GEOPHYSICS R & D:

Geophysics GPR International Inc. has always been conscious of the need to evolve, to explore new avenues and to push back the limits of current knowledge, in order to provide better solutions and services to our clients. The best way to accomplish this is to establish and maintain a healthy R&D department within the company. Current research projects are from a wide range of geophysical disciplines, including NDT data acquisition, airborne geophysics and seismic resonance surveys.

The research is carried out by very experienced and imaginative personnel who are dedicated to their fields of expertise.

GPR's clients, as well as the geophysical community in general, are the beneficiaries of the geophysics R&D work carried out at GPR. GPR prides itself on its ability to offer innovative solutions to the often difficult problems brought to us by our clients. We are accustom to being flexible and able to modify and adapt our techniques and working methodology to suit the clients needs.

Product Innovation:

GPR has developed its owned TDEM airborne system (GPRTEM - and recently ugraded to GPRTEM2), Several changes have been made: A new receiver and a new amplifier were designed and tested. A new platform has also been developed to improve the stability of the receptor in flight. A modification to the geometry of the transmitter will produce a little more output power. The purpose of these modifications is to improve the frequency response and to reduce the noise of the amplifier and the noise caused by vibrations of the receiver. Flight tests are planned for end of 2015 to determine the overall improvement of the signal / noise ratio due to these changes.

 

The Microsis® system, designed and built by our R & D department, is innovative in that it goes some way to bridge the gap between the geophysical world of low frequency systems, and the NDT world of high frequency data acquisition. It is in fact a NDT instrument for geophysical applications. Inherent in its design are multiple high speed DAQ channels, which can be configured to receive a variety of different inputs. In addition, the system includes a high quality function generator, enabling a wide range of sources to be driven with a pre-determined wave function. For a detailed specs sheet of the Microsis® system, click here. GPR is currently working on a second system, Microsis 2, which has the same design principles, but will have more channels, and permit higher resolution data acquisition at higher speeds than before.

 

GPR has successfully completed field trials of a new concept in airborne gradiometer systems, call HeliMAGer. The system, which is designed to be towed by helicopter, can contain up to four magnetometer sensors, in order to provide true vertical and horizontal gradient measurements with low noise and at low altitude. This system is now ready for commercial work.

The TISAR seismic resonance system has, after considerable field trials, been proven to provide accurate and reliable results for aquifer location in horizontally stratified rock. This system is also ready for commercial application.

Since its foundation, Geophysics GPR has always focused on innovating in the field of applied geophysics. Over the last 45 years, our research and development team and geophysicists have developed new geophysical methods, land, airborne and marine geophysical tools, processing software and innovative field procedures for complex surveys in demanding environments.

Looking towards the future, we continue to explore new technological advances such as Artificial Intelligence, 5G communication technologies and nanoelectronics to push geophysics forward and stay in the front line of our industry

Below is a list of Recent Innovations developed by our R&D team

  • Hydro-SEEp: This methodology was developed to allow a complete geophysical assessment on tailings and earth dams. Hydro-SEEp allows a detailed imagery of the structure of the dam, allowing to detect any defects, voids, leaks and seepage areas. This methodology is combined to conventional monitoring such as geotechnical instrumentation and data management systems to provide the best solution for dam safety procedures.
  • Hydro-TISAR: This a frequency domain based seismic method which utilises the resonance phenomenon within geological layers to produce a resonance section similar to a ground penetrating radar radargram. Initially developed for groundwater investigation, the allows to identify very thin structures within the soils and bedrock at depths up to 100 metres.
  • GPRTEM: GPR has developed its own heliborne EM system for shallow mining exploration. GPRTEM proposes innovative improvements to allow greater detection sensitivity for ore body discoveries.
  • HeliMAGer: This patented system is a 4-sensor magnetic gradient heliborne system. HeliMAGer can accept a range of different sensors / instruments, particularly useful for the mapping and exploration of mountainous regions. The platform allows the arrangement of the sensors in three orthogonal directions.
  • Microsis: This is an NDT instrument for geophysical applications. Inherent in its design are multiple high speed DAQ channels, which can be configured to receive a variety of different inputs. In addition, the system includes a high-quality function generator, enabling a wide range of sources to be driven with a pre-determined wave function.