Ground Penetrating Radar
MME's ground penetrating radar (GPR) services cover a wide range of nondestructive testing applications. The application of the technology is often used in conjunction with our other services, thus bolstering a broader and deeper solutions package.
GPR has been called the "newest thing in NDT" in engineering circles, but the technology has been used in the military for almost 30 years.
GPR is now widely used in civil engineering, building construction, archaeology, geology, and many more applications. MME is proud of it's GPR services in the following areas:
Concrete structure evaluation - We locate reinforcement in elevated slabs and slab on grade, providing depth of cover and orientation; detect voids such as empty block cells, and slab thickness.
Pavements, driveways, runways - Using this completely non-destructive testing technique, we can determine the thickness (or variation in thickness) of any slab on grade.
Utility location and mapping - Using multiple antenna outfits, our state of the art equipment is used to locate buried pipes, cable conduits buried several feet below the surface. We also quickly and accurately locate underground storage tanks and other buried objects.
Road testing, bridge decks - The cost of repairing a section of a roadway that has caved in due to sinkhole formation or water erosion can be tremendous, while being dangerously inconveniencing normal public life as well. Our high-resolution antenna is used in the study of the deterioration of bridge decks. Detection of sinkholes and other subsurface anomalies with our GPR system can help avert the tremendous costs due to damages to life and property.
In the evaluation of concrete structures, GPR delivers solutions that are beyond comparison to that offered by traditional radiography or with metal detectors.
GPR data processing allows us to generate reports with 3-D data representation that makes it easy to interpret and use the results of the evaluations. Multiple layers of reinforcement in concrete structures can be detected.
Moreover, since RADAR energy does not pose any health risks to personnel, most jobs can be performed during normal work hours without the need for special allowances.
Results are obtained quickly - in many cases, instantly - and GPR is very cost effective.
Evaluation of concrete structures by radiographic methods costs more and usually requires access to two sides of the structure. With our GPR system, we only need access to one side.
Our Ground Penetrating Radar evaluation technique saves time and money. It gives quick and reliable results. GPR is the modern way to avoid the high costs of repairs of damaged reinforcement and buried utility lines.
It is this "vision" into the make-up of civil structures and the subsurface that leads to informed decision making in the field and at the office.