The effect of ground penetrating radar (GPR) image reflection on different pipes and soil

Abstract

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) works as an instrument to look for buried objects whether it is natural or man-made. GPR transmits electromagnetic (EM) wave to the ground by transmitter and the signal reflects back to the receiver. In this study, the soil characteristics were monitored based on various types of pipe underground in order to determine the reflectivity of the EM wave. Two types of pipes; iron and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe were buried in two different types of soil; clay and sand. These simulations were used to monitor which type of pipe will give the most effective reflection of EM wave on that particular type of soil. The study was performed by using multiband frequency GPR of 250MHz, 400MHz, 700MHz and 900MHz. The use of multiband frequency was to identify the most suitable frequency in order to gain the most effective reflection of EM wave. The data was processed by using Reflex2DQuick software. The higher the frequency, the lower the depth penetration, but the better the resolution. The study findings showed that the power of reflectivity was high at 700MHz frequency for both pipes in both clay and sand soil types. However, the value of power reflectivity for iron pipe was higher than compared to PVC pipe at both soil textures. Meanwhile, the resolution of radargram for both pipes were much better at sand compared to clay. This information would be a helpful to the surveyors and this knowledge will make their consumed work time more efficient as they get to know more specific value of frequency that is the most suitable to gain the most effective reflection of EM wave.