Land Mine Detection by Time Reversal Acousto-seismic Method

The objective of the proposed research is to develop new technologies based on principles of Time Reversal Acoustics (TRA) that will provide highly sensitive land mine detection. We suggest applying the Time Reversal Acousto-seismic method in combination with a nonlinear acousto-seismic mine detection technique. The TRA focused system provides a high concentration of seismic wave energy at any desired point (e.g., on a land mine) and can detect it due to the high nonlinearity the mine produces. It is the only system that is capable of focusing seismic waves in time and space, which highly increases the detection abilities of linear and nonlinear acousto-seismic methods. Several systems based on TRA focusing (with speakers and small seismic vibrators) for laboratory and small-scale field tests will be developed and tested. Measurements of the surface vibration will be conducted by a scanning laser vibrometer and contact sensor. TRA spatial and temporal field structure, its dependencies on the frequency of radiated waves, distance from radiators, and the number of radiators will be investigated. High harmonic generation, due to nonlinear contact between the mine and the surrounding sand/soil, will be used for mine detection. Feasibility tests will demonstrate the abilities of TRA for land mine detection.