Condition monitoring of deteriorating concrete dams using radar

Remote monitoring of the deterioration process of concrete dams has been studied by using radar to measure laboratory-size concrete specimens. The specimens represent five different physical conditions of deteriorating concrete dams. The investigation includes the manufacturing and the radar measurements of the specimens, and the implementation of signal processing schemes for generating two- and three-dimensional imagery of the specimens. The change in the radar signals that resulted from the specimens is related to the condition change inside the concrete. The results have shown the feasibility of using radar for monitoring the condition change inside concrete dams from a distance.