Comparative Study of Deconvolution Algorithms for GPR Bridge Deck Imaging

Bridge decks deteriorate over time as a result of freezing-and-thawing, heavy use, and water penetration resulting in internal defects. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) can be used as a non-destructive method for detecting such defects. Unfortunately, reflections from closely spaced objects overlap which prevents the accurate estimation of the round-trip travel time of GPR waves to the closely spaced objects. In this paper, singular value decomposition (SVD), subset selection (SSDA), and independent component analysis (ICA) deconvolution algorithms are used to solve this problem using GPR scans of simulated concrete bridge decks. Then, velocity analysis method is used to estimate depth of defects as an evaluation criterion. Results show that ICA has better performance than SVD and SSDA at a cost of slower execution time. Key-Words: Singular value decomposition, subset selection deconvolution algorithm, independent component analysis, ground penetrating radar, bridge condition assessment, non-destructive testing