pacific nw transportation consortium region 10 Pactrans

Presentation Title

Transportation Infrastructure Assessment Techniques Using Ground Penetrating Radar

Abstract

The continuous monitoring of transportation infrastructure is necessary to maintain a durable and safe system. Many noninvasive techniques have been used including instrumentation, acoustic emission, infrared, and electromagnetic waves.  Ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology based on electromagnetic waves has been used to assess the performance of transportation facilities for the past three decades. After all this time, the main question remains: “How well does GPR work and under what conditions?” Results show that while GPR works well for some situations, it is not appropriate for others. GPR has been successfully used for bridge and pavement assessment, primarily for estimating layer thickness and localizing moisture accumulation within structure layers. However, GPR data interpretation is often difficult because the “images” obtained from GPR-reflected signals are dependent on the priori unknown dielectric properties of structural materials. In addition, GPR cannot detect layer interfaces unless a significant contrast in the dielectric constants exists between the two considered materials. GPR data analysis can also be cumbersome and unreliable due to the large amount of data collected during the surveys. Various signal and data processing techniques have been developed to estimate the dielectric properties of surveyed structures from GPR reflected signals. These processing techniques have been successfully used to enhance the accuracy of GPR data interpretation results and to improve the quality of the GPR signal. Among his diverse research interests, Dr. Al-Qadi has been working on GPR research for more than two decades. He is currently working on utilizing GPR data to predict in-situ real-time asphaltic material density. Dr. Al-Qadi will discuss the recently developed techniques and their field application for quality control/quality assurance, predicting the layer thicknesses of pavement systems, detecting flaws, and predicting density of asphalt concrete.

Speaker

Professor Imad Al-Qadi is the Founder Professor of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is also the Director of the Advanced Transportation Research and Engineering Laboratory (ATREL) and the founding Director of the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT). Prior to that, he was the Charles E. Via, Jr. Professor at Virginia Tech. A registered professional engineer, Professor Al-Qadi has authored/co-authored more than 550 publications and has delivered more than 550 presentations including numerous keynote lectures. He has led more than 100 projects to completion. In addition, he is managing more than 60 projects annually as an ICT director since 2006. He is the past president of the ASCE T&DI Board of Governors and the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Pavement Engineering. Professor Al-Qadi has received numerous prestigious national and international honors and awards including the NSF Young Investigator Award, the quadrennial IGS Award, the ASCE James Laurel Prize, the ARTBA Steinberg Award, the ASCE Turner Award, and the French Limoges Medal. He is a Chapter Honorary Member of Chi Epsilon at the University of Illinois, an Honorary Member of the Societa Italiana Infrastructure Viarie, Emeritus Member of TRB Committee AHD25 on Sealants and Fillers for Joints and Cracks, and an Honorary Professor at Southeast University in Nanjing, China, and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2010 he was elected as an ASCE Distinguished Member, the highest honor by ASCE, for his exemplary leadership and innovation in the civil engineering profession. Dr. Al-Qadi holds a B.S. degree from Yarmouk University and M.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees from Penn State University, all in civil engineering. His expertise are on highway and airfield pavement mechanics, tire loading, fracture, and interface, GPR, asphalt rheology, pavement sustainability, and forensic engineering and arbitration.

For questions, please contact Maria Bayya, assistant director for PacTrans, at pactrans@uw.edu or (206) 685‐6648.