Close range radar remote sensing of concrete degradation in a textile factory floor

This paper describes a GPR study carried out with the aim of evaluating deterioration of concrete floors in a textile factory, In the past, production process waste was spilt onto the floor of the factory. A slow but continuous action from this waste on the concrete caused a significant variation in its porosity that can be detected by studying changes in the GPR reflected pulse. A simple synthetic model was developed in order to obtain information about how the response of the GPR antenna pulse is affected by changes in the porosity of concrete. It should also be taken into account the different conditions of the factory floor at the time of testing, as it had been isolated from the action of waste for many years. The heterogeneous conditions of the floor and the simplicity of the model used did not allow for an accurate estimate of the porosity; however, it was possible to map degraded areas of the floor in relationship to changes in the reflected signal. Core samples taken showed that some areas had concrete porosity of 15% and up to 25%, which is closer to that of sand than to concrete. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.