Inverse problem analysis for nondestructive evaluation of structural characteristics of multilayered foundations

The evaluation of the parameters of multilayered foundations (pavements, runway strips, etc.) plays an important role in ensuring the safe movement of vehicles. An approach of model construction for estimating the mechanical and geometric parameters of such foundations based on the solutions of inverse problems for multilayered elastic packets is proposed. As input data for such problems the measured displacements (or velocities) of certain points on the package surface are used. The proposed approach is based on informational-probabilistic paradigm for inverse problem analysis, whose task is to obtain a posteriori probability density in the space of unknown parameters. The essence of the approach is the block-parametric approximation of the a priori probability density and likelihood function in the spaces of parameters and model data of the problem. The method allows estimating the parameters of the a priori distribution of unknown variable parameters, identifying and excluding outliers of the measured data from the created model, and constructing a posteriori estimation of the unknown parameters’ probability density with acceptable resolution. Proposed method can be used to create a new generation of equipment intended for nondestructive monitoring and estimating of the condition of pavements, runways and foundations of artificial structures. The appropriate software for such high-speed scanning devices that allow on-the-fly display of the diagnosed layered foundation parameters can be developed.