Advanced subsurface radar system for imaging buried pipes

A subsurface radar system for imaging buried pipes was developed. The system is capable of reconstructing clear pipe images under unfavorable conditions, such as large attenuation rate of the radio waves propagating in soil. The output power of a pulse generator, the amplifier gain, and average number are controlled by moving the observation depth to improve the detection capability. Fast image processing methods are also used. A 6.5-cm-diameter steel pipe, buried at a depth of 2.5 m, was clearly reconstructed as a color image averaged attenuation rate of 12.6 dB/m in the soil. A plastic pipe (6.5 cm in diameter), buried at a depth of 1 m, was also imaged by the system