Frequency 3D slice image visualization for GPR applications

Abstract

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is an efficient tool for the detection of the underground utilities. However, most data collected by GPR are in the spatial/time domain, the information in frequency domain is sometimes neglected. Joint Time-frequency Analysis (JTFA) methods are widely used to deal with the problem. In this paper, we propose a further application based on JTFA method to re-construct the frequency 3D slice image visualization (frequency C-scan) to represent the distributions of the main frequency components of the surveying area. The experiments are conducted in our sandbox with a PVC pipe buried in. After employing the proposed signal processing flow, the frequency C-scan can be re-constructed. By segmenting the frequency C-scan, frequency distribution over a surface at particular radar time/depth can be obtained. The results exhibit the capability of the proposed method to show the spatial and frequency signatures of the buried objects at certain depth.