Two new stepped-frequency continuous wave (SFCW) radar sensor prototypes, based on a coherent super-heterodyne scheme, have been developed using Microwave Integrated Circuits (MICs) and Monolithic Millimeter-Wave Integrated Circuits (MMICs) for various surface and subsurface applications, such as profiling the surface and subsurface of pavements, detecting and localizing small buried Anti-Personnel (AP) mines and measuring the liquid level in a tank. These sensors meet the critical requirements for subsurface and surface measurements including small size, light weight, good accuracy, fine resolution and deep penetration. In addition, two novel wideband microstrip quasi-TEM horn antennae that are capable of integration with a seamless connection have also been designed. Finally, a simple signal processing algorithm, aimed to acquire the in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components and to compensate for the I/Q errors, was developed using LabView. The first of the two prototype sensors, named as the microwave SFCW radar sensor operating from 0.6-5.6-GHz, is primarily utilized for assessing the subsurface of pavements. The measured thicknesses of the asphalt and base layers of a pavement sample were very much in agreement with the actual data with less than 0.1-inch error. The measured results on the actual roads showed that the sensor accurately detects the 5-inch asphalt layer of the pavement with a minimal error of 0.25 inches. This sensor represents the first SFCW radar sensor operating from 0.6-5.6-GHz. The other sensor, named as the millimeter-wave SFCW radar sensor, operates in the 29.72-35.7-GHz range. Measurements were performed to verify its feasibility as a surface and sub-surface sensor. The measurement results showed that the sensor has a lateral resolution of 1 inch and a good accuracy in the vertical direction with less than  0.04-inch error. The sensor successfully detected and located AP mines of small sizes buried under the surface of sand with less than 0.75 and 0.08 inches of error in the lateral and vertical directions, respectively. In addition, it also verified that the vertical resolution is not greater than 0.75 inches. This sensor is claimed as the first Ka-band millimeter-wave SFCW radar sensor ever developed for surface and subsurface sensing applications.

Knowledge of fracture orientation and density is significant for reservoir and aquifer characterization. In this study, field experiments are designed to estimate fracture parameters in situ from seismic and GPR (radar) data. The seismic experiment estimates parameters of orientation, density, and filling material. The GPR experiment estimates channel flow geometry and aperture. In the seismic study, lines of 2D data are acquired in a vertically fractured limestone at three different azimuths to look for differences in seismic velocities. A sledgehammer, vertical source and a multicomponent, Vibroseis source are used with multicomponent receivers. Acquisition parameters of frequency, receiver spacing and source-to-receiver offset are varied. The entire suite of seismic body waves and Rayleigh waves is analyzed to characterize the subsurface. Alford rotations are used to determine fracture orientation and demonstrate good results when geophone orientation is taken into account. Results indicate that seismic anisotropy is caused by regional faulting. Average fracture density of less than 5% and water table depth estimates are consistent with field observations. Groundwater flow direction has been observed by others to cross the fault trend and is subparallel to a secondary fracture set. In this study, seismic anisotropy appears unrelated to this secondary fracture set. Vp/Vs and Poisson's ratio values indicate a dolomite lithology. Sledgehammer and Vibroseis data provide consistent results. In the GPR experiment, reflection profiles are acquired through common-offset profiling perpendicular to the dominant flow direction. High frequency waves are used to delineate fluid flow paths through a subhorizontal fracture and observe tracer channeling. Channeling of flow is expected to control solute transport. Changes in radar signal are quantitatively associated with changes in fracture filling material from an innovative method using correlation coefficients. Mapping these changes throughout the survey area reveals the geometry of the flow path of each injected liquid. The tracer is found to be concentrated in the center of the survey area where fracture apertures are large. This demonstrates that spatial variations in concentration are controlled by fluid channel geometry.

In this thesis, several aspects of GPR data processing for RC bridge decks are studied. First, autofocusing techniques are proposed to replace the previous expensive and unreliable human visual inspections during the iterative migration process for the estimation of the velocity/dielectric permittivity distribution from GPR data. Second, F-K filtering with dip relaxation is proposed for interference removal that is important for both imaging and the performance of post-processing techniques including autofocusing techniques and CS-based migration studied in this thesis. The targeted interferes here are direct waves and cross rebar reflections. The introduced dip relaxation is for accommodating surface roughness and medium inhomogeneity. Third, the newly developed CS-based migration is modified and evaluated on GPR data from RC bridge decks. A more accurate model by accounting for impulse waveform distortion that leads to less modeling errors is proposed. The impact of the selection of the regularization parameter on the comparative amplitude reservation and the imaging performance is also investigated, and an approach to preserve the comparative amplitude information while still maintaining a clear image is proposed. Moreover, the potential of initially sampling the time-spatial data with uniform sampling rates lower than that required by traditional migration methods is evaluated.

The problem of subsurface imaging with Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a challenging one. Due to the low-pass nature of soil sensors must utilise wave-lengths that are of the same order of magnitude as the object being imaged. This makes imaging difficult as straight ray approximations commonly used in higher frequency applications cannot be used. The problem becomes even more challenging when the target is shallowly buried as in this case the ground surface reflection and the near-field parameters of the radar need to be considered. This thesis has investigated the problem of imaging shallowly buried targets with GPR. Two distinct problems exist in this field radar design and the design of inverse scattering techniques. This thesis focuses on the design of inverse scattering techniques capable of taking the electric field measurements from the receiver and providing accurate images of the scatterer in real time. The thesis commences with a brief introduction to GPR theory. It then provides an extensive review of linear inverse scattering techniques applied to raw GPR data. As a result of this review the thesis draws the conclusion that, due to its strong foundations in Maxwell's equations, diffraction tomography is the most appropriate approach for imaging shallowly buried targets with GPR. A three-dimensional diffraction tomographic technique is then developed. This algorithm forms the primary contribution of the thesis. The novel diffraction tomography technique improves on its predecessors by catering for shallowly buried targets, significant antenna heights and evanescent waves. This is also the first diffraction tomography technique to be derived for a range of antenna structures. The advantages of the novel technique are demonstrated first mathematically then on synthetic and finally practical data. The algorithm is shown to be of high practical value by producing accurate images of buried targets in real time.

Low-lying coastal plains comprised of unconsolidated infill are internally complex hydrogeological settings, due to the high level of heterogeneity in the infill material. In order to resolve the hydrogeological processes active in these complex settings, an integrated multi-disciplinary, geoscientific approach is required. This research determines quantitatively, the effects of sedimentary aquifer heterogeneity on groundwater flowpaths and groundwater processes within a heavily laterised, coastal plain setting. The study site is the Bells Creek catchment in southeast Queensland, Australia. The methodology developed in this study provides a new approach to enable the determination of groundwater flowpaths and groundwater processes at macroscale resolution within other shallow alluvial and coastal plain aquifers. The multi-disciplinary approach utilises sedimentological, geophysical, chronological and hydrogeological techniques (including hydrochemistry and groundwater flow modelling) to develop a high-resolution aquifer framework, and to determine accurately, both groundwater flowpaths and relative flow rates. Sedimentary framework is confirmed to be the principal factor controlling the distribution of aquifer permeability pathways in any given setting, and is therefore, the dominant control over groundwater flow and processes. For the Bells Creek catchment, interpretation of stratigraphic and sedimentary data allowed the compilation of a detailed sedimentary framework. This interpretation demonstrated that weathering of the low-lying arkose sandstone bedrock has developed thick lateritic profiles. Within the weathering profiles, cemented, iron-rich horizons have resisted erosion and developed raised and elongated ridges in the modern landscape, while other clay-rich weathered layers have submitted to erosion and downgraded around those iron-rich ridges. Consequently, alluvial deposition throughout the Late Quaternary has been restricted to narrow, and relatively deep valleys containing sandrich channels, and thin floodplains at shallow depth. From a hydrogeological perspective, there is significant macroscopic aquifer heterogeneity between fine-grained lateritic mixed clay layers, floodplain clays, ironcemented ferricrete horizons, and permeable sand-rich alluvial aquifers. This variability of aquifer material has created a complex subsurface arrangement of permeability pathways. Application of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) in this setting enabled accurate definition of alluvial channel boundaries and the high degree of connectedness within the channels themselves. Interpretation of a comprehensive GPR dataset (that covered the entire catchment) allowed refinement of the sedimentary framework previously established to develop a detailed threedimensional aquifer framework. Finite-difference groundwater modelling and particle tracking analysis (using MODFLOW and MODPATH) has clearly demonstrated that the macroscopic heterogeneity within the various aquifer materials of the plain has marked impacts on groundwater pathways, and especially groundwater travel times. The variability between a maximum residence time of 18 months for groundwater within the alluvium, compared to hundreds of years for groundwater within the mixed clay layers of the laterite, clearly demonstrates the importance of accurately defining the spatial distribution of the various aquifer materials in a groundwater flow investigation. In this setting, the interconnection of the narrow alluvial channels feeding into a deeper alluvial delta has provided an effective conduit for shallow groundwater flow. The role of the alluvial delta in discharging the bulk of fresh groundwater from the central plain into the coastal and estuarine aquifers to the east, is certainly critical in preventing saline intrusion from encroaching further west. Hydrochemical and isotopic indicators have identified the dominant recharge processes and groundwater flowpaths within the plain, and indicated that the processes are strongly related to sub-surface permeability distributions determined in the aquifer framework (and groundwater modelling), as well as seasonal fluctuations in rainfall. In the northwest of the plain, sandstone hills provide a delayed and slightly mineralized component of groundwater recharge into adjacent highly permeable, unconfined alluvial aquifers; these aquifers also recharge directly via precipitation. Aluminosilicate weathering in the bedrock hills and eastern peripheries of the laterised bedrock are a source of excess Na, SiO2, and HCO3 to the alluvial groundwater. As this groundwater flows down-gradient to the east, however, its chemical composition evolves by sulfate reduction, silica equilibrium and ion exchange processes into a more mature Na-Cl type. Within the shallow coastal aquifers proximal to the eastern shoreline, sulfate enrichment is occurring (associated with increases in Ca, HCO3, Fe and Al) resulting in major deterioration in groundwater quality. The deterioration is produced by saline intrusion from the adjacent estuary coupled with oxidation of sulfide materials in shallow marine and estuarine clays. Reverses in salinity in those coastal aquifers have been correlated with surges in fresh recharge waters from unconfined coastal dunes and semi-confined landward alluvium, following significant rainfall events. The multi-disciplinary methodology developed, provides an effective approach for accurately defining the three-dimensional distribution of shallow aquifer material of varying permeability via detailed stratigraphic interpretation and GPR analysis. Utilising this aquifer framework, finite-difference groundwater modelling aided by hydrogeological data and hydrochemical analysis, allows accurate determination of groundwater flowpaths and groundwater processes. This research provides a new hydrogeological analogue for alluvial channel aquifers within a laterised coastal plain setting. Key Words: groundwater flow, aquifer heterogeneity, numerical modelling, hydrochemistry, recharge, ground penetrating radar, coastal plain aquifers, weathering, alluvial channels.

Este trabalho trata da simulação da propagação de ondas eletromagnéticas (1-D) em meios geológicos de propriedades físicas conhecidas (espessura, condutividade e permissividade elétrica), do registro das ondas EM refletidas (dados sintéticos) para uma antena receptora, e do uso desse registro em algoritmos de inversão e otimização que procuram estimar as propriedades físicas dos meios geológicos. Adotou-se modelos geológicos estratificados de pequena espessura (< 1,2 m) e altas frequências para a onda eletromagnética (800, 1000 e 1200 MHz). A propagação da onda eletromagnética é modelada por meio da resolução das equações de Maxwell no método FDTD. Os métodos de inversão Quasi-Newton e Otimização Ant Colony modificado são aplicados sobre os dados sintéticos para estimar os parâmetros elétricos para cada camada geológica. Ambos os métodos foram aplicados alternadamente para aumentar a precisão e a convergência ao longo da profundidade. Os métodos de inversão foram capazes de estimar simultaneamente duas propriedades eletromagnéticas do modelo geológico: a permissividade elétrica e a condutividade elétrica. Os métodos de inversão alcançaram bons resultados quando executados simultaneamente sobre os dados sintéticos em 3 diferentes frequências. Exemplos de estimativas dos perfis de condutividade e permissividade elétricas unidimensionais são apresentados, com e sem inserção de ruídos nos dados. Os resultados indicam que a combinação dos métodos de inversão (ACO modificado e Quasi-Newton) pode fornecer bons resultados para as estimativas dos parâmetros físicos de meios geológicos e geotécnicos em meios rasos. Além disso, essa combinação de métodos de inversão abre novas perspectivas para o processamento de dados georradar multi-canais. As investigações também mostram que a simulação dos perfis sintéticos por meio do método FDTD pode propagar erros em espessuras maiores de subsolo, devido ao fato de ser um método explícito. / This work deals with simulation of a 1-D electromagnetic wave propagating into a geological structure of known physical properties (thickness, electric conductivity and permittivity), the record of the reflected EM wave (synthetic data), and the use of these records in inversion and optimization algorithms to estimate back the physical properties of the geological structure. A stratified and thin (< 1.2 m) geological structure was initially constructed in order to be scanned by high frequency EM waves (800, 1000, and 1200 MHz). The EM wave propagation is simulated by Maxwell equations through FDTD method. The Quasi-Newton inversion and Ant Colony Optimization methods were applied into synthetic data to estimate original physical parameters of each geological layer. Both methods were applied in order to increase precision and convergence along depth. These methods were able to simultaneously estimate two physical properties of the geological structure: electrical permittivity and conductivity. The methods showed good results when applied simultaneously upon synthetic data of all three frequencies. Electric permittivity and conductivity profiles are shown with and without noise in the data. The results indicate that combined inversion methods can show good results to estimate physical properties of thin geological and geothecnical structures. The combined inversion methods open new perspectives to multichannel GPR data processing. The investigations also show that simulation of synthetic data through FDTD can propagate errors when dealing with thick geological structures, due to the fact that FDTD is an explicit method.

Este trabalho trata da simulação da propagação de ondas eletromagnéticas (1-D) em meios geológicos de propriedades físicas conhecidas (espessura, condutividade e permissividade elétrica), do registro das ondas EM refletidas (dados sintéticos) para uma antena receptora, e do uso desse registro em algoritmos de inversão e otimização que procuram estimar as propriedades físicas dos meios geológicos. Adotou-se modelos geológicos estratificados de pequena espessura (< 1,2 m) e altas frequências para a onda eletromagnética (800, 1000 e 1200 MHz). A propagação da onda eletromagnética é modelada por meio da resolução das equações de Maxwell no método FDTD. Os métodos de inversão Quasi-Newton e Otimização Ant Colony modificado são aplicados sobre os dados sintéticos para estimar os parâmetros elétricos para cada camada geológica. Ambos os métodos foram aplicados alternadamente para aumentar a precisão e a convergência ao longo da profundidade. Os métodos de inversão foram capazes de estimar simultaneamente duas propriedades eletromagnéticas do modelo geológico: a permissividade elétrica e a condutividade elétrica. Os métodos de inversão alcançaram bons resultados quando executados simultaneamente sobre os dados sintéticos em 3 diferentes frequências. Exemplos de estimativas dos perfis de condutividade e permissividade elétricas unidimensionais são apresentados, com e sem inserção de ruídos nos dados. Os resultados indicam que a combinação dos métodos de inversão (ACO modificado e Quasi-Newton) pode fornecer bons resultados para as estimativas dos parâmetros físicos de meios geológicos e geotécnicos em meios rasos. Além disso, essa combinação de métodos de inversão abre novas perspectivas para o processamento de dados georradar multi-canais. As investigações também mostram que a simulação dos perfis sintéticos por meio do método FDTD pode propagar erros em espessuras maiores de subsolo, devido ao fato de ser um método explícito. / This work deals with simulation of a 1-D electromagnetic wave propagating into a geological structure of known physical properties (thickness, electric conductivity and permittivity), the record of the reflected EM wave (synthetic data), and the use of these records in inversion and optimization algorithms to estimate back the physical properties of the geological structure. A stratified and thin (< 1.2 m) geological structure was initially constructed in order to be scanned by high frequency EM waves (800, 1000, and 1200 MHz). The EM wave propagation is simulated by Maxwell equations through FDTD method. The Quasi-Newton inversion and Ant Colony Optimization methods were applied into synthetic data to estimate original physical parameters of each geological layer. Both methods were applied in order to increase precision and convergence along depth. These methods were able to simultaneously estimate two physical properties of the geological structure: electrical permittivity and conductivity. The methods showed good results when applied simultaneously upon synthetic data of all three frequencies. Electric permittivity and conductivity profiles are shown with and without noise in the data. The results indicate that combined inversion methods can show good results to estimate physical properties of thin geological and geothecnical structures. The combined inversion methods open new perspectives to multichannel GPR data processing. The investigations also show that simulation of synthetic data through FDTD can propagate errors when dealing with thick geological structures, due to the fact that FDTD is an explicit method.

Este trabalho trata da simulação da propagação de ondas eletromagnéticas (1-D) em meios geológicos de propriedades físicas conhecidas (espessura, condutividade e permissividade elétrica), do registro das ondas EM refletidas (dados sintéticos) para uma antena receptora, e do uso desse registro em algoritmos de inversão e otimização que procuram estimar as propriedades físicas dos meios geológicos. Adotou-se modelos geológicos estratificados de pequena espessura (< 1,2 m) e altas frequências para a onda eletromagnética (800, 1000 e 1200 MHz). A propagação da onda eletromagnética é modelada por meio da resolução das equações de Maxwell no método FDTD. Os métodos de inversão Quasi-Newton e Otimização Ant Colony modificado são aplicados sobre os dados sintéticos para estimar os parâmetros elétricos para cada camada geológica. Ambos os métodos foram aplicados alternadamente para aumentar a precisão e a convergência ao longo da profundidade. Os métodos de inversão foram capazes de estimar simultaneamente duas propriedades eletromagnéticas do modelo geológico: a permissividade elétrica e a condutividade elétrica. Os métodos de inversão alcançaram bons resultados quando executados simultaneamente sobre os dados sintéticos em 3 diferentes frequências. Exemplos de estimativas dos perfis de condutividade e permissividade elétricas unidimensionais são apresentados, com e sem inserção de ruídos nos dados. Os resultados indicam que a combinação dos métodos de inversão (ACO modificado e Quasi-Newton) pode fornecer bons resultados para as estimativas dos parâmetros físicos de meios geológicos e geotécnicos em meios rasos. Além disso, essa combinação de métodos de inversão abre novas perspectivas para o processamento de dados georradar multi-canais. As investigações também mostram que a simulação dos perfis sintéticos por meio do método FDTD pode propagar erros em espessuras maiores de subsolo, devido ao fato de ser um método explícito. / This work deals with simulation of a 1-D electromagnetic wave propagating into a geological structure of known physical properties (thickness, electric conductivity and permittivity), the record of the reflected EM wave (synthetic data), and the use of these records in inversion and optimization algorithms to estimate back the physical properties of the geological structure. A stratified and thin (< 1.2 m) geological structure was initially constructed in order to be scanned by high frequency EM waves (800, 1000, and 1200 MHz). The EM wave propagation is simulated by Maxwell equations through FDTD method. The Quasi-Newton inversion and Ant Colony Optimization methods were applied into synthetic data to estimate original physical parameters of each geological layer. Both methods were applied in order to increase precision and convergence along depth. These methods were able to simultaneously estimate two physical properties of the geological structure: electrical permittivity and conductivity. The methods showed good results when applied simultaneously upon synthetic data of all three frequencies. Electric permittivity and conductivity profiles are shown with and without noise in the data. The results indicate that combined inversion methods can show good results to estimate physical properties of thin geological and geothecnical structures. The combined inversion methods open new perspectives to multichannel GPR data processing. The investigations also show that simulation of synthetic data through FDTD can propagate errors when dealing with thick geological structures, due to the fact that FDTD is an explicit method.

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has been extensively utilized as a highly efficient and non-destructive testing method for infrastructure evaluation, such as highway rebar detection, bridge decks inspection, asphalt pavement monitoring, underground pipe leakage detection, railroad ballast assessment, etc. The focus of this dissertation is to investigate the key techniques to tackle with GPR signal processing from three perspectives: (1) Removing or suppressing the radar clutter signal; (2) Detecting the underground target or the region of interest (RoI) in the GPR image; (3) Imaging the underground target to eliminate or alleviate the feature distortion and reconstructing the shape of the target with good fidelity. In the first part of this dissertation, a low-rank and sparse representation based approach is designed to remove the clutter produced by rough ground surface reflection for impulse radar. In the second part, Hilbert Transform and 2-D Renyi entropy based statistical analysis is explored to improve RoI detection efficiency and to reduce the computational cost for more sophisticated data post-processing. In the third part, a back-projection imaging algorithm is designed for both ground-coupled and air-coupled multistatic GPR configurations. Since the refraction phenomenon at the air-ground interface is considered and the spatial offsets between the transceiver antennas are compensated in this algorithm, the data points collected by receiver antennas in time domain can be accurately mapped back to the spatial domain and the targets can be imaged in the scene space under testing. Experimental results validate that the proposed three-stage cascade signal processing methodologies can improve the performance of GPR system.

The subject of this master’s thesis is the diagnostic survey of the industry cast-in-place hall. The thesis contains theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part is focused on available options of diagnostic methods and options of materials evaluation. The practical part contains material assessment of chosen elements of construction. This part of thesis is focused on localizing the position and the diameter of reinforcement in every single element. Next step is focused on the quality of the concrete, particularly compressive strength and modulus of elasticity. The modern machines, like Hilti PS 1000 and Profometer PM-630, are used to localize the position and diameter of reinforcement. The quality of concrete is determined by removed bore core. Evaluation of material characteristics of the structure is in the conclusion.