Portsmouth, UK, 28 June 2007 - A new mobile radar system that sees through road surfaces has been launched by highways surveying specialist Data Collection Limited.
Using a specially designed vehicle that can survey at normal traffic speeds, the ground-penetrating radar creates a cross-sectional profile of the subsurface. Highways engineers can use this information to accurately assess the road’s condition, providing vital information for planning repairs and re-surfacing.
The ground penetrating radar (GPR) is fitted to a new £1 million electronic survey vehicle called ARAN2. The vehicle is also equipped with surface scanning systems and advanced technology that detects cracks as small as two millimetres. It is the first vehicle to allow both surface and subsurface data to be collected at the same time.
The radar works by emitting precisely timed pulses of radio frequency energy into the road surface. With the transition of the pulses from one material to another, such as from asphalt to a concrete layer, part of the energy echoes back to the surface. The returning signals are captured and processed to create accurate cross-sectional profiles of the subsurface.
Traditionally engineers had to set up testing equipment or take core samples from highways, especially on bridges where structural safety is vital. With the GPR-equipped ARAN2, the seamless survey data can be collected whilst travelling at normal traffic speeds. For the first time, whole stretches of highway can be surveyed at speed creating additional condition data.
This GPR information maps layers to an accuracy of between 5mm and 10mm, giving highway engineers a picture of the road make-up and condition. From this they can assess the need for future maintenance, determine safe load capacity and decide how much material to remove when re-surfacing. On bridges, GPR is particularly useful for determining the location and thickness of concrete and asphalt layers, as well as the reinforcing steel.
"This is the first time Ground Penetrating Radar has been successfully developed for use at speed. Now equipped to both of our ARAN automatic surveying vehicles and able to collect data at normal traffic speeds, it opens up a whole new area for highways surveying. Now engineers can literally see below the surface and this reveals much more about the condition of the road” says Steve Batchelor, Director of Data Collection.
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