Contribution to classification of buried objects based on acoustic impedance matching

Determination of material the buried objects are made of could contribute significantly to their recognition, or classification. This is important in detecting buried antipersonnel landmines within the context of humanitarian demining, as well as in a variety of other applications. In this article the concept has been formulated of the approach to buried object's material determination starting with ultrasonic impulse propagation analysis in a particular testing set configuration. The impulse propagates through a characterized transfer material in such a way that a part of it, a reflected wave, carries the information about the buried object's surface material acoustic impedance. The limit of resolution capability is theoretically analyzed and experimentally evaluated and the influencing factors described. Among these, the contact between clean surfaces of the transfer material and buried object is emphasized.