Combined sensor approach to the detection and discrimination of antipersonnel mine

Saibun Tjuatja; Jonathan W. Bredow; Adrian K. Fung; O. Robert Mitchell

doi:10.1117/12.357108

2 August 1999 Combined sensor approach to the detection and discrimination of antipersonnel mine

Saibun Tjuatja, Jonathan W. Bredow, Adrian K. Fung, O. Robert Mitchell

Proceedings Volume 3710, Detection and Remediation Technologies for Mines and Minelike Targets IV; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.357108
Event: AeroSense '99, 1999, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

In this study we investigate the detection of plastic anti- personnel mine simulants of several sizes using radar and IR imaging. The problem is first studied numerically with the finite-difference, time-domain method and an inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging algorithm to estimate the optimum conditions in dielectric contrast between the mine (epsilon) _m and the soil (epsilon) _s. It is found that to obtain a recognizable shape, the size of the simulant should be about two wavelengths when the dielectric contrast is low. Range of soil permittivity considered is from 2.8 to 6.0 corresponding to dry and wet soil conditions up to a volumetric soil moisture of 10 percent. The diameter of the mines ranged from 6 cm to 12 cm and their height ranges from 3.5 cm to 5 cm. It is found that when a mine diameter is larger than a wavelength, its image is discernible and becomes clearer when its diameter exceeds two wavelengths. It is found that a plastic mine with a dielectric constant of 2.5 embedded in a dry soil medium with a dielectric constant of 2.8 and locally flat surface can generate an image with the correct geometric shape. An experimental study of microwave-IR imaging is also conducted in this study. The key impact on IR imaging is the change in the amount of moisture in the soil medium caused by the presence of the simulant. Thus, different amounts of moisture are being heated by the microwave in regions with and without the simulant. This in turn causes a temperature difference leading to the IR image. Since the simulant contains no appreciable moisture, the temperature over the simulant is generally lower than the region around it. The soil inhomogeneity and heating pattern effects are discernible in the IR images.

Citation Download Citation

Saibun Tjuatja, Jonathan W. Bredow, Adrian K. Fung, and O. Robert Mitchell "Combined sensor approach to the detection and discrimination of antipersonnel mine", Proc. SPIE 3710, Detection and Remediation Technologies for Mines and Minelike Targets IV, (2 August 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.357108

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