Simulation and Measurement of Through-the-Earth, Extremely Low-Frequency Signals Using Copper-Clad Steel Ground Rods

The underground mining environment can greatly affect radio signal propagation. Understanding how the earth affects signal propagation is a key to evaluating communications systems used during a mine emergency. One type of communication system is through-the-earth, which can utilize extremely low fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inIEEE transactions on industry applications Vol. 53; no. 5; pp. 5088 - 5095
Main Authors Damiano, Nicholas William, Yan, Lincan, Whisner, Bruce, Zhou, Chenming
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States IEEE 01.09.2017
Subjects
Communication systems
Earth
Electrodes
Geophysical measurement techniques
Ground penetrating radar
ground rods
Grounding
Impedance
low-frequency communications
Surface impedance
low-frequency communications
ground rods
Grounding
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Summary:The underground mining environment can greatly affect radio signal propagation. Understanding how the earth affects signal propagation is a key to evaluating communications systems used during a mine emergency. One type of communication system is through-the-earth, which can utilize extremely low frequencies (ELF). This paper presents the simulation and measurement results of recent National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) research aimed at investigating current injection at ELF, and in particular, ground contact impedance. Measurements were taken at an outside surface testing location. The results obtained from modeling and measurement are characterized by electrode impedance, and the voltage received between two distant electrodes. This paper concludes with a discussion of design considerations found to affect low-frequency communication systems utilizing ground rods to inject a current into the earth.
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ISSN:0093-9994
1939-9367
DOI:10.1109/TIA.2017.2703625