Sensitivity analysis of physical and geometrical parameters of geotechnical targets on GPR responses using forward modeling

In the current research, GPR response of variety of synthetic models encountered with geotechnical applications containing single horizontal cylinder, 2D prism, double horizontal cylinders, 2D arbitrary polygon and layered earth have been produced using forward modeling through the finite-difference time-domain algorithm improved in the frequency domain. In this research by using the parameters of a hyperbola and GPR responses produced for cylindrical objects by means of the forward modeling, it was revealed that there exist some linear relationships between the hyperbola height to width ratio (H/W) with physical and geometrical parameters of the cylindrical objects. These relations can be used as proper quantitative criteria to identify physical and geometrical parameters of buried cylindrical objects on GPR images. To achieve this purpose, the effect of several parameters such as geometrical shape, material type, size and burial depth of the objects as well as type and interface of fluids content and host medium physical properties on GPR responses, have also been studied. The results lead us to the potential of GPR method to detect the kinds of targets; identifying the parameters of cylindrical objects and evaluating characteristics of fluid content, so that one can distinguish metallic from nonmetallic targets as well as type of fluid content of nonmetallic targets (i.e. air, fresh water and salt water). The results of the research were validated by applying for identification of buried qanat in Shahin-Shahr plain, Isfahan province. The burial depth and diameter of the qanat were estimated by 3.4% and 12% erorr respectively.