A precious coin treasure was recently recovered: The shiny, well-preserved silver coins rested at a depth of 2.5 m (8.2 ft). We congratulate the treasure hunter on locating the hoard and are pleased to be allowed to present this discovery with our professional metal detector eXp 6000.

Ancient silver coins found: The obverse shows the head of a man looking to the right - probably Kings Antiochos and/or Seleukos. Successful treasure hunt thanks to professional metal detector. The powerful treasure detector and ground scanner eXp 6000 locates treasures and cavities to a depth of 25 m (82 ft). Thanks to various probes, the eXp 6000 can be used for different treasure hunting tasks:

• The Telescopic probe allows the investigation of very large areas in a short time.
• The Super Sensor finds natural gold mineralsas well as buried gold treasures.
• The Tunnel Sensor localizes underground cavities such as tunnels or caves.
• The LiveStream Sensor indicates buried artifacts immediately visually.

With the powerful metal detector and 3D ground scanner eXp 6000, archaeologists, amateur historians and gold seekers benefit from professional features for successful treasure hunts.

The story behind the silver coins:
The idea of coins is about 2500 years old. The currency was invented almost simultaneously in China and the Middle East. The distribution of coins from Asia Minor to Persia, Greece, the Roman Empire and into the world was driven by the flourishing long-distance trade of that time.

Historical value of the silver coins: The splendor of these ancient coins, which probably originate from the Seleucid Empire, not only impresses the discoverer of the coin treasure. On the one hand, it is an impressive discovery of a largely unknown treasure of this size. On the other hand, it is also fascinating to touch silver coins which were once taken as travel duties or from royal estates or were in circulation in exchange for goods and services within and outside the oriental empire – a piece of living history. The historical value of these 2000 year old coins now exceeds the original value as a means of payment.

Historical and geographical classification of silver coins: With his victory over the Persians, Alexander the Great extended his territory and reign to India. After his death, the Alexander Empire disintegrated into numerous empires – such as the Seleucid Kingdom, which was located in the area of the extinct ancient Persian Empire (Achaemenid Empire) in the Near East.

Map of the Macedonian Empire (334 - 323 B.C.): The Macedonian Empire was an ancient kingdom in the northern-most part of ancient Greece, bordering the kingdom of Epirus on the west and the region of Thrace to the east. For a short period of time it became the most powerful state in the ancient Near East.(Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons)The favorable location on the Silk Road favored trade within and outside the Seleukid Empire. Transport routes and ports were expanded, goods such as ceramics and metal jewelry made of silver, gold and bronze were exported to Iran and Greece, and craftsmen such as mosaic layers were hired in neighboring empires. Glass foundry and shipbuilding were also up-and-coming crafts that emerged in Syria and Phoenicia, while in Mesopotamia and Babylonia textile textile manufacturing became the focus.

Shiny, well preserved coin find: The ancient Greek coins are a fascinating piece of history.
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Ancient treasure trove of coins: The silver coins seem to originate from the Seleucid kingdom around 270 to 220 BC.Is the coin treasure maybe the hidden savings of a merchant? Perhaps a trader was surprised by a storm on his journey and had an accident. Was the collection of silver coins stolen and hidden by a thief? The details remain uncertain, but it is clear: The flourishing trade inside and outside the Hellenistic empires such as the Alexander Empire and the Seleucid Empire brought numerous coins on the market and holds further treasures such as jewelry, ceramics and mosaics awaiting their discovery.

The lightweight metal detector Rover UC allows treasure hunting in rough terrain, since only a smartphone is required for the first evaluation of the measured data. Without much preparation, the metal detector is immediately ready-to-use and does not only detect metals, but also distinguish between ferromagnetic and non-ferromagnetic metals.
In this case, the Rover UC detected a cavity while treasure hunting in the Middle East: A hidden burial chamber at 2 m depth was found in an ancient temple ruin. The treasure hunter was astonished as his discovery revealed valuable objects that are not made of gold. With the 3D ground scan function, his Rover UC tracked down the underground vault and led the treasure hunter to a successful discovery. The smartphone with the Rover UC App finally became a light source to illuminate the treasure find.

The discovered glass mosaic bowl with a diameter of 14.5 cm and a height of 4.5 cm weighs about 145 g, according to the treasure hunter. At first sight, the bowl appears to be very detailed, but rather inconspicuous in color. On closer inspection, the artfully arranged glass stones stand out, revealing their full splendor only above a light source: A beautiful, green shining mosaic showing fish around a spiral-shaped center. The discoverer of this treasure find describes the art object as a Phoenician glass mosaic bowl.

The glass production was originally brought to Egypt by craftsmen from Mesopotamia. Syria and Mesopotamia became important centers of glass production in the Mediterranean region in the 9th century BC. In the Hellenistic period, i.e. in the reign of Alexander the Great, Egyptian glass works in Alexandria again acquired a leading role. From there the technique of glass processing finally reached Rome.

Early on it was possible to make open vessels such as jugs and bowls from colored, translucent glass stones. Together with the mosaic technique, complex patterns were created, as the presented treasure trove shows. By fusing glass threads together, further forms and stripes could be created.
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In fact, the Phoenicians were not only sovereign in the production of beautiful glass mosaic bowls, but also in the trade with the extraordinary objects. The entire Mediterranean area was supplied from the glass manufactories in the coastal towns in today’s Syria. The utility glass from Sidon and the glass artworks from Alexandria were exported in large quantities to Rome.

​In its peak between 1200 and 900 BC, Phoenicia dominated the entire Mediterranean region as far as the Atlantic and was thus the greatest trading and naval power of antiquity. Phoenicia was famous in the ancient world mainly for its textiles and dyes (purple), objects made of precious metals, ivory carvings and glassware and had a significant influence on Greek art. Impressed by the production of glass, art spread throughout the Roman Empire and brought glass objects via the Silk Road to China.

A client of OKM detectors sent us 3D images and photos of his grave chamber find in Tunisia. The discoverer did not comment on found artifacts and burial valuables such as weapons and jewelry. Without any further information on the burial site, it is uncertain for whom it was built and which epoch of Tunisia’s lively history the discovery belongs to – starting with the Phoenicians, influenced by the trading power of Carthage and the competition with the Roman Empire, through numerous battles for supremacy and religion to the French colonial domination.

Discovery of burial chamber with Rover C II

Numerous data were collected during the measurement with the Rover C II as well as during the immediate inspection of the site. The measurement data were evaluated with the OKM software Visualizer 3D and clearly show a long cavity. According to the client’s specifications, the burial chamber is located at a depth of about 9,8 to 13,2 ft (3 to 4 m). Pictures testify to the underground find and illustrate the nature of the walls of the site.

It is not uncommon for concrete contractors to request the location of rebar, conduits, post-tension cables, electrical, or plumbing in order to aid in remediation risks. Additionally, savvy contractors have been using GPR technology to determine concrete slab thickness. This provides the concrete contractor with several benefits including: the proper assignment of concrete cutting and coring tools, and the ability to better quote the work required. Trained and certified GPR operators understand the benefits and limitations of the technology and how to determine the best course of action in challenging survey conditions. Yet, even the most knowledgeable operators will wonder if there’s a tip or trick that they can deploy in the field to collect better data. Here we explore the difference between suspended slab and slab-on-grade surveys, and infield processing techniques which operators can use to get the best out of their slab-on-grade data.
The detectability of the slab bottom depends on the underlying material and amount of steel within the slab. It is easier to see when a contrasting material such as water, air or metal is under the slab because they will have a stronger dielectric contrast. In Figure 1, the data is representative of an elevated concrete slab. Note the several hyperbolic reflections on the screen, this is indicative of a double rebar mat. Towards the bottom of the data image, there is a strong dielectric contrast at the concrete-to-air boundary and therefore products a clear indicator of the bottom of the slab.

2-D versus 3-D Data Collection: In most cases, GPR manufacturers recommend using 2D scanning for real-time locating and simple imaging services, and to use 3D data collection for complex survey sites. However, slab-on-grade surveys are an exception to this rule. It is recommended to conduct 2D scanning in these situations because the layer interface is a planer target which is more easily viewed from the side.

Depth Setting: Conducting a preliminary scan of the area will help the operator determine the appropriate GPR system settings. A common mishap is that the system is set to a depth that is less than the overall concrete depth. This inherently causes data loss at the deeper levels. Remember to always set the depth range 2-3 inches deeper than the expected slab thickness to ensure that the full slab thickness is captured.
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Gain: Display Gain and System Gain can be used to brighten a weak back reflection. However, these settings should be used with caution. Display Gain and System Gain settings often influence the rest of the data. Some systems apply a correction factor to gain based on assumed material dielectric. 

Migration: Migration eliminates hyperbolas by collapsing them into dots representing the actual targets. This can be helpful to make target identification more intuitive and makes the data easier to interpret. This is especially true for slab-on-grade because the tails of hyperbolic targets can sometimes intersect and hide the concrete-to-sand boundary reflection. By collapsing the hyperbolas into dots, the bottom of the slab can become more recognizable.
Cross Polarization: When detecting linear metal targets (pipes, rebar, etc.), antenna orientation relative to the target becomes important. Antenna dipoles (transmitter and receiver) are most sensitive to the metal targets that are parallel to them. In other words, if an operator is scanning across the slab with the GPR system in its normal orientation, it is sensitive to targets that are running perpendicular to the direction the operator is moving (parallel to the antenna dipoles).
Some systems can be modified to turn the antenna 90 degrees. This method is known as “cross-polarizing”. If the operator scans over a metal target that is again perpendicular to their direction of travel, the GPR system is not as sensitive to it. This “weakens” the amplitude of the metallic objects and may result in a stronger concrete bottom reflection.

The world’s leading manufacturer of ground penetrating radar (GPR) equipment, introduces the new 200 MHz (200 HS) antenna, the first of the next-generation high-performance GS Series, designed for applications that require deeper depth penetration. The new 200 HS antenna serves as the foundation for the GS Series, which is ideal for geophysical, geotechnical, or environmental applications that require high reliability under challenging survey conditions.

The newly designed 200 HS antenna is paired with the HS Module and wirelessly connects to a Panasonic Toughpad G1 or SIR 4000 control unit. The wireless HS Module incorporates system electronics, an internal GPS, and connectivity ports in an IP-65 rated housing. The 200 HS uses GSSI’s patented HyperStacking technology, which improves signal to noise performance and increases the antenna depth penetration, nearly double the conventional GPR antenna designs, under all soil conditions. The 200 HS is FCC, RSS-220, and CE certified.

The GS Series features a modular design that allows the user to select which controller best suits their needs; the rugged SIR 4000, combined with our new WiFi Module, or the Panasonic G1. Both controller options provide different advantages to the customer. The SIR 4000 builds on the same user interface and menu options that customers are familiar with to accommodate the 200 HS. The Panasonic G1 features a GIS map mode that will display GPR data collected on the left side of the screen and a location map on the right side of the screen.

Designed alongside the 200 HS are several survey accessories to enhance the ease of use in data collection. The antenna comes with a tow handle with various grip options. Optional accessories include a GPS mount and a four-piece wheel kit that will decrease the wear of the antenna on prepared surfaces such as grass and asphalt.

Over the past decade, many countries have heavily invested in wind energy. While the quality control, routine inspection, and performance monitoring of the turbine and the blades have significantly developed over the past few years, the quality control and monitoring of the foundation elements is often overlooked. This is essential in keeping these massive towers grounded and secure.

Wind Turbine foundation can be as large as 10-15 meters (diameter), the Foundation block can be as thick as 1 to 2 meters, depending on the tower size, and soil characteristics. Due to their relatively large size, these foundations are often considered mass concrete.

This can lead into buildup of significant heat (from the cement hydration process) and develop massive temperature gradient in the foundation block. This may result in thermal contraction cracking shortly after the concrete hardens — compromising the structural integrity and durability of the foundation.

Excessive heat development and dissipation may result in thermal contraction cracking shortly after the concrete hardens — compromising the structural integrity and durability of the foundation.

Wind Turbine Foundations have sophisticated congested steel reinforcement to provide stability against dynamic loads. This will make the placement of concrete challenging, and it may result in poor quality patches in the foundation.

​While the use of Self-Consolidating Concrete (SCC) and steel fibres can help overcome some of these challenges, by reducing the amount of steel bars, and proper placement. However, the quality of foundations needs to be evaluated ahead of installing the tower and the turbine.

​4- Ground Penetrating Radar
Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a very useful technique for nondestructive concrete imaging and scanning. GPR uses pulsed electromagnetic radiation to scan concrete. GPR consists of a transmitter antenna and a receiver antenna, and a signal processing unit. GPR emits electromagnetic pulses (radar pulses) with specific central frequency to scan the subsurface medium. The reflected waves from subsurface layers, and objects are captured by the receiver antenna.

Cracks in Wind Turbine Foundation
It is critical to repair early age cracks in wind turbine foundations. Wind turbine structures are subject to dynamic loads from the oscillation of tower, blades, and the operation of turbine. Due to this changing load, the cracks can progress in width, and depth, creating durability related issues and structural performance concerns. epoxy injecting into these cracks can help control these cracks at the early stage. ​

​For concrete and cementitious screeds to receive a floorcovering we know that the base must be suitably “dry enough”. This is to prevent damage to the flooring material and to ensure a proper bond with adhesives. So, what is “dry enough” and how long does it take for concrete to reach this goal?

Water is a vital component in the manufacture of concrete and the concrete must be kept moist during the critical curing phase to ensure the intended concrete strength. During the curing phase,  the process of Hydration chemically binds a large portion (approx. 50%) of the water with the cement paste which sets and hardens. What moisture is left after this reaction is either physically bound moisture that is trapped in the pores of the concrete, or what is known as Free Moisture.

This Free Moisture is what must be allowed to evaporate in order to reduce the moisture in the concrete to that acceptable level of “dry enough”. Although a the rule of thumb is to allow an inch per month (or mm per day), a number of factors such as slab depth will greatly influence the drying time. We will briefly look at these.

But to consider how long this will take we first need to establish what measurement can be regarded as “dry enough” and what methods of testing can be used. The simplest and most fool-proof method of testing moisture in concrete and screeds is with an impedance type moisture meter. Impedance type moisture meters commonly provide quantitative measurements (as opposed to qualitative, 0-100 reference readings) and give a very quick and helpful indication of the overall moisture content of the concrete in percentage measurements of moisture content by weight, MC%.

More and more flooring covering and adhesive manufacturers are specifying the readings with this measurement that suit their products. This makes life very easy for the flooring installer as the test is extremely fast and has a low potential for user error. A common measurement specified by many manufacturers is ≤4% for products which are not designed to be moisture tolerant. Products which have a high moisture tolerance can be specified with readings as high as 6%.

The British Standard Relative Humidity Hood test has been the most relied upon test method for many years and is specified by many UK manufacturers of flooring products. An insulated, impermeable box is affixed to a position on the surface of the slab which has been identified as the highest reading position (with an impedance meter preferably). The box is sealed with butyl tape to a clean, dust free surface and the airspace inside is allowed to equilibrate with the RH within the slab. Equilibration can take anything from 4 hours to 72 hours depending on the slab thickness.

Once equilibrium is established a reading can be taken and compared to a second reading 4 hours later (or 24 hours later in the case of a 72 hour test) and, in most cases, a slab can be considered ‘dry enough’ when a reading of 75% or less is recorded with no change from the  first measurement to the second, although floor covering manufacturers specifications should also be consulted.

(For more detailed instruction see BS5325, BS8201 & BS8203).

The RH Hood test is useful in that it is non-destructive and fairly simple to perform, as long as the steps are followed correctly and the box is not disturbed during the equilibrium period. However, the potential for user error is high, in that the possibility of skewed readings due to temperature change can easily be missed by ignoring the British Standard advice for a follow up test, 4 hours or 24 hours later as mentioned. A solution to this problem may be found by using a data-logging probe.

A commonly asked question is how the RH Hood method and the Moisture Content method correlate and this is a useful point to note: In a laboratory situation where temperature and humidity are constant at say 80%RH & 20ºC , a sample of average quality concrete will eventually equalize at approx. 4% MC. In the field, however, conditions are usually anything but stable and so temperature changes can cause large swings in RH test results and a high ambient RH of over 65% can result in condensation on the surface of the slab, causing higher MC% readings. However, other factors also affect the correlation between RH% and MC%, especially the water-cement (w/c) ratio.

A sorption Isotherm chart such as the one in Figure 1, provides a helpful indication of the measurements that should be expected so that when readings are far apart from each other and do not correlate as expected, it can be a good indication that one reading could be very wrong and that further investigation is needed. As such, we can see that performing two different tests is worth much more than the sum of their parts. The in-depth Relative Humidity Sleeve Method has been included in British Standards since 2011 and is growing in popularity.

This method is similar to the RH Hood method in that a trapped airspace is allowed to equilibrate with the RH within the slab. This test is destructive, however, involving drilling a hole into the slab to a specified depth of the total thickness, placing a plastic tube (or sleeve) into the cleaned hole and sealing with a plastic cap. Once equilibrium is established a hygrometer probe is placed into the sleeve and given 30 minutes to acclimate before taking a reading.

It is vital, to ensure a proper reading, that the probe is not placed in the hole too early as the heat from the drill will disturb the equilibrium. The benefit of the RH Sleeve method is that the entrapped airspace is much smaller and therefore equilibrium is established much faster than is possible with the RH Hood method. If following probe manufacturers’ instructions, the test can be performed in a shorter period of 24 hours or less in some cases.

​However, the complication with this test method is sometimes in regard to confusion over the drying goal reading values required. It has been shown that readings taken with the RH Sleeve method can be higher than the RH Hood method, commonly by between 5%-10%. Floor covering manufacturers who specify the in-depth sleeve method will often specify an upper limit of 85% instead of the 75% associated with the RH Hood. See Figure 2.

Having established our “drying goals” and ‘what is dry enough?’, we can now turn back to estimated drying times and the question of ‘how long?’. In concrete construction a large amount of water is initially used in the mix, often ca. 180 litres per cubic meter. This amounts to approx. 10-14% of the total weight of the material, depending on the water-cement (w/c) ratio. As discussed, approx. 50% of this water becomes chemically bound in the curing phase.

The w/c ratio is an important factor affecting the drying time of concrete. The lower the w/c ratio (i.e. less water & more cement) the finer the pores in the pore structure, which in turn reduces the transport velocity of moisture in the concrete and therefore produces a slower rate of drying. However, the lower water content of course also reduces the amount of water that has to evaporate, which should result in an overall shorter drying time. These and other factors are illustrated in the following charts which are interpreted from testing produced by the Swedish Concrete Association.

All drying times listed are to reach a drying goal of 4%MC (Impedance Method), 75%RH (RH Hood Method), and  85%RH (In-depth RH Sleeve Method). Drying time for upper floor, above-grade slabs (drying from both sides) with different thickness and w/c ratios (Days) in normal drying conditions: 60%RH & 18ºC:

Low strain pile integrity test is a common nondestructive test (NDT) procedure for quality control and quality assurance (QC/QA) in deep foundation construction. The test can be used to identify physical defects (voids or discontinuity, referred to as pile integrity) in piles, or determine unknown length of existing deep foundations.

Low Strain Pile Integrity Test belongs to the family of shaft head impact tests, where the response of an impact made on the head of pile head is recorded by a motion transducer (i.e. accelerometer), and used for analysis. Alternatively, engineers can use other tests such as crosshole or down-hole tests for the purpose of integrity test.

5- Striking Pile Head: Where, How, How Many?
The low strain impact should be applied to the pile head within a distance of 300 mm from the sensor.  It is also important to place the transducer far from the pile edge to reduce the effect of edge. Make sure that the impact is applied axially. For inclined piles, make sure the transducer is place perpendicular to the pile surface (parallel to pile longitudinal axis), and the strike direction is parallel to this direction.

For circular (diameter less than 500 mm) and rectangular cross sections, place the sensor near the center of the pile and strike several times around the pile head (i.e. 10 impacts). Increasing the number of impacts will reduce the effect of background noise, and helps enhance repeatable parts, which will make interpretation easier. For piles with larger diameter (i.e. Diameter > 500 mm) additional locations should be considered to obtain useful integrity information about the pile.

We are very excited to announce that we have signed with FPrimeC Solutions Inc. a partnership agreement to expand sales network and support centres for iPile™ | Pile Integrity Testing-PIT in Europe and the Middle East. Great times ahead for your concrete testing. 

Concrete piles and drilled shafts are an important category of foundations. Despite their relatively high cost, they become necessary when we want to transfer the loads of a a heavy superstructure (bridge, high rise building, etc.) to the lower layers of soil. Quality control and quality assurance has been a popular, yet challenging task for geotechnical engineers, inspectors, and piling contractors, mainly because these elements are generally buried under ground, with only pile head being accessible most of the time. Different intrusive and non-intrusive methods have been developed over the past decades to help engineers with easy, reliable and cost-effective evaluation of quality in these elements. Pile Integrity test is referred to a group of nondestructive tests that aim to provide quantitative data on physical dimensions of pile elements, their continuity, and last but not least, consistency of the pile material.

Pile integrity test (PIT), or as ASTM D5882 refers to it as "low strain impact integrity testing of deep foundation is a widely used nondestructive test method for the evaluation of pile quality, integrity and to help estimate the unknown length of existing piles and foundations. Pile integrity test can be either used for for forensic evaluations on existing piles, or quality assurance in the new construction. The integrity test is applicable to driven concrete piles and cast-in-place piles. The following image provides a visual summary of major integrity issues in deep foundations.

Low strain impact integrity testing provides acceleration or velocity and force (optional) data on slender structural elements (ASTM D5882). Sonic Echo (SE) and Impulse Response (IR) are employed for the integrity test on deep foundation and piles. The test results can be used for evaluation of the pile cross-sectional area and length, the pile integrity and continuity, as well as consistency of the pile material; It is noted that this evaluation practice is approximate. The PIT method works best for column type foundations, such as piles and drilled shafts. The method provides a rapid and simple tool for evaluation of a number of piles in a single working day.

How to Perform PIT?

Surface preparation is the first thing to do when performing a pile integrity test. Any type of contamination should be removed (using a grinder) to reach to solid and sound concrete surface. The pile head surface should be accessible, above water, and clean of loose concrete, soil or other foreign materials resulting from construction. This step is so vital, because then connection between the sensor and concrete should be solid (firm contact). The acceleration sensor should be placed on concrete firmly. To do so, a couplant material should be used to attach the acceleration sensor the pile head.  An impactor (usually a hand-held hammer) is used for impacting pile head; the impact should be applied axially with the pile. Motion transducer should be capable of detecting and recording the reflected echos over the pile top. Acceleration, velocity, or displacement transducers can be used for this purpose. At the minimum, acceleration transducer should have an Analog to Digital Converter with 12 bit resolution; and a Sample Frequency of at least 25 KHz. The location of the sensor should be selected away from the edges of the pile. The integrity testing should be performed no sooner than 7 days after casting or after concrete strength achieves at least 3/4 of its design strength, whichever occurs earlier.