Nondestructive testing for crack of tunnel lining using GPR

Lining craze, as a common engineering damage, affects the bearing capacity and the safety of tunnels. To improve the capabilities of the surface crack detection in the tunnel lining, ground penetrating radar (GPR) was employed. The principle and method of GPR for cracks investigation of tunnel lining were expounded. As an application example, some field measurements in order to detect the depth of cracks for the tunnel lining were achieved in a new tunnel. All GPR investigations were made with the antennae of 1 GHz. The cracks of concrete structure were located, and the distributing and depth of cracks are inspected and estimated by GPR. The results of investigation show GPR is accurate and efficient to detect cracks of tunnel lining. Foundation item: Projects(50204012; 50490274) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China; project supported by the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China