Ess Gpr4 User manual

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

–

User Manual

000002

000021

Earth Science Systems, C

February

2019

Page 1 of 28

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

User Manual

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

–

User Manual

000002

000021

Earth Science Systems, C

February

2019

Page 2 of 28

Table of Contents

1 FCC Class A Compliance and Usage Limitations ................................................................ 3

2 IC Compliance and Usage Limitations ................................................................................ 5

3 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 7

3.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 7

Operation ............................................................................................................................ 8

.1 Hardware Assembly ..................................................................................................... 8

.2 Conduct a Single Line Survey .....................................................................................11

.3 Conduct a 3D Survey ..................................................................................................15

. Replaying Data ...........................................................................................................20

.5 Generating Maps and Reports ....................................................................................20

.6 Advanced Data Processing, Depth Slices, and 3D Views ...........................................20

.7 Charging the Batteries ................................................................................................20

.8 System Care, and Cleaning ........................................................................................21

5 Theory ...............................................................................................................................21

5.1 Theory of Operation ....................................................................................................21

6 Appendix ............................................................................................................................22

6.1 Digitizer Settings .........................................................................................................22

6.2 Software Installation ....................................................................................................22

6.3 Log File .......................................................................................................................23

6. Emissions ...................................................................................................................23

6. .1 Health and Safety ................................................................................................23

6.5 Limited Warranty .........................................................................................................2

6.6 Batteries .....................................................................................................................2

6.7 Technical Support .......................................................................................................25

6.8 Specifications ..............................................................................................................26

6.9 Data File Format .........................................................................................................27

6.10 License Agreement .....................................................................................................28

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

–

User Manual

000002

000021

Earth Science Systems, C

February

2019

Page 3 of 28

1 FCC Class A Compliance and Usage Limitations

T is device complies wit Part 15 Subpart B and Subpart F of t e FCC Rules.

Operation is subject to t e following two conditions: (1) t e device may not cause

armful interference, and (2) t is device must accept any interference received including

interference t at may cause undesired operation.

FCC ID: 2AP78-CS1 and contains RF Module FCC ID: Z64-WL18DBMOD.

Warning: C anges or modifications to t is unit not expressly approved by t e

party responsible for compliance could void t e user’s aut ority to operate t e

equipment.

According to t e FCC Rules Part 15 Subpart F, t is device as several

requirements and limitations for use. Specifically:

15.509:

(a) T e UWB bandwidt of an imaging system operating under t e

provisions of t is section must be below 10.6 GHz.

(b) Operation under t e provisions of t is section is limited to GPRs and

wall imaging systems operated for purposes associated wit law

enforcement, fire fig ting, emergency rescue, scientific researc ,

commercial mining, or construction.

(1) Parties operating t is equipment must be eligible for licensing

under t e provisions of part 90 of t is c apter.

(2) T e operation of imaging systems under t is section requires

coordination, as detailed in §15.525.

15.521:

(a) UWB devices may not be employed for t e operation of toys. Operation

onboard an aircraft, a s ip or a satellite is pro ibited.

15.525:

(a) UWB imaging systems require coordination t roug t e FCC before t e

equipment may be used. T e operator s all comply wit any constraints on

equipment usage resulting from t is coordination.

(b) T e users of UWB imaging devices s all supply operational areas to t e

FCC Office of Engineering and Tec nology, w ic s all coordinate t is

information wit t e Federal Government t roug t e National

Telecommunications and Information Administration. T e information

provided by t e UWB operator s all include t e name, address and ot er

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

–

User Manual

000002

000021

Earth Science Systems, C

February

2019

Page 4 of 28

pertinent contact information of t e user, t e desired geograp ical area(s)

of operation, and t e FCC ID number and ot er nomenclature of t e UWB

device. If t e imaging device is intended to be used for mobile applications,

t e geograp ical area(s) of operation may be t e state(s) or county(ies) in

w ic t e equipment will be operated. T e operator of an imaging system

used for fixed operation s all supply a specific geograp ical location or t e

address at w ic t e equipment will be operated. T is material s all be

submitted to Frequency Coordination Branc , OET, Federal

Communications Commission, 445 12t Street, SW, Was ington, D.C.

20554, Attn: UWB Coordination.

purc asers and users of t eir systems of t e requirement to undertake

detailed coordination of operational areas wit t e FCC prior to t e

equipment being operated.

(d) Users of aut orized, coordinated UWB systems may transfer t em to

ot er qualified users and to different locations upon coordination of

c ange of owners ip or location to t e FCC and coordination wit existing

aut orized operations.

(e) T e FCC/NTIA coordination report s all identify t ose geograp ical

areas wit in w ic t e operation of an imaging system requires additional

coordination or wit in w ic t e operation of an imaging system is

pro ibited. If additional coordination is required for operation wit in

specific geograp ical areas, a local coordination contact will be provided.

Except for operation wit in t ese designated areas, once t e information

requested on t e UWB imaging system is submitted to t e FCC no

additional coordination wit t e FCC is required provided t e reported

areas of operation do not c ange. If t e area of operation c anges, updated

information s all be submitted to t e FCC following t e procedure in

paragrap (b) of t is section.

(f) T e coordination of routine UWB operations s all not take longer t an

15 business days from t e receipt of t e coordination request by NTIA.

Special temporary operations may be andled wit an expedited turn-

around time w en circumstances warrant. T e operation of UWB systems

in emergency situations involving t e safety of life or property may occur

wit out coordination provided a notification procedure, similar to t at

contained in §2.405(a) t roug (e) of t is c apter, is followed by t e UWB

equipment user.

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

–

User Manual

000002

000021

Earth Science Systems, C

February

2019

Page 5 of 28

2 IC Compliance and Usage Limitations

This device complies with Canadian RSS-220, RSS-GEN and ICES-003. Operation is

subject to the following two conditions: (1) the device may not cause harmful interference, and

(2) this device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause

undesired operation.

IC: 2AP78-CS1 and contains RF Module IC: 51I-WL18DBMOD.

According to the RSS-220, Issue 1, Section 6.2, this device has several requirements and

limitations for use. Specifically:

(a)This Ground Penetrating Radar Device shall be operated only when in contact with or

within 1m of the ground.

(b) This Ground Penetrating Radar Device shall be operated only by law enforcement

agencies, scientific research institutes, commercial mining companies, construction

companies, and emergency rescue or firefighting organizations.

wall and in contact with or within 20 cm of the wall surface.

(d)This In-wall Radar Imaging Device shall be operated only by law enforcement agencies,

scientific research institutes, commercial mining companies, construction companies, and

emergency rescue or firefighting organizations.

(e) This device complies with Industry Canada licence-exempt RSS standard(s). Operation

is Subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause interference, and

(2) this device must accept any interference, including interference that may cause

undesired Operation of the device.

Cet appareil est conforme aux normes canadiennes RSS-220, RSS-GEN et ICES-003.

L'exploitation est autorisée aux deux conditions suivantes : (1) l'appareil ne doit pas produire de

brouillage, et (2) l'utilisateur de l'appareil doit accepter tout brouillage radioélectrique subi,

même si le brouillage est susceptible d'en compromettre le fonctionnement.

IC: 2AP78-CS1 et contient le module RF IC: 51I-WL18DBMOD.

Selon le RSS-220, Issue 1, Section 6.2, cet appareil a plusieurs exigences et limitations

d’utilisation. Plus précisément:

(a) Ce dispositif radar à pénétration du sol ne doit être utilisé qu'en contact avec le sol ou

à au plus 1 m du sol.

(b) Ce dispositif radar à pénétration du sol ne doit être utilisé que par des organismes

d’application de la loi, des établissements de recherche scientifique, des sociétés minières

commerciales, des entreprises de construction, et des organismes d’intervention

d’urgence ou de lutte contre les incendies.

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

–

User Manual

000002

000021

Earth Science Systems, C

February

2019

Page 6 of 28

en contact avec la surface du mur ou à au plus 20 cm de cette surface.

(d) Ce dispositif d’imagerie radar intramur ne doit être utilisé que par des organismes

d’application de la loi, des établissements de recherche scientifique, des sociétés minières

commerciales, des entreprises de construction, et des organismes d’intervention

d’urgence ou de lutte contre les incendies.

(e) Le présent appareil est conforme aux CNR d'Industrie Canada applicables aux

appareils radio exempts de licence. L'exploitation est autorisée aux deux conditions

suivantes : (1) l'appareil ne doit pas produire de brouillage, et (2) l'utilisateur de l'appareil

doit accepter tout brouillage radioélectrique subi, même si le brouillage est susceptible

d'en compromettre le fonctionnement.

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

–

User Manual

000002

000021

Earth Science Systems, C

February

2019

Page 7 of 28

3 Introduction

3.1 Overview

This document provides the operating and configuration instructions for the Concrete

Scanner. The Scanner measures locates objects that are embedded in concrete such as rebar,

pipes, and conduits, measures concrete thickness, and can located defects in concrete such as

voids. The scanner can produce simple cross sections, depth slice images, or 3D images of the

concrete structure. The system includes a scanner unit with an integrated radar, odometer, and

power line detector, and a tablet computer. An optional long handle can be used to scan hard

to reach places. The Concrete Scanner has been designed so that no cables are used in order

to increase ease of use and reliability. The shipping case contains an integrated battery

charging system to recharge all system components simultaneously. The entire system is

stored rugged shipping case is designed for shipping and transport in rugged situations.

The system consists of the following components.

1. A hard shell shipping container with custom foam inserts for the system

components.

Figure 1: Concrete Scanner.

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

–

User Manual

000002

000021

Earth Science Systems, C

February

2019

Page 8 of 28

2. A multi-port battery charging system that simultaneously charges two sensor

batteries, and the tablet computer.

3. Two batteries for the sensor unit.

. A long handle for the sensor unit.

5. The sensor unit with GPR, odometer, and power line sensors.

6. Tablet computer (may be provided separately).

4 Operation

This section provides operating instructions for conducting surveys, generating reports, and

recharging the batteries. Before starting survey, the needs to determine the area to be

surveyed and how that area will be covered. Typically, there are two types of surveys that are

conducted: a single line survey that produces a cross section view, or a multi-line survey that

produces a 3D view. Surveys consist of one or more straight-line scans. The concrete surface

must be clean and dry.

4.1 Hardware Assembly

During normal storage and transportation, the Concrete Scanner is packed in its shipping

case. Proceed as follows to assemble the unit for surveying.

Figure 2. Concrete Scanner as stored in its shipping container.

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

–

User Manual

000002

000021

Earth Science Systems, C

February

2019

Page 9 of 28

1. Open the shipping container (see Figure 2) and disconnect the charging cable from the

tablet.

2. Remove the scanner and the tablet from the shipping case. Remove one of the

batteries from the shipping case and attach it to the scanner.

3. If the long handle will be used, remove the three pieces of the long handle from the

shipping case: the wide handle, the telescoping tube, and the scanner clamp. Mount the

scanner clamp to the scanner, then attach the telescoping tube, and finally attach the

wide handle. Adjust the telescoping tube as desired.

. The tablet computer can be located in one of four locations during the survey (see

Figure 3): on a stand, on the long handle, on the scanner, or held in-hand. For most

surveys, the use of the stand is recommended.

a. For the stand arrangement, connect the long handle and telescoping tube, and

then insert the tube into the holder in the shipping case. Mount the tablet holder

to the wide handle on the stand and then mount the tablet.

b. For the long handle arrangement, mount the tablet holder to the wide handle and

then mount the tablet.

c. For the scanner arrangement, mount the scanner clamp to the scanner and then

attach the wide handle. Finally, mount the tablet holder to the wide handle and

then mount the tablet.

d. For the in-hand arrangement, attached the hand strap to the tablet.

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

–

User Manual

000002

000021

Earth Science Systems, C

February

2019

Page 10 of 28

Figure 3. Different tablet locations can be used for different survey types.

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

–

User Manual

000002

000021

Earth Science Systems, C

February

2019

Page 11 of 28

4.2 Conduct a Single Line Survey

A single line surveys is a quick method that is usually used to find where a small number

of subsurface conduits intersects the survey line. To conduct a survey, proceed as follows.

Figure . Upper panel shows acquisition program with status panel visible and lower panel

has status panel hidden. Use the circled icon to hide/show the status panel.

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

–

User Manual

000002

000021

Earth Science Systems, C

February

2019

Page 12 of 28

1. Turn on the power to the sensor unit. The power switch should glow with a green light.

2. Boot up the tablet computer and log in. Enable mouse pointer using the mouse icon on

the task bar if desired.

3. Connect to the sensor unit via WiFi. On the task bar, press the WiFi network icon ,

then select the network connection for the Concrete Scanner. The name of the

connection will be the serial number of the scanner (e.g., GPR 0123). It will take 30-60

seconds after the sensor box has been powered up for the network to appear on the

tablet. Select the network connection for the scanner and wait for it to connect.

Windows will ask if you would like to connect automatically. If you enable automatic

connection, then this step can be skipped for future surveys.

. Start the data acquisition program by touching and holding the EssGpr4LoggingApp icon

on the desktop. The program will startup, connect to the scanner, and start updating

with data. Figure shows the acquisition program screen. There is a status panel that

shows status messages, but in most cases the user can hide this panel so that the

plotting area is larger. The green light on the scanner’s power button will flash when it is

connected to the acquisition program on the tablet computer. Users can pan and zoom

the plots in the acquisition program. To pan, simply click on the plot and drag. To zoom,

click on the plot, press z, then click and drag to draw the zoom box. For an alternate

zoom method, click on the plot, the press shift-up-arrow, shift-down-arrow, shift-left-

arrow, or shift-right-arrow to zoom in the vertical or horizontal direction. The reset the

plot, click on it and then press esc.

5. The acquisition program has several views that can be selected by clicking on the

appropriate tab on the top of the screen: Survey Grid, GPR4 Record, and optionally

Docu entation. Each tab has its own toolbar with functions dedicated to that view.

6. The GPR4 Record tab has standard A-scan and B-scan plots that are customary for

most GPR systems. The plot parameters can be changed by pressing the Plot

para eters button (see Figure 5). For most users, the default settings will be

sufficient. For those interested, the dialog functions are described below.

a. Use auto atic range gain When this is selected the program automatically

increases gain with increasing range to compensate for signal attenuation with

range. The gain profile is automatically readjusted at the start of each line.

b. Auto atic zero ti e Use this setting to move the first arrival to the beginning of

the plot.

c. Antenna co bination For the Pavement Scanner, this should always be set to

TxA RxA.

d. Depth/Ti e units Select the units for the vertical scale on the B-scan. The most

basic units are sample number (Sa ples). Sample number multiplied by the

digitizer sample period gives sample time (Nanoseconds). Sample time

multiplied by the medium velocity gives distance (Centi eters, Inches, Meters,

Feet).

e. Depth/Ti e range Users can opt to display the full range, half range, quarter

range, or eighth range. Users may wish to display only a shallow portion of the

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

–

User Manual

000002

000021

Earth Science Systems, C

February

2019

Page 13 of 28

usable range when interested in the more shallow portions of the surveyed range

(depth).

f. Velocity of ediu The velocity of EM waves is dependent on the material type.

In order to properly convert from time of flight to depth, the velocity of the

medium must selected (see Depth/Ti e units above). Select the medium type

and the corresponding dielectric constant. The EM velocity is

εν

/c= where v

is the EM wave velocity, c is the speed of light in a vacuum, and ε is the dielectric

constant of the medium.

Air ε = 1

Dry concrete/indoor/mature - Dry soil ε =

Damp concrete/outdoor - Damp soil ε = 6.5

Moist concrete/outdoor/young - Moist soil ε = 9

Wet concrete/outdoor/young - Wet soil ε = 16

Saturated concrete/outdoor - Saturated soil ε = 25

g. Distance units Select the units for the horizontal scale on the B-scan

(Centi eters, Inches, Meters, Feet, Seconds).

h. Distance range Select the horizontal range of the B-scan in distance units (10,

20, 50, 100, 200).

Figure 5. The plot configuration dialog.

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

–

User Manual

000002

000021

Earth Science Systems, C

February

2019

Page 14 of 28

The GPR4 Record tab also has buttons for saving the B-scan image and generating

a short report . The image can be saved as a PNG, BMP, or JPG file. The report will

be saved as a PDF file, and will contain the survey metadata and the B-scan image.

7. Before beginning a survey, it is important to capture information about the jobsite. Press

the Jobsite infor ation button to bring up the dialog shown in Figure 6. The

information entered into this dialog will be listed in any reports that will be generated by

the software. To type into dialog field, click on the field to place the cursor, then press

the icon on the taskbar to bring up the keyboard.

a. Enter the Project Na e, Site Location, Site Description, Operator, Survey Mode,

Notes, Service Provider, and Equip ent Model. The Date Recorded and Ti e

Recorded fields will be updated automatically.

b. Map Fra e Para eters Select the distance Units (feet or meters). The Latitude,

Longitude, and Elevation parameters will be updated automatically once the

survey begins using the GPS sensor in the sensor unit. The Magnetic

Declination and Map Syste fields are not used with the Pavement Scanner.

c. Local Fra e Para eters Select the distance Units (feet or meters). Enter the

bearing of the first survey line in the Line 1 Azi uth field. The software will use

this value to correctly orient images on maps that are exported as KMZ or HTML

files.

8. Move the scanner to the start position of the line. Press the Previous line button

until the proper line number is displayed at the top of the screen. This action can also be

accomplished by pressing the rocker button on the radar unit to the left momentarily.

Each time this button is pressed, the system runs through a line initialization sequence

which tasks a few seconds. When the user hears an audible beep from the tablet, the

initialization sequence has completed. Therefore, users should wait until the audible

beep is heard before another line request.

9. The GPR data can be recorded for later playback and examination if desired. When

locating intersecting conduits, some users may choose not to record the data. Select

File, New, and then choose a location and name for the database file. When ready to

begin the survey, press the Record data button . This action can also be

Figure 6. Jobsite information dialog.

GPR4 Concrete Scanner

–

User Manual

000002

000021

Earth Science Systems, C

February

2019

Page 15 of 28

accomplished by pressing the rocker switch on the radar unit u momentarily. The

button should appear activated to indicate that data are being recorded. Move the cart

along the survey line to conduct the survey.

10. Move the cart along the survey line until the scanner moves beyond the conduit of

interest. Roll the scanner backwards on the line until the scanner is positioned directly

over the conduit and mark the position on the concrete surface with a marker. While

recording data, a marked fiducial can be placed in the datafile by pressing the icon.

11. If data recording was enabled, press the Record data button to turn off recording

after the cart has traversed the entire survey line. The button should appear inactivated.

This action can also be accomplished by pressing the rocker switch on the radar unit

down momentarily.

12. If no further surveys are to be conducted, power down the sensor and odometer.

Disassemble the survey cart and return all components to the shipping case.

4.3 Conduct a 3D Survey

Users usually conduct 3D scans when depth slices or 3D views of the subsurface are

desired. To conduct a 3D survey, proceed as follows.

1. Turn on the power to the sensor unit. The power switch should glow with a green light.

2. Boot up the tablet computer and log in. Enable mouse pointer using the mouse icon on

the task bar if desired.

3. Connect to the sensor unit via WiFi. On the task bar, press the WiFi network icon ,

then select the network connection for the Pavement Scanner. The name of the