Comparative Study of Ground Penetrating Radar Systems with Time Delay Methods for Accurate Pavement Thickness and Dielectric Constant Estimation

Abstract

The applicability of using ground penetrating radar (GPR) as a non-destructive technology for estimating the thickness and dielectric constant of pavement layers has been extensively documented in the literature. Time delay methods (TDMs) have been the most commonly used by researchers. However, various studies have reported different results with respect to the suitability of different GPR systems and TDMs for dielectric constant and thickness estimation. Thus, this study aims to compare the use of ground-coupled GPR and air-coupled GPR (AC-GPR) for estimating the dielectric constant of pavement materials. In the context of TDMs, the study examines three methodologies for assessing the traveled distance in the investigated layer. The study involves laboratory experiments using asphalt and dry sand. Also, it comprises a sensitivity analysis to examine the effect of different experimentation setups. The study employed two GSSI antennas: 51600S (GC-51600S) and GSSI 42000S (AC-42000S). Using the manufacturer’s recommended operation setups, the results generally indicated the possibility of simplifying the TDM calculation by considering the 42000S and 51600S antennas as monostatic for pavement materials with different dielectric constants (≥3) with an error rate within 5%. Moreover, the study indicates that using AC-GPR may be inappropriate for common midpoint analysis using the default mounting setups. These findings provide valuable insights into the suitability and limitations of different GPR systems and calculation methods for accurately estimating pavement’s dielectric constant and thickness.