Why Ground Penetrating Radar Is A Must Before You Drill, Cut Or Core Concrete

By Denis Boyd Knight


Ground penetrating radar recently promised to be critical in the solving of one of America's most enduring unresolved mysteries: the final fate of former Teamster's Boss Jimmy Hoffa. After a tipster advised Roseville, Michigan police that he spotted a human body being entombed underneath the driveway in July 1975, just a day after Hoffa vanished, the police used GPR and thus identified an "anomaly" below the area. Sadly I must say, dirt specimens obtained for screening showed that no human remains were buried there, and the solution to Hoffa's disappearance is still to be discovered.

For many users, having said that, GPR is frequently utilised for much more boring functions. For example, GPR technology can certainly determine whether there are below the ground water mains or maybe power lines in construction areas that can be damaged during excavation and therefore which might cause project downtime plus expensive delays because of repairs to the damage caused. In addition, it can discover the existence of blockages like reinforcing material and voids, that may cause worker injury. And the price of utilising the technology is ultimately less costly compared to the cost of getting to shoulder the costs of accidents and structural destruction.

Ground penetrating radar makes use of high frequency radio signals transmitted into the soil to pick up on underground objects. Their presence is depicted when the signal comes back to the receiver as echoes and then the results are displayed on the GPR display.

The depth and position of the things are depicted simply by how much time it takes the echo to travel to and from it. The data are at that point interpreted by the technician whether the item is the root or subsurface infrastructure. Software can also be utilised to turn the raw data into 3-D maps that allows the elements to be more easily translated as they are displayed in a more visual manner.

Several types of ground penetrating radar systems can be used based on the item being detected along with the type of surface on which it is being used. Let's say, for those who are searching for rebar in cement, the 1,000 MHz high-frequency GPR can be utilised as that will provide high resolution for as much as Twenty four inches deep. Alternatively, whenever you require greater penetration, such as when the radar is going to be used in ground soil, lower wavelengths of 12.5 MHz up to 500 MHz are generally used which can give depth range which will go from several inches up to hundreds of feet.




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