Utility-Locating Technology Development Using Multisensor Platforms (2014)

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The Second S T R A T E G I C H I G H W A Y R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2015 www.TRB.org RepoRt S2-R01B-RW-1 Utility-Locating Technology Development Using Multisensor Platforms Gary N. youNG aNd ColiN M. KeNNedy Underground Imaging Technologies, LLC Orlando, Florida

Subject Areas Construction Highways

SHRP 2 Reports Available by subscription and through the TRB online bookstore: www.mytrb.org/store Contact the TRB Business Office: 202-334-3213 More information about SHRP 2: www.TRB.org/SHRP2 SHRP 2 Report S2-R01B-RW-1 ISBN: 978-0-309-27434-0 © 2015 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Copyright Information Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copy- right to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. The second Strategic Highway Research Program grants permission to repro- duce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, or FHWA endorsement of a particular prod- uct, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing material in this document for educational and not-for-profit purposes will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from SHRP 2. Note: SHRP 2 report numbers convey the program, focus area, project number, and publication format. Report numbers ending in “w” are published as web documents only. Notice The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the second Strategic Highway Research Program, conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The members of the technical committee selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. The report was reviewed by the technical committee and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, and the sponsors of the second Strategic Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report. The Second Strategic Highway Research Program America’s highway system is critical to meeting the mobility and economic needs of local communities, regions, and the nation. Developments in research and technology—such as advanced materials, communications technology, new data collection tech- nologies, and human factors science—offer a new opportunity to improve the safety and reliability of this important national resource. Breakthrough resolution of significant transportation problems, however, requires concentrated resources over a short time frame. Reflecting this need, the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) has an intense, large-scale focus, integrates multiple fields of research and technology, and is fundamentally different from the broad, mission-oriented, discipline-based research programs that have been the mainstay of the highway research industry for half a century. The need for SHRP 2 was identified in TRB Special Report 260: Strategic Highway Research: Saving Lives, Reducing Congestion, Improving Quality of Life, published in 2001 and based on a study sponsored by Congress through the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). SHRP 2, modeled after the first Strategic Highway Research Program, is a focused, time- constrained, management-driven program designed to com- plement existing highway research programs. SHRP 2 focuses on applied research in four areas: Safety, to prevent or reduce the severity of highway crashes by understanding driver behavior; Renewal, to address the aging infrastructure through rapid design and construction methods that cause minimal disruptions and produce lasting facilities; Reliability, to reduce congestion through incident reduction, management, response, and mitigation; and Capacity, to integrate mobility, economic, environmental, and community needs in the planning and designing of new trans- portation capacity. SHRP 2 was authorized in August 2005 as part of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The program is managed by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) on behalf of the National Research Council (NRC). SHRP 2 is conducted under a memo- randum of understanding among the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the National Academy of Sciences, parent organization of TRB and NRC. The program provides for competitive, merit-based selection of research contractors; independent research project oversight; and dissemination of research results.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achieve- ments of engineers. Dr. C. D. (Dan) Mote, Jr., is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, on its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. C. D. (Dan) Mote, Jr., are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisci- plinary, and multimodal. The Board’s varied activities annually engage about 7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transporta- tion, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. www.TRB.org www.national-academies.org

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration in cooperation with the American Asso- ciation of State Highway and Transportation Officials. It was conducted in the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2), which is administered by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies. The project was managed by Charles Taylor, Special Consultant for SHRP 2 Renewal; James Bryant, Senior Program Officer for SHRP 2 Renewal; and Andy Horosko, Special Consultant for SHRP 2 Renewal. Ralph Hessian, Special Consultant for SHRP 2 Renewal, also contributed to this report. The research reported on herein was performed by Underground Imaging Technologies, LLC (UIT), and supported by Owen Engineering Services; Psi-G, LLC; Bay Geophysical; J. H. Anspach Consulting; Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC); Sagentia, Ltd.; Louisiana Tech University; Geomedia Research & Development; Benner GeoServices Inc.; and So-Deep, Inc. Gary Young, UIT, was the principal investigator. The other authors of this report are Colin M. Kennedy and Steve DiBenedetto, both with UIT. The authors acknowledge the contributions to this research from Jim Anspach, J. H. Anspach Consulting; Ross Jones, Sagentia; Thomas Owen, Owen Engineering Services; Dean Keiswetter, SAIC; Erez Allouche and Neven Simicevic, Louisiana Tech University; Mark Baker, Geomedia Research & Development; John Clark, Psi-G; Nils Sandin, Bay Geophysical; and Cary Skahn, So-Deep. SHRP 2 STAFF Ann M. Brach, Director Stephen J. Andrle, Deputy Director Cynthia Allen, Editor Kenneth Campbell, Chief Program Officer, Safety Jared Cazel, Editorial Assistant JoAnn Coleman, Senior Program Assistant, Capacity and Reliability Eduardo Cusicanqui, Financial Officer Richard Deering, Special Consultant, Safety Data Phase 1 Planning Shantia Douglas, Senior Financial Assistant Charles Fay, Senior Program Officer, Safety Carol Ford, Senior Program Assistant, Renewal and Safety James Hedlund, Special Consultant, Safety Coordination Alyssa Hernandez, Reports Coordinator Ralph Hessian, Special Consultant, Capacity and Reliability Andy Horosko, Special Consultant, Safety Field Data Collection William Hyman, Senior Program Officer, Reliability Linda Mason, Communications Officer David Plazak, Senior Program Officer, Capacity and Reliability Rachel Taylor, Senior Editorial Assistant Dean Trackman, Managing Editor Connie Woldu, Administrative Coordinator

F O R EWO R D Andrew T. Horosko, SHRP 2 Special Consultant, Renewal This report documents research and development efforts to improve technologies for detecting, identifying, and mapping buried utilities. The examined technologies were ground-penetrating radar (GPR), time domain electromagnetic induction (TDEMI), and high-frequency seismic imaging. The research and development activities included improving operating, processing, and interpreting software for multisensor GPR; developing and demonstrating an advanced TDEMI prototype system; and conducting a proof of concept of high-frequency seismic imag- ing. The report will be of interest to engineers and others looking for technologies to enhance traditional utility location and mapping methods. Underground utility installations are common within highway rights-of-way. The location and specific characteristics of many buried utility lines have not been properly documented and thus present a unique challenge for highway renewal projects. The discovery of unexpected utility lines during a project’s delivery can pose considerable risk to workers’ safety and dis- rupt the established project schedule. Highway renewal projects depend on the availability of accurate buried utility records and information to support effective planning, design, and delivery of renewal work. Providing the necessary underground utility information for road renewal projects requires a suite of innovative nondestructive technologies and methods and a decision support frame- work that can address the complexity of varying utilities, site soil, geology, and environ- mental conditions. The second Strategic Highway Renewal Program (SHRP 2) Project R01, Encouraging Innovation in Locating and Characterizing Underground Utilities, provided the background and basis for a series of research and development projects that seek to provide products to serve this highway renewal business need. This research project focused on geophysical tools and accompanying software for locat- ing and mapping buried utilities. Existing GPR equipment and software systems from Under- ground Imaging Technologies, LLC, were used as a platform for the project. The research built on various features of these systems to construct two functional prototypes: (1) a multichannel GPR system with improved software capabilities and (2) a new TDEMI system. The prototypes included new software capabilities for gathering, processing, fusing, interpreting, and present- ing geophysical data sets. Both prototypes were tested at real world project sites to evaluate the quality of the data collection, the software’s designed capabilities, and the ability of the proto- types to enhance current data collection capabilities. The development and testing sought to collect utility location data satisfying ASCE 38-02 Quality Level B requirements. In addition, the project conducted research on a proposed innovative seismic detection technology at an early proof-of-concept level. The research focused on an application using a shear wave imaging system that was intended to provide detection capabilities similar to GPR for soils where GPR is not an effective tool. A series of seismic soil property tests was performed to facilitate model development and to better understand seismic measurements. A practical prototype that incorporates seismic technology was not fully developed. The R01B project worked closely with the R01C project, Innovations to Locate Stacked or Deep Utilities, to avoid duplication and to provide a complementary set of tools. Some activities of the two projects were conducted together and jointly analyzed.

C O N T E N T S 1 Executive Summary 3 CHAPTER 1 Background 3 Problem Statement and Research Objective 4 Scope of Study 4 Research Team 6 CHAPTER 2 Research Approach 6 State-of-the-Art Summary 6 Technologies Explanation 12 CHAPTER 3 Findings and Applications 12 Multichannel GPR System Status, Findings, and Applications 12 Improved Applications for Geophysical Data Analysis Software 20 High-Frequency Seismic Imaging Proof-of-Concept Prototype Status and Findings 42 Seismic Modeling Software 58 Advanced TDEMI System Status and Findings 85 In-Service Testing 90 CHAPTER 4 Conclusions and Suggested Research 90 Conclusions 93 Suggested Research 97 References 98 Appendix A. Standard Operating Procedure for Multichannel GPR Digital Geophysical Mapping Data Collection 106 Appendix B. Standard Operating Procedure for Multichannel GPR Digital Geophysical Mapping Data Processing 110 Appendix C. Standard Operating Procedure for TDEMI Digital Geophysical Mapping Data Collection 116 Appendix D. Standard Operating Procedure for TDEMI Digital Geophysical Mapping Data Processing