Unexploded Ordnance Detection Using Imaging Giant Magnetoresistive (GMR) Sensor Arrays

Unexploded Ordnance Detection Using Imaging Giant Magnetoresistive (GMR) Sensor Arrays
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Total Pages: 13
Release: 1997
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False positive detections account for a great part of the expense associated with unexploded ordnance (UXO) remediation. Presently fielded systems like pulsed electromagnetic induction systems and cesium-vapor magnetometers are able to distinguish between UXO and other metallic ground clutter only with difficulty. The discovery of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) has led to the development of a new generation of integrated-circuit magnetic sensors that are far more sensitive than previously available room-temperature-operation electronic devices. The small size of GMR sensors makes possible the construction of array detectors that can be used to image the flux emanating from a ferrous object or from a non-ferrous object with eddy currents imposed by an external coil. The purpose of a GMR-based imaging detector would be to allow the operator to easily distinguish between UXO and benign objects (like shrapnel or spent bullets) that litter formerly used defense sites (FUDS). In order to demonstrate the potential of a GMR-based imaging technology, a crude magnetic imaging system has been constructed using commercially available sensors. The ability to roughly determine the outline and disposition of magnetic objects has been demonstrated. Improvements to the system which are necessary to make it into a high-performance UXO detector are outlined.

Advanced Magnetic System for UXO Detection and Discrimination

Advanced Magnetic System for UXO Detection and Discrimination
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Total Pages: 94
Release: 2007
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This project addressed issues of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) detection, as a key component of the land remediation problem. Remediation is a formidably expensive operation. Much of the cost is a consequence of "dry" holes dug to reveal a benign object instead of the expected hazardous UXO, and of holes dug in the wrong location, or made much larger than they ought, thanks to faulty localization of the ordnance. The concept proposed for development in the present project is based on the fact that most UXO uses ferrous steel. Its ferromagnetic and conducting properties both distort the earth's static magnetic field and generate a secondary field in response to a time-dependent exciting field. The proposal and initial statement of work set out to develop a single instrument combining target detection and accurate localization (via passive magnetic gradiometry of the earth s-field distortion) with target-clutter discrimination (using the response to a broadband exciting field). No such single instrument exists today. The proposed instrument was to incorporate a full tensor magnetic gradiometer inside a three-axis excitation field source. With the source turned off, the gradiometer enables detection and localization. With the source turned on at closer range, the gradiometer measures the broadband response of the object and a classification algorithm, developed independently at Duke University, would decide whether the object was a UXO or not.

Report on Demonstration Project

Report on Demonstration Project
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Total Pages: 21
Release: 1996
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The goal of the project was to demonstrate the feasibility of the detection of buried unexploded ordnance (UXO) using giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor arrays. 3x3 and 5x5 arrays of off-the-shelf GMR sensors were purchased from Nonvolatile Electronics (NVE) and were interfaced with a data acquisition card and a personal computer. Magnetic images were obtained from a number of ferrous objects, such as threadstock, bolts, and rebar. These images can be interpreted in terms of the remanent magnetic state of the objects. The ability of the GMR sensor approach to discriminate among magnetic objects is assessed and the design of a more realistic UXO detection system is discussed.

Ultra-Wideband Electromagnetic Induction for UXO Discrimination

Ultra-Wideband Electromagnetic Induction for UXO Discrimination
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Total Pages: 179
Release: 2002
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- 18 - The material in this section consists of extracts from, summaries of, and comments on results that appear in more detail in the following chapters of the report. For the most part, literature references are not provided in this section, when they are present adequately in the more detailed report sections. At the inception of the project, reliable, accurate means were needed to analyze EMI UWB target responses, both to identify phenomena in the new frequency frontiers and to integrate them into patterns continuing through the more familiar parts of the EMI band. Much was lacking in this regard in terms of both analytical and numerical models. To address this, formulations were developed to provide analytical solutions, for the first time, for basic non-spherical shapes (elongated and flattened spheroids). A parallel development was also undertaken in the numerical realm, designed to treat arbitrary shapes and material composition, in 3-D, from the low frequency limit to the high frequency limit. Work was successful in - 19 - both realms. All models were based on first-principles physics, in particular Maxwell's fundamental equations of electromagnetics. These are typically simplified somewhat in induction problems, as phenomena are justifiably treated as quasi-magnetostatic (MQS). In mathematical practice, this means that a term is eliminated that contains the time derivative of the electric field. At higher, e.g. radar frequencies, this term cannot be eliminated.

Frequency-Domain Electromagnetic Induction Sensors for the Multi-Sensor Towed Array Detection System

Frequency-Domain Electromagnetic Induction Sensors for the Multi-Sensor Towed Array Detection System
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Total Pages: 19
Release: 2002
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The Chemistry Division of the Naval Research Laboratory has developed the Multi-sensor Towed Array Detection System for use in unexploded ordnance detection and classification. With support from the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program, we are developing a frequency-domain electromagnetic induction sensor array to extend our capabilities. The first task in this program is to characterize the commercial GEM-3 sensor and assess its suitability for use in a towed array. In this report, we detail our characterization results and note the problems we encountered. We conclude by listing the modifications to the baseline sensors that we will make for the array we will field.