Action TU1208
Training School on Ground Penetrating Radar for the assessment of transport infrastructures
Osijek, Croatia, March 6-9, 2017
The COST Action TU1208 is organising a Training School on "Ground Penetrating Radar for the assessment of transport infrastructures."
This course will be held in the Faculty of Civil Engineering of Osijek (Croatia), on March 6-9, 2017. Trainees from all over the world are welcome to attend the school for free, we do not request a registration fee! To register, please send an email to school@gpradar.eu.
This Training School is targeted to Early-Career Investigators, PhD students, Master students and engineers interested in Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and its civil-engineering applications. The main focus will be on the use of GPR for the non-destructive assessment of roads, bridges and railways, as well as for the detection of utilities in urban areas. Several practical sessions will take place. Discover the class scheduling, reported below!
Here is a document explaining how to reach Osijek and the Faculty of Civil Engineering. This document also includes some basic information about Osijek and suggestions for accommodation. A private bus will be available for Trainers and Trainees, on 5 March 2017, to travel from Zagreb airport and city centre to Osijek. Moreover, the same private bus will bring back Trainees and Trainers from Osijek to Zagreb airport and city centre on 10 March 2017 (see page 9 of the document).
Coordinators of the Training School are Prof. Damir Varevac (Faculty of Civil Engineering of Osijek, Croatia, TU1208 WG Member) and Prof. Lara Pajewski (Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, TU1208 MC Chair).
Trainers are Prof. Lara Pajewski, Prof. Damir Varevac, Dr Sonia Santos Assuncao (Murphy Surveys, Ireland, TU1208 WG Member), Dr Simona Fontul (LNEC - Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil, Portugal, TU1208 MC Substitute Member), Prof. Miro Govedarica (Faculty of Technical Sciences of Novi Sad, Serbia, TU1208 MC Member), Prof. Ivica Guljaš (Faculty of Civil Engineering of Osijek, Croatia), Dr Aleksandar Ristic (Faculty of Technical Sciences of Novi Sad, Serbia, TU1208 MC Substitute Member), Prof. Tatjana Rukavina (University of Zagreb, Croatia, TU1208 WG Member), Dr Niko Sarlah (University of Ljubliana, Slovenia) and Dr Carl Van Geem (BRRC - Belgian Road Research Center, Belgium, TU1208 WG Member).
Equipment used during practical sessions:
- Pulsed GPR and air-coupled/ground-coupled antennas by IDS Ingegneria dei Sistemi, owned by the Faculty of Civil Engineering of Osijek, working at the following centre frequencies: 200 / 600 MHz (dual system), 900 MHz, 2 GHz.
- Pulsed GPR and air-coupled antennas by GSSI, owned by the University of Zagreb, working at the following centre frequencies: 1 GHz and 2.2 GHz.
- Pulsed GPR and ground-coupled antennas by GSSI (SIR 3000), owned by the University of Novi Sad, working at the following centre frequencies: 400 MHz and 900 MHz.
- RD8000 electromagnetic locator of utilities and GPS Trimble 5800 for geolocalisation, owned by the University of Novi Sad.
- Equipment for infrared and ultrasound inspections, owned by the Faculty of Civil Engineering of Osijek.
- Equipment for ambient-vibration measurements, owned by the Faculty of Civil engineering of Osijek.
Class Scheduling
Monday, 6 March 2017
Tuesday, 7 March 2017
Time | Trainer | Activity |
08:30 - 09:15 | L. Pajewski | Choice of GPR equipment for different applications. GPR system performance compliance. |
09:15 - 09:40 | S. Fontul | An in-depth look into structure and function of pavement structures. |
09:40 - 10:40 | M. Govedarica A. Ristic | GPR applied to the detection and localisation of utilities in urban areas: More details and advanced case studies. |
10:40 - 11:00 |
| Tea & Coffee Break |
11:00 - 12:00 | N. Sarlah | GPR applied to the detection and localisation of utilities in urban areas: More details and advanced case studies. |
12:00 - 13:00 | S. Santos Assuncao | The point of view of a private end-user: Advanced case studies by Murphy Surveys. |
13:00 - 14:00 |
| Lunch |
14:00 - 16:00 | All Trainers. Activity coordinator: D. Varevac | Practical Session: Use of GPR on a 100 m long section of the main road, in front of the University building. Evaluation of pavement thicknesses. Detection and localisation of utilities. The road section will be secured and we will have the support of Osijek Road Service and Traffic Police. |
16:00 - 16:30 |
| Tea & Coffee Break |
16:30 - 18:30 | C. Van Geem | Practical Session: GPR data processing - Roads. |
Wednesday, 8 March 2017
Time | Trainer | Activity |
09:00 - 10:00 | L. Pajewski | Electromagnetic modelling for GPR applications. Introduction to freeware electromagnetic simulators developed in TU1208. |
10:00 - 11:00 | C. Van Geem | Combined use of GPR and deflection measurement devices, on roads. |
11:00 - 11:30 |
| Tea & Coffee Break |
11:30 - 12:15 | C. Van Geem | Structural evaluation of existing pavements based on deflection measurements and GPR data. |
12:15 - 13:00 | C. Van Geem | Practical Session: Backcalculation of E-moduli and evaluation of remaining life of road structures, by using the freeware tool Qualidim. |
13:00 - 14:00 |
| Lunch |
14:00 - 16:00 | All Trainers. Activity coordinator: D. Varevac | Practical Session: Use of GPR on a secured section of a tramway, with ballast (5 min walk from the University). |
16:00 - 16:30 |
| Tea & Coffee Break |
16:30 - 18:00 | C. Van Geem | Pavement management. |
19:30 - 21:00 |
| Big Band Jazz concert, in the University. |
Thursday, 9 March 2017
Time | Trainer | Activity |
08:30 - 09:00 | S. Fontul | An in-depth look into structure and function of railway structures. |
09:00 - 10:00 | S. Fontul | Combined use of GPR and other techniques for track-condition evaluation, on railways. |
10:00 - 11:00 | S. Fontul | Practical Session: GPR data processing - Railways. |
11:00 - 11:30 |
| Tea & Coffee Break |
11:30 - 12:30 |
| Poster Session |
12:30 - 13:00 | S. Fontul | GPR applied to airports: Advanced case studies. |
13:00 - 14:00 |
| Lunch |
14:00 - 16:00 | All Trainers. Activity coordinator: D. Varevac (GPR) and I. Guljas (other techniques) | Practical Session: Use of GPR on a prestressed concrete pedestrian bridge, over the railway station, nearby the University. Use of infrared and ultrasound inspection techniques. Ambient-vibration measurements. |
16:00 - 16:30 |
| Tea & Coffee Break |
16:30 - 17:00 | D. Varevac, L. Pajewski | Final discussion and closing. |
A Poster Session will take place on Thursday, with posters prepared by Trainees to present their research activities.
Training School Grants
for PhD students & early-career investigators
The COST Action TU1208 is offering up to 10 x 400,00 EUR grants to PhD Students and Early-Career Investigators willing to attend the Training School. The COST Action TU1208 is proud to offer free courses: this Training School does not have a registration fee and Trainees from all Countries are welcome to attend for free.
Rules for Grant Applications:
COST Training School Grants represent a contribution to cover travel, meal and accommodation expenses. According to COST rules, only Trainees from COST Countries and from approved institutions in Near-Neighbour Countries can apply for a Grant.
To submit a Grant Application, the following items had to be sent to school@gpradar.eu:
The applications will be examined by the School Coordinators and an answer will be givien within a few days. Please be aware of the following rules:
The selection of Granted applications is based on the COST key principles of excellence and inclusiveness. COST is supported by the EU Framework Programme Horizon2020 and its policy contributes to the "Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation" Horizon 2020 goal. To identify excellent applicants, we ask applicants to submit a curriculum vitae, a motivation letter and a support letter. At the same time, we aim at achieving inclusiveness. This objective is developed by COST around three main elements: support to Early-Career Investigators, fostering of gender balance and support to researchers coming from less-research intensive COST Member Countries.
List of Granted Trainees:
List of further Trainees registered to the Training School:
Facebook Group of the Training School:
Photoalbum of the Training School:
For information concerning the COST Action TU1208, please take contact with the Chair of the Action, Dr. Lara Pajewski - This website is supported by COST, European COoperation in Science and Technology - COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme Horizon2020