers within the survey limits will be opened to determine/verify
service type, flow directions, pipe/cable sizes, invert levels, etc. Further details will be
taken from service markers, where available. Note: Arcon will arrange for the opening
of the manholes/chambers.
5. Results of underground utility survey will be checked against available utilities as-built
or design drawings to be provided by the client.

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Appendix - A Primer on Ground Penetrating Radars

Source:http://www.usradar.com/how-it-works.shtml#howdoesitwork

HOW Does It Work?

Simply put, the Seeker SPR shows you what is on the other side. Slowly move the unit over the
medium you want to investigate, like a wall, concrete floor, road or any other non-conductive
surface. The Seeker SPR’s antenna sends safe ultra wide spectrum RF energy pulses through that
medium and back to the antenna to create an image of the subsurface on the operator interface.
For you, it is that simple.

The Seeker SPR has the same basic principles as a metal detector. A metal detector sends energy
into the earth in up to 17 frequencies. When that energy meets a metallic object, it is translated
into a recognizable tone. The Seeker SPR sends out thousands of frequencies that return to the
antenna and translate material composition definition in the subsurface.

Radar is sensitive to changes in material composition. Detecting these changes requires movement. In the case

Can it see through everything?

Almost. Radar is the only remote sensing technology that can detect both conductive and non- conductive mate

What can I find with the Seeker SPR?

The Seeker SPR is designed to display differences in material composition. It can be used to
locate any object that has a different composition than its surrounding materials. For example, a
PVC pipe will have a different composition than the surrounding soil. Voids and excavations that
have been filled in will also have different compositions than the surrounding soil. However, it
does not know what the actual materials are that it is imaging. For this reason, it is not suited to
locating gold, precious gems, and treasure.

Is it safe?

Yes, GPR is extremely safe. It emits less power than a cell phone.

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How deep does it go?

The depth of your findings will be determined by three factors:

 Soil type
 Antenna frequency
 Size of Target

The radar signal is attenuated or absorbed differently in various soil conditions. Dense wet clays
are the most difficult material to penetrate whereas clean dry sand is the easiest. Lower frequency
antennas will yield greater depth penetration, however, the minimum size of object which is
visible to the radar increases as the antenna frequency decreases.

Antenna Capabilities
Approximate
Approximate
Penetration in Example of smallest visible
Antenna Penetration in Clean
Dense Wet object
Dry Sand
Clay
Tunnel @ 60ft (18m) depth;
100 MHz 20ft (6m) 60ft+ (18m+) 2ft (60cm) Pipe @ 20ft (6m)
depth
3ft. (90cm) Pipe @ 12m; 6in.
250 MHz 13ft (4m) 40ft (12m)
(15cm) Pipe @ 13ft (4m)
4in. (10cm) pipe @ 4m; 3/16
500 MHz 6ft. (1.8m) 14.5ft. (4.4m) in. (0.5 cm) hose 1.8m and
less
3/16 in. (0.5 cm) hose @ 3ft.
1000 MHz 3ft (90cm) 6ft (1.8m)
(90cm), Wire mesh, shallow
2000 MHz .5 ft. (15cm) 2ft. (60cm) Monofilament fishing line

The 500 MHz antenna is the antenna which is most widely used for locating utilities.

The 1000 MHz antenna is the most widely used for locating rebar and utilities in walls and floors.

Note that in many cases if it is not possible to penetrate to the depth of a buried utility due to soil
conditions, it is still often possible to detect the disturbed soil from the original excavation.

How accurate is it?

Generally, GPR will reveal the horizontal positioning of targets in their exact locations, however,
there are a number of factors which can affect the accuracy of the depth measurements. The
speed of the radar signal is dependent upon the composition of the material being penetrated. The
depth to a target is calculated based on the amount of time it takes for the radar signal to be
reflected back to the antenna. Radar signals travel at different velocities through different types
of materials. The moisture content of the material also affects the velocity of the signal. It is
usually not possible to know the exact velocity that the radar signal travels through a material,
however it is usually possible to estimate this to within +/- 10%. It is possible to use a depth to a
known

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object to determine a precise velocity and thus calibrate the depth calculations. This technique
only works well however, when the material being investigated has a consistent composition such
as concrete. When investigating underground, the inescapable limitation is that due to natural
differences in the composition of the geological layers, the exact velocity will vary from one
point to the next. There are some techniques for modeling the variations in velocity along the
path of a survey, however, ultimately these are all estimations and none are completely precise.

What do you see?

There are three basic types of data that can be generated by operating ground penetrating radar. 2D, 3D, or poi

A survey always starts with raw 2D data. With a little training, an operator can become proficient
at reading this on their first day of operating a system. It is almost always necessary to work with
the raw data to at least ensure that data is being collected properly and any processing algorithms
are configured appropriately for the medium being investigated.

Above: an example of unprocessed 2D data of two pipes.

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3D data can be generated by combining multiple sets of 2D data which has been collected in
a perpendicular grid pattern and processed with one of several different techniques to make it
appropriate for 3D viewing.

Above: An example of 3D data.

Point data can be generated when a GPR is used in conjunction with a GPS. After the desired targets are identi

Understanding GPR Data

With a minimal amount of training and practice it is possible to become proficient at reading raw
GPR data in less than a day.

First, it is essential to understand that the radar signal spreads in a fan shape when it is
transmitted. Because of this, an object will be visible to the radar before and after the radar is
directly over it. This is the reason that a point-shaped object will show up as a hyperbola (arc
shape). Since the radar signal will always have the shortest time to travel when the antenna is
directly over the target, the centerline of the target will always be at the highest point of the
hyperbola in the data.

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In the case of tanks and larger targets, the edges can be located in a similar fashion.

This type of display is always the starting point with any GPR. There are various types of
processing and display techniques which can be applied to this data to tailor it to specific
needs.

Above: An example of unprocessed 2D data of two

pipes. Below left: A 3D alignment of 2D slices
Below right: A fiber optic line is clearly visible in the data set when a simple amplitude filter is
applied.

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3D data can be represented in one of 3 ways: a 3D alignment of 2D traces, one or more depth
slices, or isosurfaces. A 3D alignment of 2D traces requires almost no post-processing thus
requiring less time to produce and the least amount of assumptions regarding velocity variation.
Depth slices require an accurate model of the velocity of the medium being investigated. The
more consistent the material is (i.e. concrete), the quicker and easier it is to achieve this. In some
cases, velocity can be measured and sometimes, this can be worked out through a combination of
educated guesses and trial and error. Depth slices tend to be good for modeling linear features
such as rebar and conduit. Isosurfaces require the most amount of post-processing and filtering.
The result can be good for modeling more complex features, but also have a tendency to filter out
smaller and fainter features. Sometimes this is desirable, and sometimes it isn't.

Above: This is an example of a depth slice.

.
Below: This is an example of an isosurface model. This image was generated using GPR-
Slice

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software

Planning a GPR Survey

There are three main approaches to surveying with GPR the selection of which depends on the
desired results and whether real-time results are required or if post processing is desired.

If the goal is to identify one or more specific targets, the easiest way to achieve this is to examine
the site to be surveyed for any clues such as manholes, catch basins, valves, etc. If there are any,
they can serve as an excellent starting location for the investigation. Typically, in this approach,
one would move the radar across the medium being investigated until they detect the object on
screen, they would then determine the precise center of the object and either mark this on the
ground or log the GPS coordinates of the point. At this point, one would move over and repeat
this process essentially tracing the target. This works best when real time results are required.

A mark out is generally accomplished by scanning a site on a grid pattern. When a target is
observed, a mark is placed on the ground by the operator. This is usually in the form of a flag or
spray paint mark. Since the radar data will reveal only that a target is in the earth which has a
different composition than the surrounding material, it is not possible on only one pass to
determine if the target is a rock or a utility or other type of target. The easiest way to differentiate
them is to make another pass and see if the target continues or not. One can choose to either
place marks at every target and connect the dots later or to immediately move over and make
another pass on the target to determine if the target is linear or not.

3D data can be useful for more complex sites with many targets. The generation of 3D data
requires that data be collected on a regular grid in perpendicular directions and also usually
requires some degree of post-processing. The amount of post processing required increases as the
uniformity of the medium being investigated decreases. Also, there is a practical correlation
between the uniformity of the medium being investigated and the clarity of the images which can
be expected to be produced through post-processing. Furthermore, usable 3D presentations
usually require that data be collected on a much denser grid than is necessary with 2D data
presentation. In many cases, the number of survey lines is doubled or quadrupled. For these
reasons, 3D data tends to be used more often on smaller scale surveys of concrete floors and
walls than it is on large scale ground surveys.

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Coverage

A common misconception is that the size of the antenna affects the amount of area covered. This
is not the case. The size of the antenna relates to the frequency of the antenna and subsequently,
the depth that it can penetrate (for more information see: How deep does it go?). While the
signal from a GPR antenna does spread in the direction of travel, the lateral width which it scans
per pass is razor thin regardless of the antenna used. Furthermore, targets are most easily
identified with GPR when the survey path is perpendicular to the orientation of the target. For
this reason, surveys are usually conducted on a grid in two perpendicular directions:

A typical GPR survey A typical GPR survey A typical GPR survey pattern along
pattern for walls and pattern for ground a proposed trenchline
floors surveys

The spacing of the grid is determined based on the size of the targets that need to be identified and
what sort of results are going to be produced from the survey. Typical grid spacings can be 1m,
3ft, 5ft, 10ft, 20ft for ground surveys and 1in-1ft. for walls and floors.

The speed at which data can be collected along a survey line is limited by two factors: 1) any
time spend interpreting real-time data and/or spent doing on the spot markout 2) The Seeker SPR
is capable of capturing data at highway speed, so the main practical limitation is keeping the
antenna in smooth contact with the ground.

System Configurations

There are two basic configurations of the Seeker SPR: Cart and handheld. Handheld units are
all in one units which contain either 1000 MHz or 2000 MHz antennas. Due to the
characteristics of these antennas, they are ideal for scanning floors and walls, but generally do
not offer sufficient depth to locate exterior buried utilities. Cart systems are modular and
expandable. They can be used with a variety of antennas ranging from 100 MHz to 2000 MHz.
They are configured to be handheld for walls and floors or cart-based. They can even be
configured to interface to almost any available GPS unit.

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Above: is an example of the same Cart system w/ a 1 GHz antenna configured three different
ways.

GPS

The Seeker SPR can be integrated with almost any type of GPS from handheld to RTK. For most
applications, GPS positions are logged constantly while surveying. In the field, or at the office, as
points of interest are identified, they are logged for future reference and can have numbers and
descriptions assigned to them. These points can then be exported for use in spreadsheets,
databases, GIS and CAD software. For certain specialized applications such as lakes and terrain
with very irregular topography, GPS positioning can be used to trigger each scan made by the
system. High accuracy RTK GPS systems are usually the type of GPS system which yields the
best results for these applications.

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