Detection and Localization of Objects Concealed within Highly Conductive Media using VLF Scattering

Committee: 

Dr. Cohen, Advisor       

Dr. Scott, Chair

Dr. Durgin

Abstract:

The objective of the proposed research is to develop a method for the detection of metallic objects concealed within a highly-conductive enclosures through the measurement of scattered EM radiation using a combination of near-field magnetic sources and Very Low Frequency (VLF, 3-30 kHz) signals of opportunity.  This problem poses a unique challenge in that the radiating energy must sufficiently penetrate the concealing body while still interacting strongly enough with the hidden object to produce detectable secondary scattering.  Preliminary work has shown that frequencies in the VLF regime optimally satisfy these conditions. The proposed method will utilize gradiometric techniques in combination with a highly sensitive VLF/LF broadband receiver to isolate these weak interactions. This work seeks to localize objects in three-dimensional space within the container and quantify the spatial resolution, as well as to assess the size and material properties of the objects.