Development of Bowtie Slot Antenna for the Characterization of Damages with GPR in Civil Engineering Structures

The design and the analysis of a UWB triangle bowtie slot antenna operating in the frequency band [0.3;4] GHz for GPR applications is presented. The antenna appears particularly compact and exhibits a low cross-polarization in the E-plane. 3D FDTD simulations have allowed to make detailed parametric studies to obtain the radiation characteristics of the shielded antenna in the presence of a common soil. Simulated results of the bistatic GPR in the presence of a soil with buried objects and in different polarization orientations are presented and discussed. First data analyses have been made using signal and image processing to extract quantitative information. First experimental measurements made in previously characterized sites will allow to validate the performances of the GPR system designed.