GPR applications for geotechnical stability of transportation infrastructures

Benedetto, Andrea, Benedetto, Francesco and Tosti, Fabio ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0291-9937 (2012) GPR applications for geotechnical stability of transportation infrastructures. Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation, 27 (3). pp. 253-262. ISSN 1058-9759

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Abstract

Nowadays, severe meteorological events are always more frequent all over the world. This causes a strong impact on the environment such as numerous landslides, especially in rural areas. Rural roads are exposed to an increased risk for geotechnical instability. In the meantime, financial resources for maintenance are certainly decreased due to the international crisis and other different domestic factors. In this context, the best allocation of funds becomes a priority: efficiency and effectiveness of plans and actions are crucially requested. For this purpose, the correct localisation of geotechnically instable domains is strategic. In this paper, the use of Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) for geotechnical inspection of pavement and sub-pavement layers is proposed. A three-step protocol has been calibrated and validated to allocate efficiently and effectively the maintenance funds. In the first step, the instability is localised through an inspection at traffic speed using a 1-GHz GPR horn launched antenna. The productivity is generally about or over 300 Km/day. Data are processed offline by automatic procedures. In the second step, a GPR inspection restricted to the critical road sections is carried out using two coupled antennas. One antenna is used for top pavement inspection (1.6 GHz central frequency) and a second antenna (600 MHz central frequency) is used for sub-pavement structure diagnosis. Finally, GPR data are post-processed in the time and frequency domains to identify accurately the geometry of the instability. The case study shows the potentiality of this protocol applied to the rural roads exposed to a landslide.

Item Type: Article
Identifier: 10.1080/10589759.2012.694884
Additional Information: © 2012 Taylor & Francis. This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation, Volume 27, Issue 3, available online at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10589759.2012.694884.
Keywords: landslides; ground-penetrating radar (GPR); pavement and sub-pavement layers; instability
Subjects: Construction and engineering > Built environment
Construction and engineering > Civil and structural engineering
Depositing User: Fabio Tosti
Date Deposited: 25 May 2016 18:49
Last Modified: 06 Feb 2024 15:44
URI: https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/2103

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