At the ETRO (Engineering ICT & Electronics) department of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), a research team has developed a radar that makes it possible to look in and through walls, ceilings and floors. The instrument is intended to help renovators and restorers in buildings where a detailed technical plan is lacking.
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In many buildings it is still too often guessing what is in the walls. Moreover, you don’t just throw open a floor or ceiling.
The radar developed by the VUB team can now calculate the exact thickness of walls, the size of pipes that run through them, can map cavities, so that as a renovator you no longer have to work blindly.
A classic radar emits electromagnetic waves that contain many frequencies, but that leads to a complex signal in which no materials or their thickness can be deduced. The ETRO radar uses the material-dependent propagation speed and the reflection of electromagnetic waves.
Using complex mathematical models, the cross-section of the wall with everything in it can be made from the reflected image.
For the construction sector, this offers possibilities such as detecting insulation materials or leaks in walls and floors or detecting invisible concrete rot, for the professionalization of restoration projects.
“It can be used in stone, wood, glass, concrete and can even separate layers of paint with a thickness of 100 micrometers. It does not work for metals, but of course you see them appearing in the image as obstacles,” explains VUB professor Johan Stiens out.
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