High Resolution Concrete Imaging

High Resolution Concrete Imaging Quick Start Guide Field Operations Introduction 3 Section 1: Hardware Assembly & Startup System 4 Section 2: Parameter Settings 5 Section 3: Distance Calibration 6 Section 4: Depth Calibration 7 Section 5: Position Calibration 9 Section 6: Reinforced Concrete Slab 10 Section 7: Pan & Joist Slab 11 Section 8: Waffle Slab 12 Section 9: Precast Slab 13 Section 10: Post Tensioned Slab 14 Section 11: Medal Decking Slab 15 Section 12: Slab-On-Grade (Ground) 16 Section 13: Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) Wall 17 Appendix A: Grid Selection 18 Appendix B: Scanning Process 19 Appendix C: Marking Guidelines 20 Appendix D: Troubleshooting 22 Appendix E: Frequently Asked Questions 23 Appendix F: How Does GPR Work 24

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Introduction This Quick Start Guide will help you with the field operation using the GPR system in High Resolution Concrete Imaging (HRCI). This is meant as a supplement for the SIR-3000 manual that was also included with your system. Be sure to read through both this document and the main manual before starting. High Resolution Concrete Imaging: Use with either 2600 MHz, 2000 MHz,1500/1600 MHz, or 900 MHz antennas. This manual is for a quick linescan into a concrete slab. You will use it to note the location of rebar, conduit, post tensioned cables, etc., in real time so you can mark its location on the slab. 3 P age

Section 1: Hardware Assembly & System Startup 1. Connect the antenna to the SIR-3000. a. If you are using the 900 MHz antenna, attached the survey wheel assembly to the antenna. Connect the antenna to the system with the blue cord. b. If you are using the 2600, 1500/1600 MHz antenna, velcro the antenna into the minicart. Make sure that the lead from the minicart is connected to the antenna's electronics box. This lead is the short, black cable. c. If you are using the Palm Antenna, plug the cable from the antenna directly into the SIR-3000. Instructor Tips: Detailed assembly setup information can be found in the Manufacturers Manuals. 2. Insert battery in battery slot, and press the POWER button. 3. On the Startup Screen make sure "English" units is bold. If not, press the INSERT MARK button. 4. Select CONCRETE SCAN from the menu on the bottom of the screen. 4 P age

Section 2: Parameter Settings 1. Place the minicart on the surface you will be imaging. 2. Press the Run/Stop button twice to initialize the system. 3. Enter the settings shown on Figure 2.1 in the parameters menu using the UP/DOWN ARROWS, and ENTER button. COLLECT o RADAR 1.5/1.6 GHz (or select the antenna attached) MODE = Distance GPS = None o SCAN DEPTH = 12 IN DIEL = 6.25 CONCRETE = Mod. Dry TEST_DIEL = OFF SCN/UNIT = 5/IN o POSITION AUTO PLAYBACK o SCAN DIEL = 6.25 o PROCESS AGC = OFF MIGRATION = OFF OUTPUT o DISPLAY C_TABLE = 4 C_XFORM = 2 GAIN(dB) = 0 Figure 2.1 5 P age

Section 3: Distance Calibration 1. To calibrate the distance wheel either using the minicart, palm antenna, or survey wheel on the 900 MHz antenna, perform the following. o Measure out 10 inches on the floor. o Align the white line on the minicart at the start of the measured distance. o Highlight COLLECT < RADAR < MODE using the up/down arrow keys, and press the ENTER button. o Use the up arrow button to select TIME, and then press the RIGHT ARROW key. o Press the ENTER button again, and use the DOWN ARROW button to select DISTANCE, and then press the right arrow button. o Press the ENTER button. o Move the antenna 10 inches to the stop mark. o At the stop mark, the number shown in Figure 3.1 should not be 0. This ensures the survey wheel is working properly. o Press the ENTER button to save calibration. o Press the RIGHT ARROW button to exit the screen. Figure 3.1 6 P age

Section 4: Depth Calibration Depth can be calibrated two ways onsite: Ground Truth (known depth of target or slab thickness), or dielectric. GROUND TRUTH METHOD Look around the site for a hole in the floor big enough to stick a tape measure down, and measure the slab thickness. If no hole is available, use the Dielectric method on the next page. 1. Use a tape measure to measure the slab thickness in an existing hole in the slab. 2. Press the Run/Setup button and record a single line scan next to the hole in any direction. 3. Press the Run/Stop button to bring up the cross hair lines. 4. Use the Up/Down arrows to move the horizontal line to the middle of the first black line at the bottom of the slab. (Figure 4.1) 5. Press the DEPTH button on the key pad. 6. Use the Up/Down arrows to enter the value that was measured in the existing hole in the slab. 7. Press the ENTER button to save the setting. 8. Press the RIGHT ARROW button to exit the screen. Figure 4.1 7 P age

DIELECTRIC METHOD OF DEPTH CALIBRATION Under the menu COLLECT < SCAN < DIEL, make sure 6.25 is entered. Note: If completing a Slab On Grade exploration, ask the client to verify slab thickness by using a hammer drill to drill a hole and verify slab thickness. 8 P age

Section 5: Position Calibration To calibrate the position (surface) on the SIR-3000, perform the following: 1. Highlight COLLECT<POSITION<SURFACE and press the ENTER button. 2. Use the UP or DOWN ARROW button to line up the horizontal line with the center of the first right peak on the O-Scope as shown in Figure 5.1. 3. Press the ENTER button to save the position calibration. 4. Press the RIGHT ARROW button to exit the screen. Figure 5.1 9 P age

Section 6: Reinforced Concrete Slab Introduction: Typical construction consists of reinforcement and girder beams or joists. Reinforcement will be uniformly spaced in both directions. Reinforcement will be a uniform distance from the slab surface. Topping slab of 1-4 inches may be used, and slab may have embedded electrical conduit. Equipment Needed: GPR system & 1.5 GHz or 2.0 GHz palm antenna, Utility locator Drill Spotter Plan View GPR View Plan View Scanning Notes: Check each area with utility locator first to identify energized conduit locations. Verify possible conduit locations using GPR. Additional reinforcement may be present around columns or edges of buildings. Marking Guidelines: Solid black box, Solid Red Line with 1 Inch Buffers Antenna Position: Normal 10 P age

Section 7: Pan Joist Slab Introduction: Typical construction consists of reinforcement and girder beams or joists. Reinforcement will be uniformly spaced in both directions. Reinforcement will be a uniform distance from the slab surface. Topping slab of 1-4 inches may be used, and slab may have embedded electrical conduit. Equipment Needed: GPR system & 1.5 GHz or 2.0 GHz palm antenna Utility locator Drill Spotter Plan View GPR View Plan View Scanning Notes: Check each area with utility locator first to identify energized conduit locations. Verify possible conduit locations using GPR. Turn antenna transverse (sideways) and check for beam and joist edges. Marking Guidelines: Solid black box, Solid Red Line with 1 Inch Buffers, Dashed Red Lines w/ Hashed Lines for beam edges. Antenna Position: Normal and Transverse (sideways) 11 P age

Section 8: Waffle Slab Introduction: Typical construction consists of a perimeter footing (edge beam) and a series of narrow internal beams (strip footings) at one meter nominal centers running each way. May have topping slab with embedded conduit. Reinforced with wire mesh or rebar. Plan View Plan View Equipment Needed: GPR system & 1.5 GHz or 2.0 GHz palm antenna Utility locator Drill Spotter GPR View Scanning Notes: Check each area with utility locator first to identify energized conduit locations. Verify possible conduit locations using GPR. Turn antenna transverse (sideways) and check for beam and joist edges. Marking Guidelines: Solid black box, Solid Red Line with 1 Inch Buffer, Dashed Red Lines w/ Hashed Lines for beam edges. Antenna Position: Normal and Transverse (sideways) 12 P age

Section 9: Precast Slab Introduction: A precast plan slabs typically come in 2, 4, 6, or 8 foot widths of varying lengths supported with "I" beams. Pre-stressed tendons are typically in the bottom of slabs, but can be installed on the top. Tendons are not located in hollow core locations. Typically constructed with a 1-4 inch topping slab the may have wire mesh reinforcement and embedded conduit. Tendon spacing should be straight, and identical on each plank of similar size. Equipment Needed: GPR system & 1.5 GHz or 2.0 GHz palm antenna Utility locator Drill Spotter Scanning Notes: Check each area with utility locator first to identify energized conduit locations. Verify conduit locations using GPR. Mark center of hollow core locations with red dashed lines. Tendons can only be located from scanning from bottom of slab. Plan View GPR View Marking Guidelines: Solid black box, Solid Red Line with 1 Inch Buffer, Dashed Red Lines Antenna Position: Transverse (sideways) 13 P age

Section 10: Post Tensioned Slab Introduction: Post Tensioned (PT) cables are 3/4'' in diameter and have multiple 1/8'' diameter steel tendons in the blue/green/white greased casing. PT cables are laid out prior to the pouring of concrete. After the concrete cures, a hydraulic jack is used to tension the PT cables to 120 kips of pressure. Severing of PT cables can cause damage to the interior or exterior of the building and possibly injure personnel. Equipment Needed: GPR system & 1.5 GHz or 2.0 GHz palm antenna Drill Spotter. Plan View GPR View Plan View Scanning Notes: PT cables change depth throughout the slab. It becomes difficult to identify possible PT around columns, or the edges of the building. Image each location with the antenna in the normal, and transverse (sideways) to check for lower targets. Marking Guidelines: Solid black box, Solid Red Line with 2 Inch Buffer, Dashed Red Lines Antenna Position: Normal and Transverse (sideways) 14 P age

Section 11: Metal Decking Slab Introduction: Steel metal decking is simpler, faster, lighter, and economical to construct. Typically reinforced with wire mesh, but sometimes rebar. Steel decking sheets with upper and lower "ribs", is supported by Steel I beams. Plan View Profile View Equipment Needed: GPR system & 1.5 GHz antenna Utility locator GPR View Scanning Notes: Turn antenna transverse (sideways) to perform scanning. Check each area with utility locator first to identify energized conduit locations. Verify conduit locations using GPR. Shear studs in I beams may be visible. Mark shear stud locations and explain to contractor that signifies "I" beam locations. Marking Guidelines: Solid black box, Solid Red Line with 1 Inch Buffer, Dashed Red Lines w/ Hashed Lines Antenna Position: Transverse (sideways) 15 P age

Section 12: Slab On Grade (Ground) Introduction: Slab on Grade, or slab on ground construction is typically reinforced with 6x6-inch wire mesh, or rebar with a standard grid of varying spacing sizes. Do not mark wire mesh unless requested by the client. Ask client if slab contains any "Pex Tubing" (in floor heating), or electrical conduit. Profile View Plan View Equipment Needed: GPR system & 1.5 GHz or 2.0 GHz palm antenna Utility locator GPR View Scanning Notes: Check each area with utility locator first to identify energized conduit locations. Verify conduit locations using GPR. Footings at the edge of buildings will have thicker concrete areas. Voids will appear as bright white areas as indicated on GPR view example. Marking Guidelines: Solid black box, Solid Red Line with 1 Inch Buffer, Dashed Red Lines Antenna Position: Normal and Transverse (sideways) 16 P age

Section 13: Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) Walls Introduction: CMU blocks have hollow cores that are reinforced with rebar in alternating cores. The cores with rebar are grout filled. Bond Beam is a horizontal piece of reinforcement that may be visible in the wall typically placed every 4 th block layer Equipment Needed: GPR system & 1.5 GHz or 2.0 GHz palm antenna Utility locator Plan View GPR View Scanning Notes: Check each area with utility locator first to identify energized conduit locations. Verify conduit locations using GPR. Marking Guidelines: Solid black box, Solid Red Line with 1 Inch Buffer, Dashed Red Lines Antenna Position: Normal 17 P age

Appendix A: Onsite Arrival & Grid Selection Prior to arriving onsite: Grid Selection Call client 15 minutes prior to arrival onsite to notify them of your arrival. At each location, ask the client which direction the location can shift if obstructions are present. Onsite Arrival: Tailor the imaging area to the response from the client. Look up and try to determine what type of slab it is. Reference Quick Start Guide for reference. Most likely the type of slab above you is that you are standing on and will be imaging. Perform walk-through with client to locate all imaging areas. A minimum of 12 inches should be used in each direction of the proposed location. Standard imaging area is a 2x2-foot area, but can be dictated by client depending on location requirements. Mark all location imaging areas with short black lines indicating boundary areas under client direction. DO NOT CREATE THE SOLID BOX UNTIL YOU START IMAGING THE AREA 18 P age

Appendix B: Scanning Process Step 1 - Step 2 - Connect small black lines from walkthrough to make a black box to be known as the "Imaging Area". (Figure B.1) Standard size is approximately 2x2-foot but should be tailored to client needs. Place the cart on the outside edge of the imaging area as shown (Figure B.2), press the Run/Setup button to start recording data. Push the cart the full length of the imaging area. Pull cart back and mark center of targets with small 1 inch marks on one side of the antenna only. Mark targets in the slab with a single mark, identify targets attached to, or below the slab with two small 1 inch marks. Move the cart 2-6 inches and press Next File. Do not save file unless requested. Repeat process. Figure B.1 Figure B.2 19 P age

Step 3 - The marks should start to line up to give you visual indication of the location of targets. (Figure B.3) Step 4 - Reference Marking Guideline Instructions in Appendix C. Use tape measure to connect marks and add buffer zones around targets on the slab. (Figure B.4) Figure B.3 Step 5 - Repeat process in Step 2 in the perpendicular direction of the imaging area. (Figure B.5) Avoid running mini cart over previously located targets. Figure B.4 Figure B.5 20 P age

Step 6 - Tell the client you have imaged everything inside the black box, and solid red means stop. Slab penetrations should not be made in any red areas without further investigation or chipping of concrete. ALWAYS USE DOUBLE CHECK TARGET LOCATIONS BY TURNING ANTENNA SIDEWAYS (TRANSVERSE), AND CLICKING THE MARK BUTTON ON HANDLE AFTER LOCATION IS COMPLETED. Figure B.6 21 P age

Appendix C: Marking Guidelines Solid Black Box - Indicates imaging area. Can vary in size depending on client requests. Technician has imaged all targets within the solid black box. 3 3 2 4 Solid Red Line - Indicates center location of target embedded within the concrete slab. Acceptable to use on columns or walls. Dashed Red Line - Indicates location of target suspended below the slab. Also use on Precast slab to identify center of hollow core locations. Dashed lines should be 3 inches with 1 inch between lines. Solid Red Line with 1 Inch Buffer- (Structural, Pan & Joist, Waffle, Precast, and Metal Decking Slabs) Minimum 1 inch thin red buffer lines on each side of thick red solid line, and 3 inch hash line spacing. Solid Red Line with 2 Inch Buffer - (Post tensioned slab) Minimum 2 inch buffer lines and 3 inch hash line spacing. Mark buffer lines with thin red line. 22 P age

3 Dashed Red Lines with Hashed Lines - (Girder Beam & Joist Edged, Bottom of Metal Decking Ribs) Size will vary with target size. Use Black marker to identify targets. ONLY the following phrases are acceptable to use when identifying targets in or below the slab, indicate phrase location with black arrow to target: TARGET ATTACHED TO BOTTOM OF SLAB TARGET SUSPENDED INCHES BELOW SLAB SLAB THICKNESS = (MEASUREMENT WITH 1/4 INCH ACCURACY) DEPTH = (MEASUREMENT WITH 1/4 INCH ACCURACY) ENERGIZED = INDICATES TARGET SHOWS ENERGIZED USING EMI X = TO INDICATE POTENTIAL POST TENSIONED CALBE, OR CONDUIT 23 P age

Appendix D: Trouble Shooting PROBLEM The control unit does not turn on. O-scope is straight and has no curves. When I try and record a line scan, no data is shown on the screen. When I try and record a line scan, the data is intermittent and had breaks in it. TRY Check battery. Insert fully charged battery. Antenna is not transmitting signal to control unit, verify blue cable is attached correctly. Try connecting different blue cable, if that fixes the problem, the other blue cable needs repair. Verify black cable to mini cart is connected correctly. Try connecting different black cable. The black cable needs repair. Verify black cable to mini cart is connected correctly. Try connecting different black cable. The black cable needs repair. 24 P age

Appendix E: Frequently Asked Questions Q: What can GPR locate in concrete? A: Post tensioned cables, conduit (in and below the slab), rebar, PVC, wire mesh, and determine slab thickness. Q: Can GPR distinguish the difference between Post Tensioned cables and rebar? A: No, however the technician should only give an assumption of what the target is based on depth changes. Visual inspection through chipping of concrete or X-ray technology can only be 100% accurate. Q: Can GPR distinguish the difference between electrical conduit and rebar? A: No, however the technician should only give an assumption of what the target is based on the depth of target, and the direction. Rebar is typically in a grid pattern, conduit is typically at different depths, and running at angles. Q: Can GPR determine rebar diameter? A: The only way to determine rebar diameter is to measure depth at intersecting targets and subtracting the difference. An assumption must be made that the targets are tied together or touching. Rebar diameters using this Method are accurate to +/- 1-2 bar sizes. Rebar diameter terminology: Divide bar# by 8 #1 = 1/8'' #2 = 1/4'' #3 = 3/8'' #4 = 1/2 #5 = 5/8 #6 = 3/4 #7 = 7/8 #8 = 1'' 25 P age

Appendix F: How Does GPR Work? When your clients ask "How does that work?" you are required to memorize the following response. "Ground Penetrating Radar, or GPR works very similar in the same manner as sonar, just like a fish finder on the front of your boat. But instead of using sonar, it uses electro-magnetic pulses. A pulse comes out of the antenna and bounces off a target. Internally, the system uses a time-distance calculation to produce an image on the screen. As I push the antenna across the surface, it is measuring targets perpendicular to the direction the antenna is being pushed. After I scan in an X and Y direction, the markings indicate a plan view of what is in or below the slab. We use standardized markings of black and red. The black box is our imaging area, so I will image everything inside the black box. Solid red lines are targets embedded in the slab, and dashed red lines are targets suspended below the slab, or the edges of girder beams or joists. We make our markings very simple, red means stop. We don't recommend making any slab penetrations within any of our red markings. We can give you are best guess what a target is, but the only way to verify 100% is through chipping to visually see what it is." 26 P age