Ultra-wideband, short-pulse ground-penetrating radar: simulation and measurement

Ultra-wideband (UWB), short-pulse (SP) radar is investigated theoretically and experimentally for the detection and identification of targets buried in and placed atop soil. The calculations are performed using a rigorous, three-dimensional (3D) method of moments algorithm for perfectly conducting bodies of revolution. Particular targets investigated theoretically include anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines, and a 55-gallon drum, for which the authors model the time-domain scattered fields and the buried-target late-time resonant frequencies. With regard to the latter, the computed resonant frequencies are utilized to assess the feasibility of resonance-based buried-target identification for this class of targets. The measurements are performed using a novel UWB, SP synthetic aperture radar (SAR) implemented on a mobile boom. Experimental and theoretical results are compared.