Ground penetrating radar applied to subsurface culverts

The failures of culverts can result in water and soil loss in the surrounding subsurface, leading to collapses. In densely constructed urban areas, buried culverts are inaccessible and invisible, making Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) inspection a widely adopted nondestructive and efficient method. P...

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Main Authors: Tess Luo, Song Zhu, Yiliminuer Yikeremu, Jiasong Zhu, John van Genderen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-11-01
Series:Geo-spatial Information Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10095020.2023.2238758
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author Tess Luo
Song Zhu
Yiliminuer Yikeremu
Jiasong Zhu
John van Genderen
author_facet Tess Luo
Song Zhu
Yiliminuer Yikeremu
Jiasong Zhu
John van Genderen
author_sort Tess Luo
collection DOAJ
description The failures of culverts can result in water and soil loss in the surrounding subsurface, leading to collapses. In densely constructed urban areas, buried culverts are inaccessible and invisible, making Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) inspection a widely adopted nondestructive and efficient method. Previous research has employed artificial intelligence to automate GPR interpretation by identifying special radargram textures, but the irregular GPR responses of degraded subsurface soils present a challenge. Therefore, this study proposes a method for preliminary diagnosing large-scale culverts based on GPR wave attributes. The method comprises three parts: (1) evaluating soil compactness by estimating the tortuosity of GPR responses at the culvert top; (2) investigating soil moisture using the attenuation rate of GPR responses; and (3) overlaying the results of the incompact and moist soils to pinpoint potential degradations. Two long-distance culverts were inspected and diagnosed using the proposed method, and three abnormal sections were identified and confirmed by excavation evaluation. The case studies indicate that the proposed method can quickly provide reference for further in-depth investigation, thereby improving GPR survey efficiency and reducing workload by narrowing the investigation scope. Consequently, this study can facilitate large-scale GPR culvert surveys and further safeguard the water system.
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publishDate 2024-11-01
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spelling doaj-art-7bfdac5b0d9a43bb83281ebac437d0e72025-08-20T02:50:00ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGeo-spatial Information Science1009-50201993-51532024-11-012762092210810.1080/10095020.2023.2238758Ground penetrating radar applied to subsurface culvertsTess Luo0Song Zhu1Yiliminuer Yikeremu2Jiasong Zhu3John van Genderen4College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, ChinaCollege of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, ChinaCollege of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, ChinaCollege of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, ChinaFaculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente, Enschede, The NetherlandsThe failures of culverts can result in water and soil loss in the surrounding subsurface, leading to collapses. In densely constructed urban areas, buried culverts are inaccessible and invisible, making Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) inspection a widely adopted nondestructive and efficient method. Previous research has employed artificial intelligence to automate GPR interpretation by identifying special radargram textures, but the irregular GPR responses of degraded subsurface soils present a challenge. Therefore, this study proposes a method for preliminary diagnosing large-scale culverts based on GPR wave attributes. The method comprises three parts: (1) evaluating soil compactness by estimating the tortuosity of GPR responses at the culvert top; (2) investigating soil moisture using the attenuation rate of GPR responses; and (3) overlaying the results of the incompact and moist soils to pinpoint potential degradations. Two long-distance culverts were inspected and diagnosed using the proposed method, and three abnormal sections were identified and confirmed by excavation evaluation. The case studies indicate that the proposed method can quickly provide reference for further in-depth investigation, thereby improving GPR survey efficiency and reducing workload by narrowing the investigation scope. Consequently, this study can facilitate large-scale GPR culvert surveys and further safeguard the water system.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10095020.2023.2238758Culvert diagnosisGround Penetrating Radar (GPR)wave attributesoil degradation
spellingShingle Tess Luo
Song Zhu
Yiliminuer Yikeremu
Jiasong Zhu
John van Genderen
Ground penetrating radar applied to subsurface culverts
Geo-spatial Information Science
Culvert diagnosis
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
wave attribute
soil degradation
title Ground penetrating radar applied to subsurface culverts
title_full Ground penetrating radar applied to subsurface culverts
title_fullStr Ground penetrating radar applied to subsurface culverts
title_full_unstemmed Ground penetrating radar applied to subsurface culverts
title_short Ground penetrating radar applied to subsurface culverts
title_sort ground penetrating radar applied to subsurface culverts
topic Culvert diagnosis
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
wave attribute
soil degradation
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10095020.2023.2238758
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AT songzhu groundpenetratingradarappliedtosubsurfaceculverts
AT yiliminueryikeremu groundpenetratingradarappliedtosubsurfaceculverts
AT jiasongzhu groundpenetratingradarappliedtosubsurfaceculverts
AT johnvangenderen groundpenetratingradarappliedtosubsurfaceculverts