RFID tags to aid detection of buried unexploded ordnance

The difficulty in reliably and efficiently detecting and locating buried unexploded ordnance (UXO) is a concern for the military. Tagging munitions and ordnance items before they are fired or launched would allow for a significantly more efficient means of locating buried UXO. Munition tagging can be accomplished by employing existing passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag technology, such as the Texas Instruments' solenoidal tags. This tagging approach would result in very low falsealarm rates compared to those currently experienced. The tags provide information on the munition's location and identity when the UXO tag interrogation module is brought nearby. This paper summarizes the analytical and experimental efforts Battelle pursued to reach these conclusions. Analytical efforts included modeling of the magnetic field's behavior to understand the requirements to transmit energy from the above-ground interrogator to the tag and from the tag back to the above-ground receiver. Laboratory work validated the modeling results and showed the feasibility of the technique. Field testing of a prototype system indicated the likely success of this approach to detecting buried UXO.