Boundary recognition of tunnel lining void from ground-penetrating radar data

Abstract

Abstract Relatively low ground-penetrating radar antenna frequencies are usually selected for tunnel inspection due to the thickness of the lining, which causes the geometric features of voids in the image to be blurred and difficult to identify. Therefore, the boundary points of the voids are determined by combining reflection and attenuation coefficients, and the geometric features are constructed to identify the voids. Depending on the electromagnetic differences between the void and other mediums in the lining, when the electromagnetic wave propagates from the lining concrete to the void, the reflection coefficient is positive, and the phase of the reflected wave is the same as the incident wave. Conversely, the phase of the reflected wave is opposite to the incident wave. Therefore, the boundary point can be determined in the one dimension time-waveform diagram (A-Scan) based on the phase change. Moreover, the amplitude of the electromagnetic wave attenuates exponentially in the concrete, but it attenuates slowly in the void. Also, electromagnetic waves exhibit high-frequency characteristics in the lining but low-frequency characteristics in the voids. Boundary points that conform to the variation of amplitude and frequency characteristics in the void are screened. These boundary points are then constructed in two-dimensional scan data (B-Scan) to identify the voids by using the geometry of the voids. This method is applied to the Hu Sa Tunnel. The voids are successfully identified in the mileage section YK81+310–YK81+422 of the Hu Sa Tunnel, and the depth of cover and the area of voids are correctly estimated.