Roadways and Transportation Infrastructure
The MALÅ RoadCart system provides a new breakthrough in GPR infrastructure technology for evaluating pavement, base and sub-base thicknesses.
The RoadCart system is an extremely portable and cost-effective ground coupled platform that provides the unique opportunity to collect information unobtainable with other systems. In the past, the only available systems utilize bulky and expensive horn antennas (which are also very limited in frequency options) that require a dedicated vehicle and a significant amount of expertise in order to operate. In addition, the high cost of mobilization for these horn antenna systems can be quite cost prohibitive for many budgets.
The platform of the MALÅ RoadCart system is built on the MALÅ ProEx control unit, which allows the user to utilize multiple antennas with varying frequencies, all at the same time and all capable of data collection at highway speeds. The typical setup for the RoadCart system is a two-antenna configuration that includes a 2.3 GHz antenna for pavement evaluations and an 800 MHz antenna for relatively deeper base and sub-base evaluations. However, the MALÅ RoadCart can accommodate frequencies as low as 250 MHz to allow the user to use the system for deeper geotechnical investigations.
The MALÅ ProEx platform is also completely compatible with GPS positioning. The MALÅ Roadway Mapper and MALÅ GPS Mapper software packages are ideal for using GPS data for infrastructure data management.
With increasing demand on the world's infrastructure, the need for evaluating new and exisiting roadways is becoming even more important. Coring is locally accurate, performed at wide intervals, intrusive, labor intensive and time consuming (i.e. not very cost effective). Knowledge regarding pavement and subgrade thickness, along with internal structures masked by overlaying layers, can be crucial information for both maintenance and design of our aging roadways. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) provides a rapid method for providing this important information.
The MALÅ RoadCart platform is utilized for the following example applications: