Evaluating efficiency of foreign object detection technology based on the use of passive infrared thermography

A new method for detecting subsurface solid objects buried in farmlands, such as plastic bottles, wasted cans, etc., has been proposed by applying the technique of infrared (IR) thermography to monitor the temperature of soil surface subjected to solar irradiation. Through both experimentation and simulation, this study parameterizes the influence of environmental factors on IR images and validates the detection capabilities of the method. To verify the feasibility of IR thermography testing, the experimental section of the work is devoted to monitoring aluminum and polyethylene terephthalate cans buried in sand with varying grades of moisture. The dependencies between the efficiency of foreign object detection and their depth are derived. A restoring pseudothermal flux algorithm was used to reduce the impact of lateral diffusion on IR thermographic detection of foreign objects buried in soil. Variations of soil temperature caused by varying solar radiation during multiple day-night cycles are used to improve the detectable diameter-depth ratio. The described technique is efficient and provides no harm to human beings.