Applications for Concrete Scanning
When you need to identify what’s going on within/or beneath your concrete, ground penetrating radar concrete scanning is the most effective and non-intrusive method. Concrete scanning is useful in a wide variety of applications from locating rebar and holes to measuring the depth of an asphalt surface.
When you need concrete scanning services, you need to enlist the help of an experienced and trustworthy concrete scanning company. At Concrete Visions, we have extensive experience with completing concrete scans with an excellent track record of success. We provide concrete scanning to clients in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.
What is concrete scanning used for?
Ground penetrating radar is able to create a 3D image of the materials within/or beneath your concrete surface and is useful for identifying a wide range of issues. GPR is very effective at locating post tension cables, rebar, wire mesh, conduits (both metallic and non-metallic), dowel bars and tie-bars in bridge and road construction applications, and radiant heat tubes. It is also reliably able to detect hollow core slabs and measure the depth of construction materials such as asphalt and ground cover.
GPR works most reliably at depths of 14-16”, but can be used for applications of up to 24”. Concrete scanning is also able to detect holes underneath slab-on-grade though it is usually impossible to determine the exact thickness of a void. The detection of glass rebar can be tricky as it tends to return a low response, but a skilled technician will be able to employ GPR to effectively identify its presence.
Though less reliable, concrete scanning can be employed to locate cracks near the surface of the concrete as well (this is more accurate when voids are filled with water). Rebar corrosion can also sometimes be analyzed, but it requires a large sample size to find anomalies as corroded rebar does not generate a strong hyperbola.
When your job requires concrete scanning services, trust the experts at Concrete Visions. Our technicians are highly trained and skilled at responding to the needs of your specific job.
Is there anything concrete scanning can’t do?
While GPR is incredibly effective in most applications, it is unable to detect concrete steel fibers because they scatter the GPR waves. It also cannot measure the exact size and diameter of rebar or a pipe: The technology can offer an approximation of the size, but is unable to determine the exact diameter.