Non-destructive evaluation of moisture content in wood using ground-penetrating radar

Abstract. This paper presents the results of a series of laboratory measurements, carried out to study how the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) signal is affected by moisture variation in wood material. The effects of the wood fibre direction, with respect to the polarisation of the electromagnetic field, are investigated. The relative permittivity of wood and the amplitude of the electric field received by the radar are measured for different humidity levels using the direct-wave method in wide angle radar reflection configuration, in which one GPR antenna is moved while the other is kept in a fixed position. The received signal is recorded for different separations between the transmitting and receiving antennas. Dielectric constants estimated from direct waves are compared to those estimated from reflected waves: direct and reflected waves show different behaviour when the moisture content varies, due to their different propagation paths.