During construction work, coring, cutting and drilling are some of the processes that are super important, and if they are not done with a lot of caution, they may lead to the damage of various underground utilities, including conduits and structures.
Due to this, it is imperative to do thorough concrete scanning with GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) to know the precise location of such utilities so that the drilling, coring or cutting processes will be done in a more guided manner.
Concrete scanning helps in saving time and money, and also reducing the instances of injuries during the process. By locating and mapping out the exact location of the underground utilities, you can be sure that you won’t run into any delays due to the damages occasioned by the processes on the utilities.
How concrete scanning is done
The most common and accurate method for concrete scanning is the use of ground penetrating radar, also known as GPR. It is safe, efficient, and very reliable in locating any item that might be buried deep beneath the site of the project. With its use, scanning errors have been reduced to less than 1%, way up from 25% when the technology was still not available.
GPR uses high frequency electromagnetic waves which are sent beneath the surface and will be reflected back by the objects underground. Through this, it is possible to know what kinds of objects are reflected and at what depths, and it is also possible to get an accurate image of the subsurface object. As such, contractors will know with great accuracy where the objects are and how to avoid severing them during the construction work.
What can the GPR detect?
The GPR has the ability to detect a variety of objects beneath the surface. These include-: electrical conduits, voids, rebar, water and heating lines, post-tension cables, and any other material that may be embedded in a cable.