Detection of fluid leakage using ground penetrating radar

Abstract

The reliability of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a new positional technology for underground utility especially in the water supply distribution. Thus, water supply distribution system has to be maintained in order to prevent shortage of water supply in an area. This study emphasized on the detection of fluid leakage using GPR. Several tests such as soil compaction, GPR calibration and two experiments are performed. Soil compaction is conducted to clarify the maximum dry density (MDD) of sand. Sand is used in this study because sand produces small dielectric constant in reflecting the GPR signal. The study involved GPR calibration at National Institute of Land and Survey (INSTUN) test base area. GPR calibration is performed to make sure that the equipment is in good condition. Next, the pipe leakage simulation is conducted at the selected site. The experiment is directed on good and broken pipe condition. Consequently, result of GPR calibration and data on GPR are processed using Reflex 2D software. Feasibility study on different types of pipe condition images proved the extraction of features is complimentary to visual inspection. In this study, the spatial distribution of the contaminated soil or different dielectric permittivity of the soil is analyzed by interpreting the GPR image based on GPR reflection coefficients. As a conclusion, the development of underground infrastructure especially in water supply management in this study is expected to work well in order to help many sectors not only for country development but also for authority well-being and academic purposes. Throughout this study, Geomatics profession has contribute in providing valuable evidence on fluid leaks location and mapping the network.