This paper reports a numerical and experimental investigation conducted to study the thermal signature of buried landmines on soil surface. A finite-volume-based numerical model was developed to solve the unsteady three-dimensional heat transport equation in dry homogeneous soil with a buried mine. Numerical predictions of soil thermal response were validated by comparison with published analytical and numerical values in addition to data obtained experimentally. Experiments were performed inside an environmental chamber and soil temperatures were measured during cooling, using two measurement techniques, after exposing the soil surface to a radiant heat flux for a specified period. In the first technique, the temporal variation of the surface and internal soil temperatures were recorded using thermocouples. In the second technique, the soil surface temperature was measured using an infrared camera that revealed the thermal signature of the mine. The transient temperature profiles generated numerically agreed with measurements, and the difference between predicted and measured values was less than 0.3°C at both the soil surface and in depth. The accurate matching of numerical and IR images at the surfaces was found to strongly depend on the use of a smaller soil thermal conductivity at the surface than at greater depths. The numerical model was used to predict the dependence of the peak thermal contrast on time, depth, and heating period. The thermographic analysis, when combined with numerical predictions, holds promise as a method for detecting shallowly buried land mines.
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Research Papers
Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Thermal Signatures of Buried Landmines in Dry Soil
F. Moukalled,
F. Moukalled
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture,
American University of Beirut
, Beirut, Lebanon
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N. Ghaddar,
N. Ghaddar
ASME Fellow
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture,
e-mail: farah@aub.edu.lb
American University of Beirut
, Beirut, Lebanon
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H. Kabbani,
H. Kabbani
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture,
American University of Beirut
, Beirut, Lebanon
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N. Khalid,
N. Khalid
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture,
American University of Beirut
, Beirut, Lebanon
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Z. Fawaz
Z. Fawaz
Ryerson University
, School Aerospace Engineering, Toronto, Canada, M5B 2K3
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F. Moukalled
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture,
American University of Beirut
, Beirut, Lebanon
N. Ghaddar
ASME Fellow
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture,
American University of Beirut
, Beirut, Lebanone-mail: farah@aub.edu.lb
H. Kabbani
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture,
American University of Beirut
, Beirut, Lebanon
N. Khalid
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture,
American University of Beirut
, Beirut, Lebanon
Z. Fawaz
Ryerson University
, School Aerospace Engineering, Toronto, Canada, M5B 2K3J. Heat Transfer. May 2006, 128(5): 484-494 (11 pages)
Published Online: October 25, 2005
Article history
Received:
April 27, 2005
Revised:
October 25, 2005
Citation
Moukalled, F., Ghaddar, N., Kabbani, H., Khalid, N., and Fawaz, Z. (October 25, 2005). "Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Thermal Signatures of Buried Landmines in Dry Soil." ASME. J. Heat Transfer. May 2006; 128(5): 484–494. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2176681
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