GPR ? Finding our underground assets
Jul 12, 2007
GIGA was a 2 year, 3 month collaborative project supported by the European Commission’s 5th Framework Research Programme for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development; it was completed in 2003. A team of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) experts, manufacturers and end-users combined to improve the technology used for metallic and non-metallic buried services infrastructure location. Fundamental research and development of existing technology was driven by a comprehensive set of end-user requirements. The technology resulting from GIGA was comprehensively tested under rigorous conditions on a purpose-designed site, and the performance data was analysed and evaluated by the independent team of end-users. Significant performance improvements over the then existing state-of-the art equipment were demonstrated, and areas of investigation for further enhancements were identified.
Modern societies are completely dependent upon the buried infrastructure that transports energy, water, waste products and, increasingly, data in electronic form. The systems are so well engineered that, usually, they do their job very efficiently, so much so that ordinary citizens rarely spare them even a passing thought. Yet, without these crucial ‘arteries’, civilisation as we know it could not function.
The GIGA (Ground Penetrating Radar Innovative research for highly reliable robustness/ accuracy GAs pipe detection/location) project was a European Commission funded collaborative research study to inform and enable the design and build of a new and reliable Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). Its duration was 2 years and it was completed in December 2003. The overall objective was to design a GPR with a detection performance significantly improved compared to the then existing generation of equipment, and robust enough to be used with confidence on diverse types of pipes buried in a range of soils types.
- Thales Air Defence Systems (France) – Project Coordinator
- Ingegneria dei Sistemi SpA (Italy)
- Gaz de France (France)
- Tracto-Technik Spezialmaschinen (TT Group) (Germany)
- GERG – The European Gas Research Group (Belgium)
- OSYS Technology Ltd (UK)
- A meticulous assessment of the performance of a state-of-the-art GPR in surveys conducted under controlled conditions at dedicated test sites
- Radar technology improvements, including multi-parameter/variable configuration of the radar
- Development of new simulation tools to enable a fresh, theoretical view of the problem to form the basis of an improved equipment design
- Development of software processing tools to reduce the need for highly trained operators.
In the following, the main results of the project are described.
To assess the performance achievable by a GPR when used for detecting utilities, an intensive survey was carried out in the trial area established by Gaz de France in Saint Denis, France (Figure 3 and Figure 4).
- a detection rate greater than 80 % to 2 metres depth;
- a false alarm rate less than 10 %;
- a 40 mm accuracy of location both in the horizontal and vertical plane, and;
- a resolution better than 300 mm.
During the GIGA project, simulation tools capable of modelling the electrical behaviour of buried targets and their environment were developed.
In a longer term, the main objective of GPR design is to achieve a clutter-free dynamic range that is as large as possible, specifically to increase the depth range.
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is the only known non-invasive technique that can detect metallic and non-metallic buried objects, but conventional pulse time-domain technology has reached the limit of its development potential. Innovative research is clearly needed to provide an advance in the state-of-the art.
- provide a step change in the depth penetration and spatial resolution of GPR used for surveys carried out from the ground surface. This will be achieved by increasing the frequency and dynamic range of the radar by researching and developing Stepped Frequency Continuous Wave techniques and ultra wide-band antennas with performance independent of ground characteristics.
- develop a GPR that increases safety when applying trenchless technologies,
- increase knowledge of the electrical behaviour of the ground, by means of in-situ measurements to enhance understanding of the sub-soil electrical environment, and to provide information for scientifically based antenna design.
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Contact
Guido Manacorda [INGEGNERIA DEI SISTEMI s.p.a.]
Pisa, Italy
Phone:
+39 050 312411