scholarly journals Combining Signal Features of Ground-Penetrating Radar to Classify Moisture Damage in Layered Building Floors

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 8820
Author(s):  
Tim Klewe ◽  
Christoph Strangfeld ◽  
Tobias Ritzer ◽  
Sabine Kruschwitz

To date, the destructive extraction and analysis of drilling cores is the main possibility to obtain depth information about damaging water ingress in building floors. The time- and cost-intensive procedure constitutes an additional burden for building insurances that already list piped water damage as their largest item. With its high sensitivity for water, a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) could provide important support to approach this problem in a non-destructive way. In this research, we study the influence of moisture damage on GPR signals at different floor constructions. For this purpose, a modular specimen with interchangeable layers is developed to vary the screed and insulation material, as well as the respective layer thickness. The obtained data set is then used to investigate suitable signal features to classify three scenarios: dry, damaged insulation, and damaged screed. It was found that analyzing statistical distributions of A-scan features inside one B-scan allows for accurate classification on unknown floor constructions. Combining the features with multivariate data analysis and machine learning was the key to achieve satisfying results. The developed method provides a basis for upcoming validations on real damage cases.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Klewe ◽  
Christoph Strangfeld ◽  
Tobias Ritzer ◽  
Sabine Kruschwitz

<p>In 2019, 3.1 billion Euro of damage was caused by piped water, accounting for the largest share (53%) of building insurance claims in Germany. In the event of damage, the accurate determination and localization of water ingress is essential to plan for and perform efficient renovations. Neutron probes are already applied successfully on building floors to localize the source of damage and other affected areas. However, additional information about the depth of moisture penetration can only be obtained by the destructive extraction of drilling cores, which is a time- and cost-intensive procedure. With its high sensitivity to water and fast measurement procedure, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) can serve as a suitable extension to the neutron probe, enabling more precise characterization of common forms of moisture damage.</p><p>In this research project, we study the influence of common types of moisture damage in differing floor constructions using GPR and a neutron probe. A measurement setup with interchangeable layers is used to vary the screed material (cement or anhydrite) and insulation material (Styrofoam, Styrodur, glass wool, perlite), as well as the respective layer thickness. Every configuration is measured for the following main cases: 1) dry state; 2) with a damaged insulation layer and 3) a damaged screed layer.</p><p>The evaluation is focused on the extraction of distinctive signal features for GPR, which can be used to classify the underlying case of damage. Furthermore, possible combinations of these features are investigated using multivariate data analysis and machine learning in order to evaluate the influence of different floor constructions.</p><p>To validate the developed methods, practical measurements on real damage cases in Germany are carried out and compared to reference data obtained from drilling cores.</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 501-504 ◽  
pp. 847-851
Author(s):  
Che Way Chang ◽  
Chen Hua Lin ◽  
Shyi Lin Lee ◽  
Ping Huang Chen ◽  
Ching Cheng Jen ◽  
...  

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a high efficiency technology to detect the cylindrical medium in the concretes material. The electromagnetic wave is incidental to double-rebar, and measures the reflection signal behaviors from energy zone. The results from the reflection signal of electromagnetic wave of the reinforcement concretes allow evaluating the radius of double-bar (1.6cm, 1cm). A physical model can effectively measure the radius of double-bar by the result of electromagnetic wave reflex behavior analysis. The results indicate that, this techology is capable of estimating the reinforcing double-bar radius to within 6%.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 3696
Author(s):  
Yuri Álvarez López ◽  
María García-Fernández

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has become one of the key technologies in subsurface sensing and, in general, in Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), since it is able to detect both metallic and nonmetallic targets [...]


2010 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 399-417
Author(s):  
Mardeni Bin Roslee ◽  
Raja Syamsul Azmir Raja Abdullah ◽  
Helmi Zulhaidi bin Mohd Shafr

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Livia Lantini ◽  
Fabio Tosti ◽  
Iraklis Giannakis ◽  
Kevin Jagadissen Munisami ◽  
Dale Mortimer ◽  
...  

<p>Street trees are widely recognised to be an essential asset for the urban environment, as they bring several environmental, social and economic benefits [1]. However, the conflicting coexistence of tree root systems with the built environment, and especially with road infrastructures, is often cause of extensive damage, such as the uplifting and cracking of sidewalks and curbs, which could seriously compromise the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.</p><p>In this context, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has long been proven to be an effective non-destructive testing (NDT) method for the evaluation and monitoring of road pavements. The effectiveness of this tool lies not only in its ease of use and cost-effectiveness, but also in the proven reliability of the results provided. Besides, recent studies have explored the capability of GPR in detecting and mapping tree roots [2]. Algorithms for the reconstruction of the tree root systems have been developed, and the spatial variations of root mass density have been also investigated [3].</p><p>The aim of this study is, therefore, to investigate the GPR potential in mapping the architecture of root systems in street trees. In particular, this research aims to improve upon the existing methods for detection of roots, focusing on the identification of the road pavement layers. In this way, different advanced signal processing techniques can be applied at specific sections, in order to remove reflections from the pavement layers without affecting root detection. This allows, therefore, to reduce false alarms when investigating trees with root systems developing underneath road pavements.</p><p>In this regard, data from trees of different species have been acquired and processed, using different antenna systems and survey methodologies, in an effort to investigate the impact of these parameters on the GPR overall performance.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Acknowledgements</strong></p><p>The authors would like to express their sincere thanks and gratitude to the following trusts, charities, organisations and individuals for their generosity in supporting this project: Lord Faringdon Charitable Trust, The Schroder Foundation, Cazenove Charitable Trust, Ernest Cook Trust, Sir Henry Keswick, Ian Bond, P. F. Charitable Trust, Prospect Investment Management Limited, The Adrian Swire Charitable Trust, The John Swire 1989 Charitable Trust, The Sackler Trust, The Tanlaw Foundation, and The Wyfold Charitable Trust. This paper is dedicated to the memory of our colleague and friend Jonathan West, one of the original supporters of this research project.</p><p> </p><p><strong>References</strong></p><p>[1] J. Mullaney, T. Lucke, S. J. Trueman, 2015. “A review of benefits and challenges in growing street trees in paved urban environments,” Landscape and Urban Planning, 134, 157-166.</p><p>[2] A. M. Alani, L. Lantini, 2019. “Recent advances in tree root mapping and assessment using non-destructive testing methods: a focus on ground penetrating radar,” Surveys in Geophysics, 1-42.</p><p>[3] L. Lantini, F. Tosti, Giannakis, I., Egyir, D., A. Benedetto, A. M. Alani, 2019. “A Novel Processing Framework for Tree Root Mapping and Density Estimation using Ground Penetrating Radar,” In 10th International Workshop on Advanced Ground Penetrating Radar, EAGE.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 2814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sossa ◽  
Pérez-Gracia ◽  
González-Drigo ◽  
Rasol

Corrosion is a significant damage in many reinforced concrete structures, mainly in coastal areas. The oxidation of embedded iron or steel elements degrades rebar, producing a porous layer not adhered to the metallic surface. This process could completely destroy rebar. In addition, the concrete around the metallic targets is also damaged, and a dense grid of fissures appears around the oxidized elements. The evaluation of corrosion is difficult in early stages, because damage is usually hidden. Non-destructive testing measurements, based on non-destructive testing (NDT) electric and magnetic surveys, could detect damage as consequence of corrosion. The work presented in this paper is based in several laboratory tests, which are centered in defining the effect of different corrosion stage on ground penetrating radar (GPR) signals. The analysis focuses on the evaluation of the reflected wave amplitude and its behavior. The results indicated that an accurate analysis of amplitude decay and intensity could most likely reveal an approach to the state of degradation of the embedded metallic targets because GPR images exhibit characteristics that depend on the effects of the oxidized rebar and the damaged concrete. These characteristics could be detected and measured in some cases. One important feature is referred to as the reflected wave amplitude. In the case of corroded targets, this amplitude is lower than in the case of reflection on non-oxidized surfaces. Additionally, in some cases, a blurred image appears related to high corrosion. The results of the tests highlight the higher amplitude decay of the cases of specimens with corroded elements.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamza Reci ◽  
Tien Chinh Maï ◽  
Zoubir Mehdi Sbartaï ◽  
Lara Pajewski ◽  
Emanuela Kiri

Abstract. This paper presents the results of a series of laboratory measurements carried out to study how the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) signal is affected by moisture variation in wood material. The effects of the wood fiber direction, with respect to the polarisation of the electromagnetic field, are investigated. The relative permittivity of wood and the amplitude of the electric field received by the radar are measured for different humidity levels, by using the direct-wave method in Wide Angle Radar Reflection configuration, where one GPR antenna is moved while the other is kept in a fixed position. The received signal is recorded for different separations between transmitting and receiving antennas. Direct waves are compared to reflected waves: it is observed that they show a different behaviour when the moisture content varies, due to their different propagation paths.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 405
Author(s):  
Xuan Feng ◽  
Haoqiu Zhou ◽  
Cai Liu ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Wenjing Liang ◽  
...  

The subsurface target classification of ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a popular topic in the field of geophysics. Among the existing classification methods, geometrical features and polarimetric attributes of targets are primarily used. As polarimetric attributes contain more information of targets, polarimetric decomposition methods, such as H-Alpha decomposition, have been developed for target classification of GPR in recent years. However, the classification template used in H-Alpha classification is preset depending on the experience of synthetic aperture radar (SAR); therefore, it may not be suitable for GPR. Moreover, many existing classification methods require excessive human operation, particularly when outliers exist in the sample (the data set containing the features of targets); therefore, they are not efficient or intelligent. We herein propose a new machine learning method based on sample centers, i.e., particle center supported plane (PCSP). The sample center is defined as the point with the smallest sum of distances from all points in the same sample, which is considered as a better representation of the sample without significant effect of the outliers. In this proposed method, particle swarm optimization (PSO) is performed to obtain the sample centers; the new criterion for subsurface target classification is achieved. We applied this algorithm to full polarimetric GPR data measured in the laboratory and outdoors. The results indicate that, comparing with support vector machine (SVM) and classical H-Alpha classification, this new method is more efficient and the accuracy is relatively high.


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