When you’re planning any project that requires digging or disruption of the soil in any way, knowing what’s underground is essential. Ground penetrating radar, or GPR, uses sophisticated radar technology to help you see what’s under the soil. Not only does this help ensure that your project can continue safely, but it can help ensure that you’re not disrupting utilities or more. Today we’ll walk you through some of the basics of GPR!
Safety First
Knowing what’s underground before you start digging is critical to the safety of your staff, equipment, your site, and the community. Hidden electric wires, water or sewage pipes, and even metal or unexpected stone can all create serious issues. From electrocution, a flooded sight, and broken or overworked equipment – the risks can be quite high. Using GPR lets you see where underground objects are located so that you can begin your dig informed and adjust how you move forward accordingly.
How Does GPR Work?
While there are a few variations in GPR depending on the type used, in general, the way it works is straightforward. Using radio wave signals, a small human operated machine is used to survey the entirety of a planned grid location. As the radio signals are sent out they penetrate the ground and then are pinged back to the sensor when they hit something. This technology allows you to see a variety of features in one way or another. While it technically can not specify what is buried, the results are affected by certain materials in different ways. A trained GPR specialist will be able to take the data collected and create a map of what might be located under the scanned locations. Areas where metallic or electrically active features are located will create a very easy to spot indication. If there are materials that are less obvious, like inactive materials, large rocks or disturbed soil, these features will be visible but present in a different manner. Depending on where you are digging, being able to spot these less dramatic differences is critical because you may be happening upon a site where archeologists must be called in.
Concrete Cutting and Coring Services from Concrete Visions
Concrete Visions has over 12 years of experience and expertise in concrete scanning and we know how to detect any problems lurking beneath the surface. We use ground penetrating radar accurately and expertly and are familiar with many other methods that can be used when appropriate like concrete x-ray and electromagnetic conductivity. We are also very familiar with the latest construction safety techniques and train all of our workers to do their work quickly, accurately, and safely. If you would like to learn more about how we can help you, give us a call at (410) 766-2210 or visit us online. For more articles and tips, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.