Numerical simulation of subsurface radar for detecting buried pipes

A subsurface radar for the detection of dielectric or metal pipes buried in the ground is investigated numerically. The two dimensional transmission line matrix method was used to obtain images of buried pipes illuminated by electromagnetic pulses generated by a ground-penetrating radar. The present study is only applicable for two-dimensional cases as it assumes infinitely long pipes and sources. However, the technique may be used for three-dimensional cases as long as the antenna is parallel to the underground pipes and is not near the ends or the bends of the pipes. For the cases shown, 480 grid points in the x direction and 220 in the γ direction were used. The required memory to run the simulation software was 1.1 Mb. With 6000 iterations, the total CPU time for the case was 218 s on a MicroVax II workstation