Use of ground penetrating radar with ground-coupled antenna for determining asphalt layer density

This paper aims to analyze Ground Penetrating RADAR (GPR) as a tool for determining the density of the asphalt layer, supported by integrated testing of GPR and geotechnical data. Conventional methods for assessing the compaction control of this layer are destructive, expensive, and time consuming. The GPR technique is a remote method that is faster than existing conventional methods and has proven to be an effective tool for obtaining information during the study of highways. This methodology correlates the asphalt layer’s density through the dielectric value, measured by means of a 1.6GHz ground-coupled antenna using the reflection technique. It presented satisfactory values in spite of having few sampling points, thus showing itself to be a good alternative for indirectly determining the density of the hot mix asphalt concrete (HMAC) layer and for future work in this area.