A NONDESTRUCTIVE IMPULSE RADAR TOMOGRAPHIC IMAGING SYSTEM FOR TIMBER STRUCTURES

A micropower impulse radar (MIR)-based portable imager is being developed to aid bridge inspectors assess the condition of timber structures. An initial prototype has been developed and tested. The results show that the radar is capable of detecting a variety of void-type defects on untreated Douglas Fir glulam beams. Currently, work is underway to finish the integration of a radio frequency-based position encoding mechanism for the MIR imager. Further testing will be done once this next phase is completed. Further testing and optimization of the image-reconstruction algorithm is needed for this application. Postprocessing algorithms may be needed to filter out unwanted clutter caused by pulse ringing from surface knots and other imperfections.