16th World Road Meeting

GROUND PENETRATING RADAR (GPR) IN Paper No

351
ROAD PAVEMENT ASSESSMENT

Authors
Name E-mail Institution Country
COSTA André(main author) andre.costa@monteadriano.p Montinovação Portugal
(speaker) t
GOMES CORREIA António UNIVERSIDADE DO MINHO Portugal
FIGUEIREDO Fernando Universidade de Coimbra Portugal

[Categories]
5.1 Innovation in road construction & Preservation

Keywords
GPR, dielectrics, pavement, layer thickness

Presentation type : Oral

Contact : andre.costa@monteadriano.pt
Submission date : 2009-12-10 10:00:54
Jury validation date : 2009-10-13 14:22:34

Abstract

GPR involves the transmission of high-frequency electromagnetic radio pulses into the ground, and
the measure of the time elapsed between transmission and reception by a surface radar antenna,
after reflection in a buried discontinuity. In a enormous wide range of applications, it assumes a
growing importance in road assessment, because enables precise and continuous pavement layer
thickness evaluation at high-speed velocities and simultaneously, through analysis of variation of
dielectric constant of the inspected materials, detection of zones related with striping or segregation
of hot mix asphalt, as well of contrasts in moisture of granular materials.

Through the lifetime of a pavement GPR can assure fundamental information: in the aim of quality
control or assurance of new pavements; monitoring during service time; or as inspection method to
define rehabilitation strategies. Assume interest in network management, pavement design,
monitoring and forensic disputes.

The work carried out by the authors, confirms the potentialities of this method, and emphasizes
integration of GPR data with video images and geographical positioning by GPS, as with other road
pavement data, and deals with data acquisition and processing; as well statistical synthesis and
interpretation; integration of GPR with data from other methods; and data report.

The applied GPR method requires horn air launched antennas, and compares amplitude reflection in
pavement surface with the amplitude reflection in a metallic plate to calculate dielectric values of
the first layers.

As an example of GPR inspection, it is presented 32 km of a left lane highway in both ways,

inspected along three different lines (left and right wheels and centre line), in about 4 hours of field
work, during daylight period and without traffic impact.

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1. Introduction

1.1 GPR method

Radio Detection And Ranging (RADAR) operate sending electromagnetic energy and recordings
reflections, through what, calculates the distance to the target. Two-way Travel Time (TWTT) is the
key to measure in nanoseconds (ns) the time elapsed between the received reflection from the top
of the pavement and from the bottom. Travel velocity of the radar pulse in the studied material is
the other parameter needed to evaluate thickness. If the first parameter, TWTT, is easy to know, the
second, travel velocity of the radar pulse is more difficult to get, because it changes with the
different materials.

The amplitude of reflection is another parameter that can be measured. Strength of reflection allows
inferring the amount of energy transmitted across the boundary between materials. Horn antenna
allows calculating the velocity of radar energy through different materials.

Radar energy propagation velocity varies a lot according the materials. In the air it reaches 300
mm/ns and in the water can assume 33 mm/ns. The asphalt has velocities between 130 – 175
mm/ns. This range of values, related with the intrinsic constitution of the materials, has significance
in achieving the thickness of layers pavement. “Ground truth” and horn antenna processing are the
two ways of calculating that velocity.

Ground truth is based on the knowledge of the exact thickness of the structure of the pavement in
one point: v=d/t, where v is velocity, d measured depth of interface and t travel time (TWTT/2).
Obviously, cores are needed for such methodology, with all the operational inconvenience of their
extraction.

Horn antenna processing allows knowing the velocity of the radar energy in the material by
comparing the reflection strengths (amplitudes) from a pavement layer interface with a perfect
reflector (metal plate). Pavement layer reflection will be weaker than the metal plate one, because
energy penetrates bituminous mixture. These differences of reflections, together with the know
velocity of GPR energy in the upper layer, can be used to back-calculate the propagation velocity in
the individual layers. Beam spreading is taking in consideration through a correction factor
application.

Scan calibration is obtained with the horn antenna placed over a metal plate at the same elevation
as in current GPR road inspection (figure 1).

Figure 1 – Registration of reflexes arrival[1]

So, with this method, using horn air launched antennas, the pavement surface amplitude reflection is
compared with the metallic plate reflection, that represents an absolute reflector.

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In practical GPR surveys, with some simplification, it is possible to use simple formulae [2], [3]:

, where v is wave propagation speed (m/ns), c is light speed in vacuum (0.3 m/ns) and
relative dielectric permittivity;

, where s is interface depth (m) from the surface of the medium and t is two-way travel time
from surface of the medium to the interface depth ( );

, where k is reflection coefficient, is relative dielectric permittivity value

of the first layer and is relative dielectric permittivity value of the second layer;

R = 1– k , where R is the penetration coefficient;

, where A is attenuation in medium (dB/m) and is electrical (ohmic) conductivity

(S/m);

, where λ is wavelength, and f is frequency (MHz).

1.2 GPR Equipment

GPR equipment needs to be adequate to the purposes of the survey. Ground coupled equipment can
be used at slow speed (up to 10-20 km/h) and allows the antennas to be positioned very close to or
even in direct contact with the ground providing good signal coupling and maximizing effective
penetration. This, combined with the ability to employ a very high scan rate per meter and/or the
ability to use more samples to digitize the GPR trace, contributes to accurate and detailed results
with good location referencing. However this approach can be inefficient and does require traffic
management, normally a lane closure, and is therefore disruptive to traffic. As survey speed
increases the ground-coupled equipment can no longer be in direct contact with the pavement, the
scan rate of data collection has to decrease to compensate for the increase in speed so the accuracy
and detail of the results reduces. However, the accuracy of resolving well-defined layers should only
be slightly affected if there is good location referencing [4].
In more recent works the authors used horn air launched antennas of 1GHz and 2GHz of central
frequency, with a GPR processor SIR20. Auxiliary equipment included odometer; GPS with 20Hz of
data acquisition and sub meter precision, and digital video cameras (Fig. 2).

Figure 2–Vehicle equipped with air launched antennas (1GHz and 2GHz); GPS, odometer and video.

All this equipment operates simultaneously, with software (RoadDoctor) that also enables analysis of
synchronized and georeferenced data. Figure 3 (A) represents a radargrams synchronized with video and
georeferenced map, and (B), from top to bottom: radargram; layer interpretation; 2D surface εr; 2D granular base εr;
2D moisture in soil–cement layer.

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Figure 3 – “Print screen” images of specialized software to interpretation and analysis of GPR data.

2. Application to road assessment

Through different phases of the lifetime of a pavement, GPR can assure fundamental information in
the aim of quality control or quality assurance of new pavements; as well as monitoring the structure
during service time; or as an inspection method to define rehabilitation strategies, can be consider
several main application fields: network management, pavement design, quality control or quality
assurance, forensic disputes, monitoring of the structures.

3. Key points to GPR implementation

3.1 New technique that allows new approach to road management

The interpretation of an environment that occurs beneath the surface, with methods not well
understood by the generality of technicians involved in road management, are difficulties to
overcome.
GPR assumes the possibility to deal with layer thickness, not only in one dimension (depth in one
point of core location), but in 2D mapping road variations of thickness along a road profile, or even
3D interpolating several GPR profiles. Models that road engineers use in structural analysis are
usually supported by discrete core data, and through definition of structural homogeneous sections,
(dictated by FWD deflections), along several hundreds of meters, or even kilometers of road. Layer
thickness variations have implications in structural analysis, and GPR allows to change the
perspective of this analysis. But, geophysics knowledge in general or electromagnetic behavior of
road materials in particular, is not widespread yet, among many of those who have responsibilities in
road management. At this time, GPR is still a misunderstood technique and, simultaneously, a
technique that allows new approaches in the of thinking the road, not casuistically (studding one
point and generalizing to some kilometers long) but evaluating 2D or 3D the whole road, and
eventually introducing statistical variability of layer thickness in probabilistic perspective of
pavements evaluation.

3.2 Normalization and code of practice

GPR services need normalized procedures. While many aspects related to GPR are not normalized,
companies that operate GPR services have the responsibility to follow a code of practice that
allows the final users of GPR data to trust in this method.
There exists effective difficulties of those who do not have GPR knowledge to contract services they
don’t know or understand, and operators need to make efforts to inform their clients about:
uncertainties of the method; information that it is obtainable with confidence; information that can
be eventually obtained; and information they shouldn't be expecting. So, important as promote GPR
capabilities, is to clarify the limits of the method.
Final report deliver will be an uncomfortable moment to GPR operator and to his client if in the
beginning they haven't establish a contract that rules the level of information and the format in what
it is presented.

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Some brief rules to proper use of GPR in road investigations:

-GPR survey planification adequating GPR equipment to the objectives;
-Meteorology limits GPR survey and moisture affect electromagnetic behavior of materials;
-understand electromagnetic behavior of road materials and physical laws to obtain good data and
interpret it is so important as background knowledge about road structures and pavement materials;
-Rigorous data location (odometer+GPS+video images);
-Integration of different data together with GPR (particular importance to core data).

3.3 GPR as complementary information

GPR is just a complementary technique to be used together with other methods to obtain
information about road pavement. It is not correct to interpret GPR data without taking in account all
the information that exits about the road. The main object of interpretation it is the road, so, GPR,
IRI, FWD, … should be interpreted together with adequate integration software, and GPR trained
personnel should be involved in this interpretation.

4. Case study

Documental research and field experiments with GPR in the aim of road inspections, by these
authors, started in 2007 [5]. Since then, several field experiments have been made with different
purposes and with different configurations of equipment and software.

As an example of the capabilities of GPR in road assessment, it can be presented the data of a 32 km
highway inspection, conducted along 3 different alignments (left wheel, right wheel and centre line),
in left lane, in both ways, that represents about 4 hours of field work.

The inspection has been done with two different antennas of 1GHz and 2GHz central frequency, with
a scan rate of 10 scans/meter, which means almost in a continuous way (Fig. 4).

Figure 4 – Longitudinal profile of the pavement structure and of relative dielectric permittivity of
two first layers along 32 km of highway.

Have been identified two different structures alternating along the inspected road section, that have
been considered in reinforcement design. GPR thickness evaluation has been confirmed by "ground
truth" (core data) and supported structural back analysis with FWD deflections.

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Variations in dielectric constants of materials in the two first layers interpreted, allows identification
of particular sections, and can be correlated with other data inspection (IRI, FWD,...), to evaluate
pathologies or particular mechanical behaviour along those sections.
The possibility to have this continuous perspective of the pavement structure is not unique important
aspect. The meaning of a statistical approach to thickness variation of each layer (or to the total
thickness of bituminous mixtures), allows a possible perspective to a probabilistic approach in
pavement evaluation, considering thickness variability. As an example, figure 5 presents the
thickness variation of one of the HMA layers of Bituminous Macadam Base 0-37,5mm, correspondent
to characteristic statistical parameters: average (105 mm), standard deviation (27mm) and
coefficient of variation (25%).

Figure 5 – Thickness variability of one of the HMA layers (bituminous macadam 0-37,5mm)

5. Conclusions

The possibility of knowing the thickness continuously along the structure, instead of only know some
few discrete points with core extraction, increases possibilities among probabilistic perspectives of
pavements evaluations.

Ground Penetrating Radar is an effective method that should be considered in road assessment. The
capability to inspect road pavements continuously (10 scans/meter), without traffic interference,
evaluation of pavement layer thickness with an error that can be less than 10% [6] and identification
of dielectric anomalies that can be correlated with pathologies or water content discrepancies, are
enough arguments to sustain that this tests should be implemented in road assessment.

Several countries already implemented the use of GPR in road assessment. In Europe exists a
significant contrast between those countries where GPR is in the center of a discussion about best
practices [4] (normalizing procedures, equipment calibration, operator’s certifications, and licensee
of companies….), especially promoted by EUROGPR (European GPR Association), and some other
countries where GPR is still not used as a routine road inspection method.

6. Acknowledgements
In different moments, contributed to this work: Dr. Timo Saarenketo, Dr. Anja Pälli and MSc. Mika
Silvast from Roadscanners, Oy and MSc. Eduardo Mira Fernandes, from Elsamex Portugal.

7. References
[1] GSSI(2007) “Handbook for GPR inspection of road structures”. New Hampshire
[2] Daniels, D.J. (2007). “Surface Penetrating Radar”. Institution of Electrical Engineers.
[3] Saarenketo, T. (2006). “Electrical properties of road materials and subgrade soils and the use of
ground penetrating radar in traffic infrastructure surveys”. Oulu University Press.
[4] Forest, R; Cook, A.; Fairclough, R. (2008), “Quality Assurance of GPR Pavement Investigation
Surveys”, 12th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar, June 16-19, Birmingham, UK
[5] A. Costa, A. Gomes Correia (2008), “Preliminary Results of a 2 GHz Horn Antenna GPR on a
Pavement Section in Portugal”, 3rd EPAM Conference, Coimbra, Portugal.
[6] Evans, R.D., Frost, M.W., Stonecliffe-Jones, M., Dixon, N. (2007), “Variation in information
obtained from investigation of GPR pavement investigation data”, International Conference on
Advanced Characterization of Pavement and Soil Engineering, Athens, Greece.

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