A comparative investigation of the effects of concrete sleepers on the GPR signal for the assessment of railway ballast

L. Bianchini Ciampoli; S. S. Artagan; F. Tosti; V. Gagliardi; A.M. Alani; A. Benedetto

doi:10.1109/ICGPR.2018.8441588

A comparative investigation of the effects of concrete sleepers on the GPR signal for the assessment of railway ballast

L. Bianchini Ciampoli
, S. S. Artagan
, F. Tosti
, V. Gagliardi
, A.M. Alani
, A. Benedetto

Faculty of Engineering, Computing & the Environment

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

Abstract

This paper reports an investigation into the influence of concrete railway sleepers on the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) signal for the assessment of railway ballast. The main aim was to comprehend the effects of these components on the GPR signal compared to the signal response collected on ballast (clean and fouled conditions) without sleepers. To this purpose, a methacrylate container with dimensions of 1.5 m × 1.5 m × 0.50 m was filled up with limestone railway ballast aggregates. Hence, two concrete sleepers of standard dimensions were laid above the material. GPR tests were carried out using 4 different air-coupled antenna systems with frequencies of 1000 MHz, 1500 MHz and 2000 MHz (in both the standard and low-powered version). Each antenna system was oriented in two different ways, i.e. longitudinally and transversely with respect to the orientation of the tracks. Data interpretation was made by way of comparison between the time-domain and the spectral signal responses of the configuration with ?ballast material only? and the configuration with ?ballast material and sleepers? (longitudinal/transversal orientation of the antenna systems, one/two concrete sleepers and clean/fouled ballast). Results have proven distinctive features of the GPR signal in terms of antenna frequency and orientation, paving the way to enhanced data interpretation in both clean and fouled ballast conditions.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	This work was supported by Mr. Spartaco Cera, from Roma Tre University, IDS Georadar and Clax Italia s.r.l. Published in: 2018 17th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) (2018). Piscataway, U.S.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) ISBN: 9781538657775, ISSN: 2474-3844.
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/ICGPR.2018.8441588
Publication status	Published - 19 Jun 2018

Bibliographical note

Note: This work was supported by Mr. Spartaco Cera, from Roma Tre University, IDS Georadar and Clax Italia s.r.l. Published in: 2018 17th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) (2018). Piscataway, U.S.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) ISBN: 9781538657775, ISSN: 2474-3844.

Keywords

ground-penetrating radar (GPR)
railway concrete sleepers
railway ballast
ballast fouling
signal processing
Civil engineering

Access to Document

10.1109/ICGPR.2018.8441588

https://doi.org/10.1109/ICGPR.2018.8441588

A comparative investigation of the effects of concrete sleepers on the GPR signal for the assessment of railway ballast
Bianchini Ciampoli, L., Artagan, S. S., Tosti, F., Gagliardi, V., Alani, A. M. & Benedetto, A., 19 Jun 2018.
Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review

Cite this

Bianchini Ciampoli, L., Artagan, S. S., Tosti, F., Gagliardi, V., Alani, A. M., & Benedetto, A. (2018). A comparative investigation of the effects of concrete sleepers on the GPR signal for the assessment of railway ballast. In This work was supported by Mr. Spartaco Cera, from Roma Tre University, IDS Georadar and Clax Italia s.r.l. Published in: 2018 17th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) (2018). Piscataway, U.S.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) ISBN: 9781538657775, ISSN: 2474-3844. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICGPR.2018.8441588

Bianchini Ciampoli, L. ; Artagan, S. S. ; Tosti, F. et al. / A comparative investigation of the effects of concrete sleepers on the GPR signal for the assessment of railway ballast. This work was supported by Mr. Spartaco Cera, from Roma Tre University, IDS Georadar and Clax Italia s.r.l. Published in: 2018 17th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) (2018). Piscataway, U.S.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) ISBN: 9781538657775, ISSN: 2474-3844.. 2018.

@inproceedings{0dd6acf801fe48eda49bc3bdb445bb2e,

title = "A comparative investigation of the effects of concrete sleepers on the GPR signal for the assessment of railway ballast",

abstract = "This paper reports an investigation into the influence of concrete railway sleepers on the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) signal for the assessment of railway ballast. The main aim was to comprehend the effects of these components on the GPR signal compared to the signal response collected on ballast (clean and fouled conditions) without sleepers. To this purpose, a methacrylate container with dimensions of 1.5 m × 1.5 m × 0.50 m was filled up with limestone railway ballast aggregates. Hence, two concrete sleepers of standard dimensions were laid above the material. GPR tests were carried out using 4 different air-coupled antenna systems with frequencies of 1000 MHz, 1500 MHz and 2000 MHz (in both the standard and low-powered version). Each antenna system was oriented in two different ways, i.e. longitudinally and transversely with respect to the orientation of the tracks. Data interpretation was made by way of comparison between the time-domain and the spectral signal responses of the configuration with ?ballast material only? and the configuration with ?ballast material and sleepers? (longitudinal/transversal orientation of the antenna systems, one/two concrete sleepers and clean/fouled ballast). Results have proven distinctive features of the GPR signal in terms of antenna frequency and orientation, paving the way to enhanced data interpretation in both clean and fouled ballast conditions.",

keywords = "ground-penetrating radar (GPR), railway concrete sleepers, railway ballast, ballast fouling, signal processing, Civil engineering",

author = "\{Bianchini Ciampoli\}, L. and Artagan, \{S. S.\} and F. Tosti and V. Gagliardi and A.M. Alani and A. Benedetto",

note = "Note: This work was supported by Mr. Spartaco Cera, from Roma Tre University, IDS Georadar and Clax Italia s.r.l. Published in: 2018 17th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) (2018). Piscataway, U.S.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) ISBN: 9781538657775, ISSN: 2474-3844.",

year = "2018",

month = jun,

day = "19",

doi = "10.1109/ICGPR.2018.8441588",

language = "English",

booktitle = "This work was supported by Mr. Spartaco Cera, from Roma Tre University, IDS Georadar and Clax Italia s.r.l. Published in: 2018 17th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) (2018). Piscataway, U.S.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) ISBN: 9781538657775, ISSN: 2474-3844.",

}

Bianchini Ciampoli, L, Artagan, SS, Tosti, F, Gagliardi, V, Alani, AM & Benedetto, A 2018, A comparative investigation of the effects of concrete sleepers on the GPR signal for the assessment of railway ballast. in This work was supported by Mr. Spartaco Cera, from Roma Tre University, IDS Georadar and Clax Italia s.r.l. Published in: 2018 17th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) (2018). Piscataway, U.S.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) ISBN: 9781538657775, ISSN: 2474-3844.. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICGPR.2018.8441588

A comparative investigation of the effects of concrete sleepers on the GPR signal for the assessment of railway ballast. / Bianchini Ciampoli, L.; Artagan, S. S.; Tosti, F. et al.
This work was supported by Mr. Spartaco Cera, from Roma Tre University, IDS Georadar and Clax Italia s.r.l. Published in: 2018 17th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) (2018). Piscataway, U.S.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) ISBN: 9781538657775, ISSN: 2474-3844.. 2018.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - A comparative investigation of the effects of concrete sleepers on the GPR signal for the assessment of railway ballast

AU - Bianchini Ciampoli, L.

AU - Artagan, S. S.

AU - Tosti, F.

AU - Gagliardi, V.

AU - Alani, A.M.

AU - Benedetto, A.

N1 - Note: This work was supported by Mr. Spartaco Cera, from Roma Tre University, IDS Georadar and Clax Italia s.r.l. Published in: 2018 17th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) (2018). Piscataway, U.S.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) ISBN: 9781538657775, ISSN: 2474-3844.

PY - 2018/6/19

Y1 - 2018/6/19

N2 - This paper reports an investigation into the influence of concrete railway sleepers on the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) signal for the assessment of railway ballast. The main aim was to comprehend the effects of these components on the GPR signal compared to the signal response collected on ballast (clean and fouled conditions) without sleepers. To this purpose, a methacrylate container with dimensions of 1.5 m × 1.5 m × 0.50 m was filled up with limestone railway ballast aggregates. Hence, two concrete sleepers of standard dimensions were laid above the material. GPR tests were carried out using 4 different air-coupled antenna systems with frequencies of 1000 MHz, 1500 MHz and 2000 MHz (in both the standard and low-powered version). Each antenna system was oriented in two different ways, i.e. longitudinally and transversely with respect to the orientation of the tracks. Data interpretation was made by way of comparison between the time-domain and the spectral signal responses of the configuration with ?ballast material only? and the configuration with ?ballast material and sleepers? (longitudinal/transversal orientation of the antenna systems, one/two concrete sleepers and clean/fouled ballast). Results have proven distinctive features of the GPR signal in terms of antenna frequency and orientation, paving the way to enhanced data interpretation in both clean and fouled ballast conditions.

AB - This paper reports an investigation into the influence of concrete railway sleepers on the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) signal for the assessment of railway ballast. The main aim was to comprehend the effects of these components on the GPR signal compared to the signal response collected on ballast (clean and fouled conditions) without sleepers. To this purpose, a methacrylate container with dimensions of 1.5 m × 1.5 m × 0.50 m was filled up with limestone railway ballast aggregates. Hence, two concrete sleepers of standard dimensions were laid above the material. GPR tests were carried out using 4 different air-coupled antenna systems with frequencies of 1000 MHz, 1500 MHz and 2000 MHz (in both the standard and low-powered version). Each antenna system was oriented in two different ways, i.e. longitudinally and transversely with respect to the orientation of the tracks. Data interpretation was made by way of comparison between the time-domain and the spectral signal responses of the configuration with ?ballast material only? and the configuration with ?ballast material and sleepers? (longitudinal/transversal orientation of the antenna systems, one/two concrete sleepers and clean/fouled ballast). Results have proven distinctive features of the GPR signal in terms of antenna frequency and orientation, paving the way to enhanced data interpretation in both clean and fouled ballast conditions.

KW - ground-penetrating radar (GPR)

KW - railway concrete sleepers

KW - railway ballast

KW - ballast fouling

KW - signal processing

KW - Civil engineering

U2 - 10.1109/ICGPR.2018.8441588

DO - 10.1109/ICGPR.2018.8441588

M3 - Conference contribution

BT - This work was supported by Mr. Spartaco Cera, from Roma Tre University, IDS Georadar and Clax Italia s.r.l. Published in: 2018 17th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) (2018). Piscataway, U.S.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) ISBN: 9781538657775, ISSN: 2474-3844.

ER -

Bianchini Ciampoli L, Artagan SS, Tosti F, Gagliardi V, Alani AM, Benedetto A. A comparative investigation of the effects of concrete sleepers on the GPR signal for the assessment of railway ballast. In This work was supported by Mr. Spartaco Cera, from Roma Tre University, IDS Georadar and Clax Italia s.r.l. Published in: 2018 17th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) (2018). Piscataway, U.S.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) ISBN: 9781538657775, ISSN: 2474-3844.. 2018 doi: 10.1109/ICGPR.2018.8441588

A comparative investigation of the effects of concrete sleepers on the GPR signal for the assessment of railway ballast

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Research output

A comparative investigation of the effects of concrete sleepers on the GPR signal for the assessment of railway ballast

Cite this