Principal Investigator(s):
Joseph Labuz, Professor, Civil, Environmental and Geo-Engineering
Co-Investigators:
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Bojan Guzina, Professor, Civil, Environmental and Geo-Engineering
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Gene Skok, Former University Researcher, Civil, Environmental and Geo-Engineering
Project summary:
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a nondestructive, high-speed field test that can provide a continuous profile of highway conditions. GPR has potential to be used for a variety of pavement testing applications, including measuring the thickness of asphalt pavement, base, and subgrade; analyzing rutting mechanisms, calculating and verifying material properties; locating subsurface objects; detecting stripping and/or layer separation; detecting subsurface moisture; and determining depth to near-surface bedrock and peat deposits. As previous research demonstrated that GPR can be immediately effective in many of these applications in Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) made a significant commitment to developing GPR. This project focused on cooperation and technology transfer with other local and state agencies as well as the private sector, factors that were crucial to the future success and universal acceptance of GPR.