Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Tanner Ethan

Publication Date

6-25-2010

Abstract

A need exists to reliably detect and characterize underground structures from immediately above the Earth's surface within the vicinity of the structures, as well as via aerial surveys. Sandia National Labs and the University of New Mexico have collaborated to study the feasibility of detecting and characterizing underground structures, specifically hollow rectangular-shaped caverns. This thesis covers the computational aspects of this investigation and also focuses on the detection of caverns from immediately above the Earth's surface. Three-dimensional, full-vector Maxwell's equations finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) modeling is employed to obtain the signatures for different caverns of various depths and dimensions. It is found that by removing the signature of the ground, the presence of an underground structure is detectable.

Keywords

Caves--Remote sensing--Data processing, Maxwell equations--Numerical solutions, Finite differences, Time-domain analysis.

Sponsors

Sandia National Laboratories

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

Degree Name

Electrical Engineering

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Committee Member (Chair)

Simpson, Jamesina

Second Committee Member

Schamiloglu, Edl

Third Committee Member

Atwood, Tom

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