Journal of Earth Science and Engineering 3 (2013) 730-743

Sensing Thermal Underground Transients of Buried

Wired Structures
Ira Kohlberg
1
, William Szymczak
2
and

Camille DAnnunzio
3

1. Kohlberg Associates, Inc, 11308 South Shore Road Reston, VA 20190, USA
2. Naval Research Laboratory, Physical Acoustics Branch, 4555 Overlook Ave SW, Washington DC 20375, USA
3.Northrop Grumman ES, Automated Sensor Exploitation Technology Center, 1550 W. Nursery Road, Linthicum MD 21090, USA*

Received: October 15, 2013 /Accepted: October 30, 2013 / Published: November 25, 2013

Abstract: Mathematical investigations of the dynamic response of buried systems to thermal and/or electromagnetic stimulation
continues to be of great importance. The size of such systems can range from the microelectronic scale to large underground
structures. Stimulation can occur from unwanted electromagnetic signals entering the buried system, and for assessing the operating
state of a buried system that is not usually physically accessible. In both cases detecting damage or status can be accomplished by
examining the time dependence of the resultant surface temperature. This study shows how to determine surface temperature for a
hypothetical thermal-plus-systems using a combination of Fourier-space and Laplace-time transform techniques. The hypothetical
model can be generalized from scaling the relevant relationships.

Key words: Electromagnetic heating, buried wire, surface temperature, Laplace transform.

1. Statement of Problem
The goal of this analysis is to examine the
conditions where a buried wire is heated enough by
the electric field so as to be detected at the surface. In
the absence of all other heating effects detecting the
wire would only depend upon ambient conditions and
the sensitivity of the instruments. Unfortunately,
detection may be hindered to some extent by direct
heating of the ground from the electric field. The
primary concern of this paper is direct heating and an
estimate of the temperature rise as a function of
ground parameters and the electric field is sought.
Fig. 1 is a sketch of the problem to be solved
analytically. The model consists of a bare (no insulation)
copper wire of length, L, radius a, located a distance d
below the earths surface. The wire is parallel to the

Corresponding author: Ira Kohlberg, president, Ph.D.,
research fields: electromagnetic theory, information theory,
communications theory and fluid dynamics. E-mail:
ira.kohlberg@gmail.com.
* this work on this paper was done independently and has no
association with NGES.
earths surface which is the y-z plane located at
d x =
.
The wire is assumed to be straight and points in the
positive z direction. An electromagnetic plane wave
strikes the earths surface at oblique incidence and
propagates into the ground. Both a, and d are much less
than the wavelength
air
of the incident wave in free
space and the wavelength in the ground
ground

, which
is less than
air
. The wires length L will also affect the
interaction but in this exploratory analysis the length is
assumed to be infinite. A real system may be comprised
of numerous wires that under circumstances may
interact with each other. However, the basic techniques
for solving the dynamic behavior system will involve
the fundamental concepts this study.
In summary, an expression for the surface
temperature is derived as a function of time and
distance from the buried wire, temporal behavior of
the incident electric field, and other relevant physical
constants. Using Fourier-space and Laplace-time
transform techniques the surface temperature is
found to be a sum of two terms: explicit ground heating
DAVID PUBLISHING
D
Sensing Thermal Underground Transients of Buried Wired Structures

731


Fig. 1 Temperature sensing of RF heating of buried wire.

produced by the sources ground-penetrating electric
field and thermal generation in the wire and its
transport to the earths surface. A closed-form
expression in terms of the Laplace transform variable
is derived for the surface temperature. The time
dependent surface temperature is computed from the
inverse Laplace transform using asymptotic
approximations.
2. Summary of Approach
An analytic description of the
physical-mathematical model for solving the problem
is rendered in Section 3. In this section an overview of
the physical ideas and mathematical approach is
provided. For all modes of polarization: TE
(Transverse Electric), TM (Transverse Magnetic),
TEM (Transverse Electromagnetic), circular and
elliptical and angles of incidence, electromagnetic
waves are propagated into the ground in a completely
predictable way [1, 2]. This electromagnetic energy
gets coupled into the wire, heating it up. Again, the
coupling theory for this is well known. The
temperature of the wire is raised above its
surroundingsi.e., the ground, and conversely the
wire cooled by heat transfer to the ground. Eventually
this temperature effect is sensed at the earths surface
above the wire. Fig. 2 is a sketch of how
electromagnetic energy heats the wire.
A critical feature of Fig. 2 is the shaded region; this
is the skin depth. Even though the radius of the wire is
actually quite small, the skin depth is very thin. If
) (t I
is the total current flowing in the z-direction, a the
radius of the wire, o the skin depth
) ( a << o
, and
o
the conductivity, the resistance per unit length is
) 2 / 1 ( ' o oa R
eff
= which is clearly much greater
than the dc resistance per unit length
) / 1 ( '
2
o a R
dc
=
. The Joule heating per unit length
of wire is
) ( ' ) (
2
t I R t
eff W
= A
. Because the incident
energy source is time dependent so will be the
temperature of the wire and the temperature at the
earths surface above the wire. This elevated ground
temperature will exist over a modest surface area
(measured by the lateral dimension, y) in the
neighborhood above the wire.
Fig. 3 is a sketch of how thermal energy travels
from the wire to the surface. As the wire gets heated
the thermal energy initially enters the ground by
thermal conduction, physical contact between wires
surface and ground. This conduction process is
described by diffusion [3] as is the transport process
from the wire to the surface. The flow of heat is
symmetric about the vertical axis. It is assumed that
the heat transfer to free space from the ground is
negligible so that the plane d x = is an insulating
boundary. Any thermal energy reaching this boundary
is reflected.
Even though diffusion is not, strictly speaking, like
wave propagation, directionality can still be attributed

Sensing Thermal Underground Transients of Buried Wired Structures

732


Fig. 2 Electromagnetic heating of the buried wire.


Fig. 3 Heat traveling from wire to surface.

to the flow of heat and in some ways treated as
wave-like. This is shown by the arrows in Fig. 3. At
the beginning of the heating process the wire is
unaware of the reflecting boundary. Thermal energy
has not had enough time (in a diffusion sense) to
travel from the center of the wire to the boundary, get
reflected, and influence future heat transfer between
the wire and ground. This being the case, the
interaction between the wire and ground proceeds as if
in an infinite medium, and is independent of angle
around the wire.
Consider heat traveling along ray A which strikes
the surface at normal incidence. There will be a
meaningful reflection at d x = , but that reflection
wont reach the wire until the roundtrip diffusion time:
G D
D d T /
2
~ ,
G
D is the ground diffusion constant.
For the conditions considered D
T
can be in the
seconds to tens of second range. By extending this
line of reasoning the reflection from ray B will arrive
back at the wire later than from A and be even weaker,
C will arrive back at the wire later than from B and be
even weaker, etc.. By extending this semi-quantitative
argument it can be seen that 50% of the heat from the
wire (rays D, E, F) can never return and the rest have
diffuse weak reflection from the assumed insulating
boundary and have extremely long transport delays.
Based on these arguments it is assumed that the
interchange between the wire and ground is modeled
Sensing Thermal Underground Transients of Buried Wired Structures

733
as if it occurs in an infinite medium (this is easily
modified if necessary).
Since the radius of the wire is significantly much
smaller than the other dimensions the heat source into
the ground derived from the wire-ground interaction,
) (t u , is modeled as a two dimensional spatial delta
function, ) ( ) ( ) ( y x t o o u . The last element that
needs to be addressed is the direct heating of the
ground from the electric field. This is given by the
expression: ) (
' '
2
1
) (
2
0
0
t E t
G
|
|
.
|

\
|
= A
c
c
ec .
When all the pieces are put together the resulting
equation becomes
) ( ) ( ) ( ) , (
2
2
2
2
y x t t y
y
T
x
T
K
t
T
C
G
G G
G
G
G
o o u + A +
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
=
c
c

The solution of this equation gives the surface
temperature as a function of time and space.
Quantitative details are rendered in the next section.
3. Theoretical Model and Solution
3.1 Wire Heating
Heating the wire occurs in the skin depth. Although
the current is confined to the skin depth the heat itself
is rapidly transferred over the entire cross section by
diffusion. The diffusion time is
W D
D a T /
2
= (1)
Using 05 . 0 = a cm and a wire diffusion constant
of 3 . 1 =
W
D cm
2
/s gives
3 4
10 9 . 1 ) 3 . 1 /( ) 10 25 (

= =
D
T s (2)
based on the following data for copper:
4
10 3 . 1 /

= =
W W W
C K D m
2
/s thermal diffusivity
401 =
W
K watts/m-deg K thermal conductivity
6
10 45 . 3 =
W
C Joules/m
3
-deg K specific heat
per unit volume
The heat transport equation is
) (
1
2 2
2
t Q
r
T
r
r
T
K
t
T
C
W
W W
W
W
W
+
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
=
c
c
(3)
2
) (
) (
a
t
t Q
W
W
t
A
=
w/m
3

) ( ) (
2
t I R t
eff W
= A w/m
which is transformed into
) (
1
2 2
2
t
r
T
r
r
T
D
t
T
W
W W
W
W
O +
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
=
c
c
(4)
W
W
W
W
W
C a
t
C
t Q
t
2
) ( ) (
) (
t
A
= = O
Eq. (4) is solved in cylindrical coordinates using
Bessel functions. This is facilitated greatly by
introducing the function
) ( ) , ( ) , ( t T t r T t r
WS W
= I (5)
where,
) , ( ) ( t a r T t T
W WS
=
is the surface
temperature of wire located at a r = . It is not known
ahead of time, determined as part of solution. The
important feature of Eq. (4) is that it sets up the
boundary condition
0 ) ( ) , ( ) , ( = = I t T t a T t a
WS W
(6)
Eq. (6) enables us to efficiently use the orthogonal
properties of the Bessel functions. Substituting Eq. (5)
into Eq. (4) gives
) (
1
2 2
2
t
r r
r
D
t
W W
H +
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
I c
+
c
I c
=
c
I c
(7)
|
|
.
|

\
|

A
= O = H
dt
dT
a
C
t
a
dt
dT
t t
WS
W
W WS
W W
2
2
) ( 1
) ( ) ( t
t

Writing

=
=
= I
n
n
n n
r J t A t r
1
0
) ( ) ( ) , ( v (8)

=
=
= H
n
n
n n W
r J t B t
1
0
) ( ) ( ) ( v (9)
it follows that
) ( ) (
) (
2
) (
1
t p t
q J q
t B
W n W
n n
n
H = H
|
|
.
|

\
|
= (10)
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
) (
2
1 n n
n
q J q
p (11)
where, v
n
a = q
n
is the n
th
root of the Bessel function.
Inserting Eqs. (8)-(11) into Eq. (7) gives
) (t p A
dt
dA
W n n n
n
H + = (12)
Sensing Thermal Underground Transients of Buried Wired Structures

734
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
= =
D
n n
w n w n
T
q
a
q
D v D
2
2
2
2
(13)
If 0 ) 0 ( = = t A
n
, then
}
=
t
w n n n
d t p t A
0
) ( )) ( exp( ) ( t t t
}
=
t
w n n
d t p
0
) ( ) exp( t t t (14)
Because
n
is so large
|
|
.
|

\
|
~ ) ( ) ( t
p
t A
w
n
n
n

(15)
Taking the Laplace transform, denoted by ~ and
Laplace transform variable denoted by s gives the
following:
) (
~ ~ ~
s p A A s
W n n n n
H + = (16)
) (
~
) (
~ ~
s
p
s
s
p
A
W
n
n
W
n
n
n
H ~ H
+
=

(17)
Consider calculating the heat transfer to the ground.
It is given by the expression
a r
W
W
r
t r T
a K t
=
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
= u
) , (
) 2 ( ) ( t
a r
W
r
t r
a K
=
|
.
|

\
|
c
I c
=
) , (
) 2 ( (18)
a r
n
n
n
n
r
r v J
t A
r
t r
=
=
=

= |
.
|

\
|
c
c
=
c
I c
0
0
) (
) (
) , (

n
q x
n
n
n n
x
x J
v t A
=
=
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
=
0
0
) (
) ( (19)
) ( ) (
) , (
1
0
n
n
n
n n
q J v t A
r
t r
=
c
I c
=
=
(20)
n n
q a v = (21)
) (
) (
1
0
x J
x
x J
=
c
c
(22)
) ( ) ( ) 2 ( ) (
1
0
n
n
n
n n W
q J v t A a K t

=
=
= u
) ( ) ( ) 2 (
1
0
n
n
n
n n W
q J q t A K

=
=
= t (23)
) ( ) (
~
) 2 ( ) (
~
1
0
n
n
n
n n W
q J v s A a K s

=
=
= u
) ( ) (
~
) 2 (
1
0
n
n
n
n n W
q J q s A K

=
=
= (24)
) ( ) (
~
) 2 ( ) (
~
1
0
n
n
n
n n W
q J v s A a K s

=
=
= u
) ( ) (
~
2
1
0
n
n
n
n
n
n
W W
q J q
s
p
s K

=
=
+
H =

(25)
When
n
n
n
n
p
s
p

~
+
(26)
it follows that
) ( ) (
~
2 ) (
~
1
0
n
n
n
n
n
n
W W
q J q
p
s K s

=
=
H = u

(27)
q
n
p
n
J
1
(q
n
)

n
=
q
n
2a
2
C
W
J
1
(q
n
)
q
n
J
1
(q
n
)K
W
q
n
2
=
2a
2
C
W
K
W
q
n
2
(28)

=
=
H = u
n
n n
W W
q
s a C s
0
2
2
1
) (
~
4 ) (
~
(29)
Using the result [4]
=
=
=
n
n
n
q 0
2
4
1 1
(30)
gives
WS W W
T sC a s s
2
) (
~
) (
~
A = u (31)
3.2 Electric Field Heating of Ground
It is assumed that the wavelength and attenuation
length of the radiation is much larger than depth of
penetration. Ground heating is then time dependent
but not space dependent in the domain of interest. The
heat generation for a harmonic waveform at radian
frequency e and with time dependent waveform
) (t E is
Sensing Thermal Underground Transients of Buried Wired Structures

735
) (
' '
2
1
) (
2
0
0
t E t
G
|
|
.
|

\
|
= A
c
c
ec w/m
3
(32)
When the electric field is constant over time,
0
) ( E t E =
, so that
s
E
s
G
2
0
0
0
' '
2
1
) (
~
|
|
.
|

\
|
= A
c
c
ec
If
G
C
is the specific heat per cubic meter the
temperature rise is
} |
|
.
|

\
|
=
t
G
E
dt t E
C
t T
0
2
0
0
' ) ' (
' '
2
1
) (
c
c ec
(33)
s
s E
C
s T
G
E
) (
~
' '
2
1
) (
~
2
0
0
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
c
c ec
(34)
The < > indicates that its the Laplace transform
of the square of the electric field which is calculated.
If
2
0
2
) ( E t E = it follows that
2
2
0
0
0
' '
2
1
) (
~
s
E
C
s T
G
E
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
c
c ec

4. Computation of Surface Temperature
The time and space equation for the ground surface
temperature requires solution of time-space diffusion
in ground including ground heating. The equation is
1
2
2
2
2
y
T
x
T
t
T
D
G G G
G
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
=
c
c

) ( ) ( ) ( ) , (
1 1
y x K t K t y
G G G
o o

u + A +
(35)
Taking the spatial Fourier transform in the
y-direction of Eq. (35) gives
}
+

= dy y j t y x T t x T
G G
) exp( ) , , ( ) , , ( | | (36)
}
+

= | | | d y j t x T t y x T
G G
) exp( ) , , (
2
1
) , , ( (37)
1
2
2
2
T
x
T
t
T
D
G
G G
G
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
c
c
=
c
c

) ( ) ( ) , (
1 1
x K t K t
G G G
o |

u + A +
(38)
The laplace transform
~
~
~
2
2
2
T
x
T
T
D
s
G
G
G
G
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
c
c
=
) ( ) (
~
) , (
~
1 1
x K s K s
G G G
o |

u + A + (39)
is re-expressed using the form
|
|
.
|

\
|
A
+ =
G
G
G
sC
s
s x F s x T
) , (
~
) , , (
~
) , , (
~
|
| |
|
|
.
|

\
|
A
+ =
G
G
sC
s
s x F
) ( ) (
~
2
) , , (
~
| o
| (40)
In deriving Eq. (40) it was assumed that ground
heating was spatially uniform.
The diffusion equation for ) , , (
~
s x F | is solved
using the insulating boundary condition between the
earth and air.
) ( ) (
~
~
~
~
1 2
2
2
x K s F
x
F
F
D
s
G
G
o |

u +
|
|
.
|

\
|

c
c
= (41)
The insulating boundary condition is
0
~
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
=d x
x
F
(42)
When d x s s 0 , (41) becomes
(43)
) exp( ) , ( ) exp( ) , (
~
x s B x s A F o | o | + = (44)
o = |
2
+ s / D
G
(45)
The insulating boundary condition (42) and (44) yield
) 2 exp( ) , ( ) , ( d s B s A o | | = (46)
When 0 s x (41) may be expressed as
(47)
) exp( ) , (
~
x s C F o | = (48)
Sensing Thermal Underground Transients of Buried Wired Structures

736
Matching at 0 = x gives
) , ( ) , ( ) , ( s B s A s C | | | + = (49)
Integrating over the delta function yields
(50)
G
K
s
x
F
x
F ) (
~
~ ~
0
0 0
u
+
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c

|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
=
+ +
(51)
( )
G
K
s
s C s B s A
) (
~
) , ( ) , ( ) , ( 0
u
+ = | o | | o (52)
( ) ( )
G
K
s
s B s A s B s A
) (
~
) , ( ) , ( ) , ( ) , ( 0
u
+ + = | | o | | o
(53)
o
|
G
K
s
s B
2
) (
~
) , (
u
= (54)
) 2 exp(
2
) (
~
) , ( d
K
s
s A
G
o
o
|
u
= (55)
( ) ) 2 exp( 1
2
) (
~
) , ( d
K
s
s C
G
o
o
| +
u
= (56)
The total temperature is
(57)
The surface ground temperature is
|
|
.
|

\
|
A
+ =
G
G
G
sC
s
s d F s d T
) ( ) (
~
2
) , , (
~
) , , (
~
| o
| | (58)
) exp( ) , ( ) , , (
~
d s A s d F o | | =
) exp( ) , ( d s B o | + (59)
) exp( ) 2 exp( ) , ( ) , , (
~
d d s B s d F o o | | + =
) exp( ) , ( d s B o | + (60)
) exp(
) (
~
) exp( ) , ( 2 ) , , (
~
d
K
s
d s B s d F
G
o
o
o | |
u
= =
(61)
(62)

A
= =
G
WS W W
G
d
K
s T s C a s
s d x T ) exp(
) (
~
) (
~
) , , (
~
2
o
o
|

|
|
.
|

\
|
+
G
G
sC
s ) ( ) ( 2 | o
(63)
The next step is to convert Eq. (63) back to y
space using the equation
}
+

= | | | d y j s d T s y d T
G G
) exp( ) , , (
~
2
1
) , , (
~
(64)
G
D s /
2
+ = | o (65)
G
G
G
G
D s
d D s
K
s
s y d T
/
) / exp(

) (
~
) , , (
~
0
2
2
+
+ u
=
}
+
|
|

G
G
sC
s
d y
) (
~
) cos(
A
+ | | (66)
Using the general formula [4]
) ( ) cos(
) exp(
2 2
0
0
2 2
2 2

+ =
+
+
}
+

a K dx ax
x
x
(67)
gives
G
WS W W
G
K
K
s T s C a s
s y d T
) (
~
) (
~
) , , (
~
0
2
A
=
t

G
G
G
sC
s
d y D s
) (
~
) / (
2 2
0
A
+ + (68)
) (
0
z K is Bessel function of the second kind and y
is the lateral distance from center of wire ( 0 = y is
right over center line of wire).
Examination of Eq. (68) shows that in order to
complete the analysis it is necessary to determine the
dynamic temperature at the wires surface,
) (s T
WS
,
and then take the inverse Laplace transform.
Determining
) (s T
WS
is in itself a problem within a
problem. As discussed in Section 2, a determination of
exactly how the heat transfer between the wire and
ground occurs is needed. Considering the model of
Section 3.1, the equations that couple ) (s T
WS
to the
ground are examined.
This is a two-region diffusion problem. The inner
region is the wire which extends in the range
Sensing Thermal Underground Transients of Buried Wired Structures

737
a r s s 0 and the outer region (ground) is the range,
s s r a . The upper limit of infinity is chosen
because for the geometry and time scale of this
problem theres not much chance for thermal energy
returning to the wire. The boundary conditions
between the wire and ground are: continuity of
temperature,
) (s T
WS
, and heat flux,
) ( ) (
~
) (
~
2
s T sC a s s
WS W W
t A = u at a r = .
The equations in the ground are
) (
1
2
2
2
t
r
T
r
r
T
K
t
T
C
G
G G
G
G
G
A +
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
=
c
c
(69)
G G
G G
G
G
K s
r
T
r
r
T
T
D
s
/ ) (
~
~
1
~
~
2
2
2
A +
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
= (70)
) (
' '
2
1
) (
2
0
0
t E t
G
|
|
.
|

\
|
= A
c
c
ec (71)
To satisfy the boundary conditions the Bessel
function of the second kind,
0
K , is considered,
which solves the equation
0
0
2
2
0
2
1
0 K
D
s
r
K
r
r
K
G

|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
= (72)
The solution of Eq. (70) is then
G G G G
sC r D s K s A s r T /
~
) / ( ) ( ) , (
~
0
A + = (73)
where, ) (s A is a constant to be determined from the
boundary conditions. Applying continuity at a r =
gives
WS G G G G
T sC a D s AK a r T
~
/
~
) / ( ) , (
~
0
= A + = (74)
WS E G
T T a D s AK
~ ~
) / (
0
= + (75)
G G E
sC T /
~ ~
A (76)
The energy balance equation is
a r
G
G WS W W
r
T
aK s T s C a s s
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
= A = u
~
2 ) (
~
) (
~
) (
~
2

a r
G
G
r
r D s K
A aK
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
=
/ (
2
0
t (77)
Using the relationship
) / (
) / (
1
0
a D s K
D
s
r
r D s K
G
G
a r
G
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
=
(78)
gives
) (
~
) (
~
) (
~
2
s T s C a s s
WS W W
A = u

) / ( ) ( 2
1
a D s K s A
D
s
aK
G
G
G
= (79)
Eqs. (75) and (79) provide solutions for the two
unknowns: ) (s A

and ) (
~
s T
WS
. From Eq. (74) it
follows that
) / (
) (
~
) (
~
) (
0
a D s K
s T s T
s A
G
E WS

= (80)
Inserting the foregoing expression in Eq. (79) and
working through the algebra gives
s C a P
T P s
s T
W
E W
WS
2

~
) (
~
) (
~
+ +
+ + A
= (81)
G
G
D
s
aK P 2 (82)
) / (
) / (
) / (
0
1
a D s K
a D s K
a D s
G
G
G
+ (83)
s T s C a s s
WS W W
2
) (
~
) (
~
) (
~
A = u

s C a P
T P s
s C a s
W
E W
W W
2
2

~
) (
~
) (
~
+ +
+ + A
A = (84)
Inserting Eqs. (81)-(84) into Eq. (68) give the
complete expression for the surface temperature in
Laplace transform space.
( )

) (
~
) (
~
) ( ) , , (
~
2
K
s T s C a s
s s y d T
G
E W W
G
A
X =
) (
~
) / (
2 2
0
s T d y D s K
E G
+ +
(85)
s C a K K D s aK
K K D s aK
s
W G G
G G
2
1 0
1 0
) / ( / 2
) / ( / 2
) (
+
= X (86)
Sensing Thermal Underground Transients of Buried Wired Structures

738
5. Results and Sample Calculations
As shown in Eq. (85) there are two contributions to
the surface temperature: the contribution from the
wire (the first term on the right hand side) and the
contribution from ground heating (the second term on
the right hand side). The second term is
straightforward and given by
s
s E
C
s T
G
E
) (
~
' '
2
1
) (
~
2
0
0
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
c
c ec
(87)
If
2
0
2
) ( E t E =
2
2
0
0
0
' '
2
1
) (
~
s
E
C
s T
G
E
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
c
c ec
(88)
On the other hand, for a ramp pulse where
max
2
max
2
) (
t
t
E t E = (89)
then
3
max
2
max
0
0
' '
2
1
) (
~
s t
E
C
s T
G
E
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
c
c ec
(90)
For completeness permittivity information is
provided in Table 1.
It is interesting to examine and interpret the
components of the first term in Eq. (85). Consider the
expression: ) (
~
) (
~
2
s T s C a s
E W W
A .
This term refers to the heating of the wire. Where
) (
~
s
W
A came from is known, but where did the
expression involving the temperature due to ground
heating come from? This term arises from the fact that
the surface of the wire is in contact with the ground
and ground heating controls in part the ability to
transfer heat to the ground. Realistically, in order to
detect the heated wire with high probability to have
the condition ) (
~
) (
~
2
s T s C a s
E W W
>> A is
required. Assuming a constant current:
2
0
2
) ( I t I = gives





Table 1 Some values for

/

0

and

/
0
.

/
0


/
0
Sandy Sandy
Dry 2.55 Dry 0.02
Wet 20.00 Wet 2.60
Loamy Loamy
Dry 2.44 Dry -----
Wet 20.00 Wet 2.4
Clay Clay
Dry 2.27 Dry 0.03
Wet 11.30 Wet 2.83

s
I R
s
eff
W
2
0
) (
~
= A (91)
The term,
) (s X
, is the most complex component. It
pertains to the interaction between the wire and
ground and involves Eqs. (69) to (86). From (86)
) / ( / 2
) / ( / 2
) (
2
1 0
1 0
W G G
G G
s C a K K D s aK
K K D s aK
s
+
= X

) ( 2
) (
1
1
0
1
2
C C G
C W
sT K sT K
sT sK C a
+
=
(92)
where, the hybrid diffusion time scale naturally
occurs. The hybrid characterization is useful because
it befits the interaction involving a feature of the wire,
namely a and the ground diffusion constant.
G
C
D
a
T
2
= (93)
Recalling that
G G G
C K D / = yields the
simplified form
) ( 2
) (
1
1
) (
0
1
C G
C C W
sT K C
sT K sT C
s
+
= X (94)
It is interesting to note from Table 2 (compiled
from previous sections) that the ratio of specific heats
is about 2 and hence
) (s X
is approximated by






Sensing Thermal Underground Transients of Buried Wired Structures

739
Table 2 Summary of Thermal Physical Constants.
401 =
W
K w/m-deg K Thermal conductivity
6
10 45 . 3 =
W
C Joules/m
3
-deg K specific heat per
unit volume
4
10 3 . 1 /

= =
W W W
C K D m
2
/s thermal diffusivity
=
G
K Thermal conductivity of ground w/m-deg K
Typical values 86 . 1 5 . 1 ~
G
K ; representative value
7 . 1 =
G
K
=
G
C Specific heat per unit volume of ground
Joules/m
3
-deg K
Typical values
6
10 ) 45 . 2 4 . 1 ( ~
G
C ; Representative
value
6
10 2 =
G
C
6
10 85 . 0

~ =
G
G
G
C
K
D
m
2
/s

) (
) (
1
1
) (
0
1
C
C C
sT K
sT K sT
s
+
X (95)
What is the time behavior that corresponds to the
inverse Laplace transform of
) (s X
? That function is
|
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
= X =

) (
) (
1
1
) ( ) (
0
1
1 1
C
C C
sT K
sT K sT
L s L t x (96)
The inverse transform of Eq. (96) does not appear
to be available from existing sources. The principal
difficulty is the term:
) ( / ) (
0 1 C C
sT K sT K
.
Numerical techniques are required to compute the
inverse transform for all times. This term is examined
numerically in Appendix A.
For early times, characterized by very large s,
asymptotic expansions for
) (
1 C
sT K

and
) (
0 C
sT K
can be used. The general result for
complex argument is Ref. [5]:
|
.
|

\
|
.....
8
1
1 ) exp(
2

) (
0
z
z
z
z K (97)
|
.
|

\
|
+ .....
8
3
1 ) exp(
2

) (
1
z
z
z
z K (98)
|
.
|

\
|
+ .....
2
1
1
) (
) (
0
1
z
z K
z K
(99)
For the exploratory model it follows that
1
) (
) (
0
1
~
z K
z K
(100)
Therefore
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
= X =

s
T
L
T sT
L s L t x
C
C C
1
1 1
1
1
) ( ) (
1 1 1
(101)
( )
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
2 / 1
) / ( ) / exp(
1 1 1
) (
C C
C C
T t Erfc T t
T t T
t x
t
(102)
( ) ( )
2 / 1 2 / 1
) / ( 1 ) / (
C C
T t Erf T t Erfc = (103)
( )

}

=
+
+

= =
0
1 2
0
2
) 1 2 ( !
) 1 (

2
) exp(

2
n
n n x
n n
x
d x Erf
(104)
Using Eq. (105) in the limit as 0 t yields
C C C
tT T t T
t x

1 1

1 1
) (
|
|
.
|

\
|
(105)
When
2 / 1
) / (
C
T t becomes very large it follows [4]
( ) ( )
C
C
C
T t
t
T
T t Erfc / exp

1
) / (
2 / 1
2 / 1
|
.
|

\
|
(106)
0

1 1

1 1
) (
2 / 1
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
|
.
|

\
|

t
T
T t T
t x
C
C C
(107)
The term, ) / (
2 2
0
d y D s K
G
+ , is a basic
structure of diffusion theory and relates how heat
travels and spreads in the vertical and horizontal
directions. Its inverse Laplace transform is
) 4 / exp(
2
1
) ( ) (
2 / 1 2 / 1
0
1
t b
t
s b K L t f = =

(108)
G
D
d y
b
2 2
+
= (109)
Sensing Thermal Underground Transients of Buried Wired Structures

740
An example of a time dependent solution by
starting from Eq. (85) is given by dropping the terms
involving ground heating and using a constant current.
In this case
( )
) (

) (
~
) ( ) , , (
~
0
sb K
K
s
s s y d T
G
W
G
A
X =
) (
1
1
1
0
2
0
sb K
s K
I R
sT
G
eff
C
+
= (110)
Using the convolution theorem and Eqs. (102) and
(108) the time behavior of the surface temperature can
be determined.
} }
=
'
0 0
2
0
) ( ) ' ( '

) , , (
t t
G
eff
G
d f t x dt
K
I R
t y d T t t t (111)
For illustrative reasons only if it is assumed that the
wire/ground interaction could be neglected (this
assumes that somehow the heat energy pumped into
the wire goes directly into the groundthe theoretical
best case) then
1
1
1

+
C
sT
(112)
}
=
t
G
eff
G
dt t b
t K
I R
t y d T
0
2
0
' ) ' 4 / exp(
' 2
1

) , , ( (113)
) (
2
1
) exp(
'
1
2
1
' ) ' 4 / exp(
' 2
1
1
0
q
q
E du u
u
dt t b
t
t
= =
} }

(114)
t D
d y
G
4
2 2
+
= q (115)
=
}
=

q
q du u
u
E ) exp(
'
1
) (
1
Exponential Integral [5]
) (
2
) , , (
1
2
0
q E
K
I R
t y d T
G
eff
G
= (116)
6. Conclusions
In this study a closed-form expression in Laplace
transform space was derived for the surface
temperature of buried wire systems ranging from
microelectronic size to large underground being
heated from an unwanted external electromagnetic
source. It was determined that buried heated wire
systems can produce detectible thermal signatures that
can provide information of system performance and
status. An expression was provided for the surface
temperature as a function of time and distance from
the buried wire, temporal behavior of the incident
electric field, and other relevant physical constants.
Using Fourier-space and Laplace-time transform
techniques the surface temperature was found to be a
sum of two terms: explicit ground heating produced
by the sources ground-penetrating electric field and
thermal generation in the wire and its transport to the
earths surface. A closed-form expression in terms of
the Laplace transform variable was derived for the
surface temperature. The time dependent surface
temperature was computed from the inverse Laplace
transform using asymptotic approximations.
References
[1] J. R. Wait, Excitation of currents on a buried insulated
cable, J. Appl. Phys. 49 (2) (1978) 876-880.
[2] D. Poljak, F. Rachidi, K. Drissi, K. Kerroum, S.V.
Tkachenko, S. Sesnic, Generalized form of telegraphers
equations for the electromagnetic field coupling to buried
wires of finite length, IEEE. Trans. Electromagn. Compat
51 (2) (2009) 331-337.
[3] H.S. Carslaw, J.C. Jaeger, Conduction of Heat in Solids,
Oxford University Press, 2nd ed., Oxford University,
1986.
[4] I.S. Gradshteyn, I.M. Ryzhik, Table of Integrals, Series
and Products, Academic Press, Inc. New York, 1980.
[5] M. Abramowitz, I. Stegun, Handbook of Mathematical
Functions, U.S. Department of Commerce NBS 53, 1964.
[6] K.J. Hollenbeck, INVLAP.M: A matlab function for
numerical inversion of Laplace transforms by the de
Hoog algorithm, 1998, [on line],
http://www.isva.dtu.dk/staff/karl/invlap.htm.
[7] F.R. De Hoog, J.H. Knight, A.N. Stokes, An improved
method for numerical inversion of Laplace
transforms, S.I.A.M. J. Sci. and Stat. Comput. 3 (1982)
357-366.
Journal of Earth Science and Engineering 3 (2013) 730-743

Appendix ANumerical Evaluation of
x t ( )
Beginning with (94) and using the transformation w = sT
C
and
G
W
C
C
C
2
= yields
( )
) (
) (
1
1
) , (
0
1
w K
w K
w C
C w F s
+
= = X (A1)
where
C is a constant used here as a parameter
K
0
and K
1
are the modified Bessel functions (of the second kind).
Consider the the inverse transform
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
C C
T x T C w F L C f t t , ,
1
= =

(A2)
where
( )
|
|
.
|

\
|
= C
T
t
f
T
t x
C C
,
1
. (A3)
The inverse transform function f t,C ( ) is approximated using [6] which is an implementation of the algorithm [7] based on
accelerating the convergence of Fourier series approximations. Figure 4 displays the graph of f t,C ( ) for values of C ranging
from 0.1 to 8.


Fig. 4 Plots of f t,C ( ) as a function of t for different values of C.

Sensing Thermal Underground Transients of Buried Wired Structures

742
A log-log plot of the graph shown in Fig. 5 reveals the asymptotic behavior of f as a function of t for different values of C.
In particular it can be seen that f t,C ( ) t
1/ 2
for t sufficiently small and f t,C ( ) t
4 / 3
for large values of t.


Fig. 5 Log plots of f t,C ( ) as a function of t for different values of C.

It is also interesting to note the dependence on the parameter C of the approximate transition times from one form of asymptotic
behavior to the other. Fig. 6 shows the details of the log plots of f t,C ( ) for small values of t clearly showing that the
persistence of the rate t
1/ 2
depends on the parameter C. A closer examination of the values shown in Fig. 6 reveals
t
t
C
C f
1
) , ( for
3
10

s t (A4)


Fig. 6 Early time log plots of f t,C ( ) as a function of t for different values of C.

Sensing Thermal Underground Transients of Buried Wired Structures

743
For large values an examination of Fig. 5 suggests f t,C ( ) C
o
t
4 / 3
. Combining these asymptotic behaviors, a non linear
least squared fit was performed using four parameters for the function
( )
t t t
t
C p C p C
p
C g
p
4
3 / 4
2
1
3
,
+ +
=

(A5)
minimized using the relative norm

=
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
M
i
i
i i
f
g f
M
E
1
2
2
1
(A6)
where the values f
i
= f t
j
,C
k
( )
are those evaluated for 10
4
st
j
s10
2
and 10
1
s C
k
s10
1
as shown in Figs 4-6.
The parameters obtained using this minimization yielded p
1
= 0.5624, p
2
= 3.6904, p
3
= 0.7446, and p
4
=1.3747
resulting in the relative error E = 0.0558. A comparison of f t,C ( )to the fit g t,C ( ) as functions of C for t =10
n
with
4 s n s 2 is displayed in Fig. 7, clearly demonstrating the accuracy of the fit.


Fig. 7 Log plots of ( ) C f , t and fit values ( ) C g , t as a function of C for different values of t .

Consider the comparison between the function fit (A5) and the estimate given in (105). Using the function fit (A5) together with
the transformation (A3) gives
( )
( ) ( )
C C
p
C C
C C T Ct p T t C p T t C T
p
C
T
t
f
T
t x
/ / /
,
1

4
3 / 4
2
1
3
+ +
~
|
|
.
|

\
|
=

. (A7)
Setting 1 = C , (A7) yields ( )
C
tT
p
t x
1
~ for sufficiently small t, in agreement with (105) if ... 564189 . 0

1
1
= = p
The least squares fit derived above for p
1
is within 0.32% of this asymptotic value.