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Title |
Development of a Stepped Frequency Continuous Wave Radar for Detecting Reinforcing Bars of Concrete Structures
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Authors |
이상호(Sangho Lee) ; 이주형(Joo-Hyung Lee) ; 최지영(Ji-Young Choi) ; 곽임종(Imjong Kwahk) ; 조창빈(Changbin Joh) ; 조근희(Keunhee Cho) |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.4334/JKCI.2024.36.6.611 |
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Keywords |
비파괴 검사; 계단 주파수 연속파 레이더; 지표투과 레이더; 이미지 포커싱; 콘크리트 구조물 nondestructive testing; stepped frequency continuous wave radar; ground penetrating radar; image focusing; concrete structure |
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Abstract |
Commercial ground penetrating radar (GPR) is widely used to obtain interior images of concrete structures. However, the preset design parameters of commercial GPR equipment make it difficult to optimize for specific situations or incorporate the latest technologies. Therefore, there is a need to develop radar equipment that can be customized for various purposes. This study conducted numerical simulations and experiments to develop a stepped frequency continuous wave (SFCW) radar for the nondestructive examination of concrete structures. First, numerical simulations of SFCW radar inspection of rebars within concrete were performed to investigate the effect of design parameters on the quality of interior images of structures. The main design parameters considered in the simulations included frequency range, antenna spacing, synthetic aperture distance, and beamwidth. B-scan data were obtained from the simulations, followed by image focusing on the B-scan data. From the focused images, the azimuth and range resolutions at the rebar positions were measured, and the influence of the main design parameters was analyzed. Based on these results, the SFCW radar system was constructed, and operational strategies were established. To validate the system, an internal inspection experiment on reinforced concrete specimens was conducted. The results demonstrated that the developed SFCW radar was effective in inspecting the interior of concrete structures.
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