UAV-Based Ground Penetrating Radar for Structural Health Monitoring of Bridges

Bridges are critical components of transportation infrastructure, requiring regular inspection to ensure safety and longevity. Traditional bridge inspection methods, such as visual assessment and contact-based techniques, often suffer from limitations in accessibility, efficiency, and data consistency. This dissertation presents a UAV-based Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) system designed for non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of bridge structures, enabling rapid and high-resolution subsurface imaging. The proposed system integrates a lightweight, airborne GPR mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), providing a novel approach to detecting structural anomalies such as rebar corrosion, voids, and delamination in bridge decks.