Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) Analysis: Phase II Field Evaluation

https://doi.org/10.21949/15183882011PDFResearch Paperhttps://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/45000/45800/45848/MT_8201_implementation.pdfFHWA/MT-11-002/8201HWY-308813-RPGround penetrating radarField studiesMontanaMontana. Dept. of Transportation. Research ProgramsMaser, Kenneth R.Puccinelli, J.Carmichael, AdamINFRASENSE, Inc.Nichols Consulting EngineersMontana. Dept. of Transportation. Research ProgramsUS Transportation CollectionThe objective of this work was to evaluate the feasibility and value of expanding the MDT's Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) program to pavement design and rehabilitation, and to network level evaluation. Phase I of this project concluded that in order to investigate the feasibility and value of these program expansions, a Phase II field evaluation project be designed and implemented to evaluate the accuracy of GPR pavement thickness data on Montana pavements, and to correlate these findings with the accuracy requirements of the individual applications. This field evaluation began with identifying 26 pavement test section of different composition and structure located throughout the diverse climatic regions of Montana. At each site, FWD and GPR data was collected, followed by coring and augering to determine the thickness of the pavement layer structure and base moisture content. This testing was carried out both in the spring of 2010 and in the fall of 2010 to capture seasonal variations. The GPR data was analyzed for thickness, and the GPR thickness data was evaluated for seasonal changes, and compared to core and plan data to investigate thickness accuracy and the effectiveness of calibration methods. Compared to cores, the average GPR bound layer thickness error was 10.3% vs. 15.2% using plan data. A GPR data checking method was developed using FWD and plan data to identify potential analysis layer analysis inconsistencies and suggest alternative interpretation. Implementation of this method reduced the GPR error to 7.6%. A sensitivity study was carried out to investigate the impact of having the more accurate GPR data. This study showed that, on average, the use of GPR reduced the pavement life prediction error by 62% when compared to using as-built plan data.90