Landmine detection using impulse ground penetrating radar
Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 5:24 pmThe impulse GPR system developed in the International Research Centre for Telecommunications-transmission and Radar (IRCTR). Impulse GPR system comprises a Impulse generator, Transmitter, Receiver, Pulse extender, A/D converter, Processor and Visual display.
If all mines were cased or had substantial metallic content, all that would be required for detection are metal detectors. The widespread use of plastic landmines necessitates development and deployment of additional detection technologies. Because there is no such thing as a plastic detector, other sensors attempt to exploit ancillary disturbances in the background, such as thermal, chemical, or dielectric.
Because of the difficulty detecting the tiny amounts of metal in a plastic landmine with a metal detector, technology development has been funded in other areas. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has been used for nearly 70 years for a variety of geophysical subsurface imaging applications including utility mapping and hazardous waste container location and has been actively applied to the problem of landmine detection for nearly 20 years. When parameters such as frequency range, antenna size, antenna separation, and system timing are optimized for detection of mine-sized objects in the near subsurface, GPR is quite effective in detecting both metal and plastic landmines in a variety of soils. The depth of penetration is a function of both the frequency range produced and the soil attenuation. Lower frequency components penetrate further, but it is a higher-frequency component that is necessary to image and resolve smaller targets. Both impulse- based and swept frequency GPR systems have been employed in Army-sponsored research programs. Generally a system with a bandwidth of roughly 1 to 4GHz is effective for detection of landmines.
If all mines were cased or had substantial metallic content, all that would be required for detection are metal detectors. The widespread use of plastic landmines necessitates development and deployment of additional detection technologies. Because there is no such thing as a plastic detector, other sensors attempt to exploit ancillary disturbances in the background, such as thermal, chemical, or dielectric.
Because of the difficulty detecting the tiny amounts of metal in a plastic landmine with a metal detector, technology development has been funded in other areas. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has been used for nearly 70 years for a variety of geophysical subsurface imaging applications including utility mapping and hazardous waste container location and has been actively applied to the problem of landmine detection for nearly 20 years. When parameters such as frequency range, antenna size, antenna separation, and system timing are optimized for detection of mine-sized objects in the near subsurface, GPR is quite effective in detecting both metal and plastic landmines in a variety of soils. The depth of penetration is a function of both the frequency range produced and the soil attenuation. Lower frequency components penetrate further, but it is a higher-frequency component that is necessary to image and resolve smaller targets. Both impulse- based and swept frequency GPR systems have been employed in Army-sponsored research programs. Generally a system with a bandwidth of roughly 1 to 4GHz is effective for detection of landmines.
