"My work involves the use of ground-penetrating radar (a sub-surface, electromagnetic imaging technique similar in principle to airborne radar) as a tool for locating and quantifying hidden, inaccessible problems within engineering structures and buried foundations. The radar allows us to identify problems such as the corrosion and voiding of concrete, leaking water and fuel pipes and fractured and collapsing sewers.
Working in partnership with Fugro Aperio, I am developing practical, non-invasive site investigation tools which will have applications for environmental, geological, hydrological, archaeological, forensic and geotechnical problems . By applying sophisticated computer modelling and data analysis techniques to problems such as leaking pipes, I hope to be able to develop ‘automated’ recognition systems and new, specialised imaging equipment that are capable of identifying the onset of such problems without the need for expensive invasive, destructive surveys.
The project will have an immediate practical benefit to a wide range of engineers who need advanced, non-destructive imaging tools, and it is hoped that the technology will be adopted by the civil and utilities engineering sectors in the near future."
Read more about Dr Nigel Cassidy's work at Keele University.