Ground penetrating radar signal processing techniques for airfield evaluations

The University of Florida, Electronic Communications Laboratory (ECL), as part of a project with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), is investigating the utility of ground penetrating radar (GPR) for airfield evaluations. It is expected that the GPR and the results of current research will assist the Air Force in assessing airfields with less coring and allow more rapid and accurate airfield evaluations by providing continuous estimates of the pavement and subsurface conditions. AFRL has conducted airfield measurements using a high-resolution GPR mounted on a test van. Using time domain data from a pair of ground-coupled antennas, one in bistatic mode and the other in monostatic mode, the thickness of pavement and other subsurface layers can be estimated. In order for GPR to be useful for airfield evaluations, practical considerations such as automated data processing capability and efficient data analysis procedures have also been addressed. This paper will describe novel approaches and signal processing techniques developed for detecting layer interface boundaries and estimating the layer properties using GPR. In addition, the software tools developed to facilitate airfield evaluations will be discussed. Finally, surface layer thickness estimates will be compared to measured cores from a recent airfield assessment.