PURPOSES : This study aims to evaluate the applicability of ground penetrating radar (GPR) for surveying utility pipes under sidewalks made of concrete brick and plate-stone block pavements. METHODS : GPR tests were conducted at two test sections to detect layer boundary and utility pipes under the pavements. The central frequency of the single-channel GPR was 800, 500, 250, and 100 MHz, and the central frequency of multi-channel (8) GPR was 450 MHz. GPR signals were analyzed in terms of 1-D (A-scan) and 2-D (B-scan) profiles. RESULTS: From the A-scan data analysis, the vertical resolution of the GPR ranged from 7.3 cm for 800 MHz to 133.1 cm for 100 MHz in the concrete brick block pavement and 13.9 cm for 800 MHz to 144.2 cm for 100 MHz in plate stone block pavement. From the B-scan data analysis, 250 MHz to 500 MHz GPR was sufficient to differentiate the layer boundary at a depth of 1.0~1.5 m to detect utility pipes at a depth of 0.5~2.0 m in both block pavements. In the plate-stone block pavement, GPR signal attenuation was greater because of the wire mesh in the concrete layer. Thus, the penetration depth was approximately 80% of the concrete brick-block pavement. CONCLUSIONS : The penetration depth and vertical resolution of GPR in the sidewalk paved with blocks were comparable to those of roadway pavement. Among the GPR evaluated, the 250 MHz GPR was the most desirable, and the 500 MHz GPR was affordable for the investigation of underground pipes situated up to 2.0~3.0 m under sidewalks.

PURPOSES: The purpose of this study is to evaluate and improve the potential risk of road cave-ins due to subsurface cavities based on the deflection ratio measured with light falling weight deflectometer (LFWD) tests. METHODS : A cavity database for Seoul was developed and sorted. LFWD tests based on the database were conducted on pavement sections with and without road cavities detected by ground-penetrating radar (GPR) tests; after excavating the area, the cavity sizes were measured. The deflection ratio was applied and analyzed by cavity management grade methods of Japan and Seoul. RESULTS : The results of comparative analysis show that the deflection method can detect road cavities in areas of the narrow road (or in narrow areas of the road). The average deflection ratio of the cavity sections to the robust sections were 2.48 for high-risk cavities, 1.85 for medium-risk level cavities, and 1.49 for low-risk cavities. Risk levels in Japan and Seoul were reclassified according to the deflection ratios. CONCLUSIONS : LFWD test results can be applied to verify and improve the subsurface cavity risk level by comparing maximum deflection and deflection ratio between cavity area and non-cavity area at the loading center. LFWD devices also have more advantages compared with larger NDT(Nondestructive test) because FWD and GPR encounter difficulties in traffic control and they could not get in a narrow roads.

PURPOSES: The purpose of this study is to compare the advantages and disadvantages of 3D multichannel ground penetrating radar (GPR) equipment, which is mainly used for road cavity detection. The optimal signal analysis method was also proposed for 3D GPR data. METHODS: Four types of 3D GPR equipment were used to detect road cavities in a pilot road section in Seoul. The obtained GPR signals were evaluated in the time and frequency domain using raw data. In addition, various types of filters were applied to time domain (B-scan) data to examine the optimal signal processing. RESULTS: The time and frequency domain analysis of raw data showed that all the equipment produced reverse and strong signal reflections owing to the low dielectric permittivity of air in the cavity compared with neighbor materials. Also, the asymmetric parabolic curve was observed as well. The optimal signal processing method was determined to detect road cavities: zero-setting and background removal should be applied to all equipment. Bandpass filtering can be optionally applied to remove high-frequency noise or direct waves. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the different specifications of GPR equipment in terms of signal generation and bandwidth, the GPR signals were appropriate in terms of zero-setting, noise level, and depth of investigation. Therefore, all the multichannel GPR devices evaluated were found to be suitable to detect road cavities located at depths of 1.0 and 1.5 m after the application of proper filtering process.

PURPOSES : The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential risk level of road cave-ins due to subsurface cavities based on the deflection basin measured with falling weight deflectometer (FWD) tests. METHODS: Ground penetrating radar (GPR) tests were conducted to detect road cavities. Then FWD tests were conducted on 13 pavement test sections with and without a cavity. FWD deflections and a deflection ratio was used to evaluate the effect of geometry of the cavity and pavement for road cave-in potentials. RESULTS: FWD deflection of cavity sections measured at 60 cm or a closer offset distance to a loading center were 50% greater than more robust sections. The average deflection ratio of the cavity sections to robust sections were 1.78 for high risk level cavities, 1.51 for medium risk level cavities, and 1.16 for low risk level cavities. The relative remaining service life of pavement with a cavity evaluated with an surface curvature index (SCI) was 8.1% for the high level, 21.8% for the medium level, and 89.8% compared to pavement without a cavity. CONCLUSIONS : FWD tests can be applied to detect a subsurface cavity by comparing FWD deflections with and without a cavity measured at 60 cm or a closer offset distance to loading center. In addition, the relative remaining service life of cavity sections based on the SCI can used to evaluate road cave-in potentials.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to detect road cavities using multi-channel 3D ground penetrating radar (GPR) tests owned by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. METHODS: Ground-penetrating radar tests were conducted on 204 road-cavity test sections, and the GPR signal patterns were analyzed to classify signal shape, amplitude, and phase change. RESULTS : The shapes of the GPR signals of road-cavity sections were circular or ellipsoidal in the plane image of the 3D GPR results. However, in the longitudinal or transverse direction, the signals showed mostly unsymmetrical (or symmetrical in some cases) parabolic shapes. The amplitude of the GPR signals reflected from road cavities was stronger than that from other media. No particular pattern of the amplitude was found because of nonuniform medium and utilities nearby. In many cases where road cavities extended to the bottom of the asphalt concrete layer, the signal phase was reversed. However, no reversed signal was found in subbase, subgrade, or deeper locations. CONCLUSIONS: For detecting road cavities, the results of the GPR signal-pattern analysis can be applied. In general, GPR signals on road cavity-sections had unsymmetrical hyperbolic shape, relatively stronger amplitude, and reversed phase. Owing to the uncertainties of underground materials, utilities, and road cavities, GPR signal interpretation was difficult. To perform quantitative analysis for road cavity detection, additional GPR tests and signal pattern analysis need to be conducted.

최근 도로하부에 생성된 동공으로 인한 도로함몰이 빈번하게 발생되고 있다. 동공의 주요 발생 요인으 로는 굴착복구 시 다짐불량, 노후 하수관 파손, 대형공사장 지하수처리 미비 등으로 알려져 있다. 서울시 에서는 도로함몰을 사전에 예방하기 위하여 지표투과레이더(GPR, Ground Penetrating Radar)를 이용 한 동공탐사를 2015년부터 본격적으로 실시하였다. GPR 시험에서는 전자기파가 유전율이 상이한 재료 경계부에서 반사되는 특성을 이용하여 포장층 두께, 지하매설물의 위치 등을 탐지할 수 있다. GPR 안테 나는 주파수 대역, 채널 수, 설치방법 등에 따라 다양한 형식을 가진다. 서울시의 경우 도로함몰로 발전할 확률이 높은 1.5m 내외의 얕은 심도의 동공을 탐지하기 위하여 250MHz 또는 500MHz 접촉식 안테나를 사용하고 있다. 조사연장이 긴 차도에는 조사 효율성이 높은 16채널 안테나를 사용하고, 좁은 폭의 차도 및 보도에는 단채널 안테나를 사용하고 있다. 본 연구에서는 서울시에서 실시한 GPR 시험으로부터 획득 한 GPR 신호로부터 동공 및 지하매설물, 자갈 등을 구분하기 위한 정성적 패턴 분석을 실시하였다. 일반 적으로 원형, 연속적인 형태를 가지는 하수관에서 반사된 GPR 신호는 위로 볼록한 포물선 형상으로 되어 있고 반사강도가 크게 나타난다. 반면 동공 대부분은 비정형, 불연속 형태이므로 신호패턴이 찌그러진 비 대칭형 포물선으로 나타내고, 반사파의 강도가 약하거나 (+)신호와 (–)신호가 뒤바뀌는 경향으로 나타났 다. 또한 지하매설물은 1.0~1.5m 사이에 위치하므로 약 30cm 두께의 아스팔트 포장층에서 1.0m 이상 깊은 곳에서 신호가 나타난다. 반면 동공의 경우 포장층 직하부에 주로 존재하므로 포물선의 상부가 포장 층에 가까이 나타났다. 그러나 포장하부에 존재하는 건설폐기물, 자갈 등도 동공신호와 유사하게 나타나 므로 탐지율을 향상시키기 위해서는 더 많은 GPR 신호 패턴이 필요하다.

PURPOSES : The objective of this study is to determine the optimal frequency of ground penetrating radar (GPR) testing for detecting the voids under the pavement. METHODS : In order to determine the optimal frequency of GPR testing for void detection, a full-scale test section was constructed to simulate the actual size of voids under the pavement. Voids of various sizes were created by inserting styrofoam at varying depths under the pavement. Subsequently, 250-, 500-, and 800-MHz ground-coupled GPR testing was conducted in the test section and the resulting GPR signals were recorded. The change in the amplitude of these signals was evaluated by varying the GPR frequency, void size, and void depth. The optimum frequency was determined from the amplitude of the signals. RESULTS: The capacity of GPR to detect voids under the pavement was evaluated by using three different ground-coupled GPR frequencies. In the case of the B-scan GPR data, a parabolic shape occurred in the vicinity of the voids. The maximum GPR amplitude in the A-scan data was used to quantitatively determine the void-detection capacity. CONCLUSIONS: The 250-MHz GPR testing enabled the detection of 10 out of 12 simulated voids, whereas the 500-MHz testing allowed the detection of only five. Furthermore, the amplitude of GPR detection associated with 250-MHz testing is significantly higher than that of 500-MHz testing. This indicates that 250-MHz GPR testing is well-suited for the detection of voids located at depths ranging from 0.5~2.0 m. Testing at frequencies lower than 250 MHz is recommended for void detection at depths greater than 2 m.