The effect of fracture aperture and filling material on GPR signal

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) was used to locate fractures and distinguish fracture properties at the laboratory and field scales. Laboratory studies were performed to define the effects of fractures on the GPR signal. In the laboratory, a fracture between two blocks of crystalline rock was filled...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of engineering geology and the environment 2014, Vol.73 (3), p.815-823
Main Authors: Markovaara-Koivisto, M., Hokkanen, T., Huuskonen-Snicker, E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aperture
Apertures
Crystalline rocks
Detection
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Foundations
Fractures
Geoecology/Natural Processes
Geoengineering
Geological engineering
Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences
Ground penetrating radar
Hydraulics
Laboratories
Nature Conservation
Original Paper
Polarity
Quarries
Radar
Resolution
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) was used to locate fractures and distinguish fracture properties at the laboratory and field scales. Laboratory studies were performed to define the effects of fractures on the GPR signal. In the laboratory, a fracture between two blocks of crystalline rock was filled with water or air, and the aperture of the fracture was varied from 0.75 to 10 cm. Air-filled and water-filled fractures were successfully distinguished on the basis of GPR signal polarity changes. Moreover, it was possible to estimate the fracture aperture when it was wider than the vertical resolution of the antenna. For instance, the resolution of a 800-MHz antenna enables the detection of 1-cm-wide water-filled openings. Armed with knowledge of the signal behavior at the laboratory scale, the apertures and the filling materials of fractures were also estimated in uncontrolled field conditions. These field studies were carried out in a dimension stone quarry of migmatitic granodiorite located in Southern Finland.
ISSN:1435-9529
1435-9537
DOI:10.1007/s10064-013-0566-4