Premium
Mathematical modeling and measurement of electric fields of electrode‐based through‐the‐earth (TTE) communication
Author(s) -
Yan Lincan,
Zhou Chenming,
Reyes Miguel,
Whisner Bruce,
Damiano Nicholas
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
radio science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1944-799X
pISSN - 0048-6604
DOI - 10.1002/2016rs006242
Subject(s) - overburden , transmitter , signal (programming language) , electric field , electrode , voltage , wireless , communications system , electrode array , electrical engineering , magnetic field , computer science , acoustics , physics , telecommunications , engineering , mining engineering , channel (broadcasting) , quantum mechanics , programming language
There are two types of through‐the‐earth (TTE) wireless communication in the mining industry: magnetic loop TTE and electrode‐based (or linear) TTE. While the magnetic loop systems send signal through magnetic fields, the transmitter of an electrode‐based TTE system sends signal directly through the mine overburden by driving an extremely low frequency (ELF) or ultralow frequency (ULF) AC current into the earth. The receiver at the other end (underground or surface) detects the resultant current and receives it as a voltage. A wireless communication link between surface and underground is then established. For electrode‐based TTE communications, the signal is transmitted through the established electric field and is received as a voltage detected at the receiver. It is important to understand the electric field distribution within the mine overburden for the purpose of designing and improving the performance of the electrode‐based TTE systems. In this paper, a complete explicit solution for all three electric field components for the electrode‐based TTE communication was developed. An experiment was conducted using a prototype electrode‐based TTE system developed by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The mathematical model was then compared and validated with test data. A reasonable agreement was found between them.