UAV-based transient electromagnetic 3D forward modeling and inversion and analysis of exploration capability

Unmanned aerial vehicle transient electromagnetic(UAV-TEM)is a novel airborne exploration method that offers advantages such as low cost,simple operation,high exploration efficiency and suitability for near-surface exploration in complex terrain areas.To improve the accuracy of data interpretation in this method,the authors conducted a systematic three-dimensional(3D)forward modeling and inversion of the UAV-TEM.This study utilized the finite element method based on unstructured tetrahedral elements and employed the second-order backward Euler method for time discretization.This allowed for accurate 3D modeling and accounted for the effects of complex terrain.Based on these,the influence characteristics of flight altitudes and the sizes,burial depths,and resistivities of anomalies are compared and analyzed to explore the UAV-TEM systems’exploration capability.Lastly,four typical geoelectrical models of landslides are designed,and the inversion method based on the Gauss-Newton optimization method is used to image the landslide models and analyze the imaging effect of the UAV-TEM method on landslide geohazards.Numerical results showed that UAV-TEM could have better exploration resolution and fine imaging of nearsurface structures,providing important technical support for monitoring,early warning,and preventing landslides and other geological hazards.

Discussion on the application prospect of the transient electromagnetic method based on the dual launcher and mine advanced detection

The dual transmitter implements the equivalent anti-magnetic flux transient electromagnetic method, which can effectively reduce the scope of the transient electromagnetic detection blind area. However, this method is rarely reported in the detection of pipelines in urban geophysical exploration and the application of coal mines. Based on this, this paper realizes the equivalent anti-magnetic flux transient electromagnetic method based on the dual launcher. The suppression effect of this method on the blind area is analyzed by physical simulation. And the detection experiment of underground pipelines is carried out outdoors. The results show that the dual launcher can significantly reduce the turn-off time, thereby effectively reducing the impact of the blind area on the detection results, and the pipeline detection results verify the device’s effectiveness. Finally, based on the ground experimental results, the application prospect of mine advanced detection is discussed. Compared with other detection fields, the formation of blind areas is mainly caused by the equipment. If the dual launcher can be used to reduce the blind area, the accuracy of advanced detection can be improved more effectively. The above research results are of great significance for improving the detection accuracy of the underground transient electromagnetic method.

3D forward modeling and response characteristics of low-resistivity overburden of the CFS-PML absorbing boundary for ground-well transient electromagnetic method

This study used the stable and convergent Dufort-Frankel method to differentially discretize the diffusion equation of the ground-well transient electromagnetic secondary field.The absorption boundary condition of complex frequency-shifted perfectly matched layer(CFS-PML)was used for truncation so that the low-frequency electromagnetic wave can be better absorbed at the model boundary.A typical three-dimensional(3D)homogeneous half-space model was established and a low-resistivity cube model was analyzed under the half-space condition.The response patterns and drivers of the low-resistivity cube model were discussed under the influence of a low-resistivity overburden.The absorption boundary conditions of CFS-PML significantly affected the low-frequency electromagnetic waves.For a low-resistivity cube around the borehole,its response curve exhibited a single-peak,and the extreme point of the curve corresponded to the center of the low-resistivity body.When the low-resistivity cube was directly below the borehole,the response curve showed three extreme values(two high and one low),with the low corresponding to the center of the low-resistivity body.The total field response of the low-resistivity overburden was stronger than that of the uniform half-space model due to the low-resistivity shielding effect of electromagnetic waves.When the receiving-transmitting distance gradually increased,the effect of the low-resistivity overburden was gradually weakened,and the response of the low-resistivity cube was strengthened.It was affected by the ratio of the overburden resistivity to the resistivity of the low-resistivity body.

Cone-shaped source characteristics and inductance effect of transient electromagnetic method

Small multi-turn coil devices are used with the transient electromagnetic method （TEM） in areas with limited space, particularly in underground environments such as coal mines roadways and engineering tunnels, and for detecting shallow geological targets in environmental and engineering fields. However, the equipment involved has strong mutual inductance coupling, which causes a lengthy turn-off time and a deep “blind zone”. This study proposes a new transmitter device with a conical-shape source and derives the radius formula of each coil and the mutual inductance coefficient of the cone. According to primary field characteristics, results of the two fields created, calculation of the conical-shaped source in a uniform medium using theoretical analysis, and a comparison of the inductance of the new device with that of the multi-turn coil, show that inductance of the multi-turn coil is nine times greater than that of the conical source with the same equivalent magnetic moment of 926.1 A·m2. This indicates that the new source leads to a much shallower “blind zone.” Furthermore, increasing the bottom radius and turn of the cone creates a larger mutual inductance but increasing the cone height results in a lower mutual inductance. Using the superposition principle, the primary and secondary magnetic fields for a conical source in a homogeneous medium are calculated; results indicate that the magnetic behavior of the cone is the same as that of the multi-turn coils, but the transient responses of the secondary field and the total field are more stronger than those of the multi-turn coils. To study the transient response characteristics using a cone-shaped source in a layered earth, a numerical filtering algorithm is then developed using the fast Hankel transform and the improved cosine transform, again using the superposition principle. During development, an average apparent resistivity inverted from the induced electromotive force using each coil is defined to represent the comprehensive resistivity of the conical source. To verify the forward calculation method, the transient responses of H type models and KH type models are calculated, and data are inverted using a “smoke ring” inversion. The results of inversion have good agreement with original models and show that the forward calculation method is effective. The results of this study provide an option for solving the problem of a deep “blind zone” and also provide a theoretical indicator for further research.

Topographic effects on long offset transient electromagnetic response

The forward modeling procedure used in this article is formulated with the volume integral equation based on the tensor Green＇s function. The electromagnetic components responses are first calculated in the frequency domain and then transformed to the time domain by digital filtering. The valley and hill topography with a layered earth is stimulated by a horizontal electric dipole （HED） transmitter, which is common in field surveys, and the TEM responses are calculated at the transmitter and receivers. The topography effects on the long offset electromagnetic transient （LOTEM） responses are discussed in detail. The results show that both valley and hill topography has significant effect on the LOTEM measurement. If the HED is located in the bottom of a valley, the distortion of the observed anomalous field at distance is severe. A valley at the receiver locations show a strong effect but are localized in space and time. In general, hill-shaped topography shows smaller effects no matter where its located. When the topography is located between source and receivers, the influence is negligible. We conclude that the location of the source is much more important than the receivers and it is critical to put the transmitter in an open flat area in the field survey.

Numerical analysis of multicomponent responses of surface-hole transient electromagnetic method

We calculate the multicomponent responses of surface-hole transient electromagnetic method. The methods and models are unsuitable as geoelectric models of conductive surrounding rocks because they are based on regular local targets. We also propose a calculation and analysis scheme based on numerical simulations of the subsurface transient electromagnetic fields. In the modeling of the electromagnetic fields, the forward modeling simulations are performed by using the finite-difference time-domain method and the discrete image method, which combines the Gaver–Stehfest inverse Laplace transform with the Prony method to solve the initial electromagnetic fields. The precision in the iterative computations is ensured by using the transmission boundary conditions. For the response analysis, we customize geoelectric models consisting of near-borehole targets and conductive wall rocks and implement forward modeling simulations. The observed electric fields are converted into induced electromotive force responses using multicomponent observation devices. By comparing the transient electric fields and multicomponent responses under different conditions, we suggest that the multicomponent-induced electromotive force responses are related to the horizontal and vertical gradient variations of the transient electric field at different times. The characteristics of the response are determined by the varying the subsurface transient electromagnetic fields, i.e., diffusion, attenuation and distortion, under different conditions as well as the electromagnetic fields at the observation positions. The calculation and analysis scheme of the response consider the surrounding rocks and the anomalous field of the local targets. It therefore can account for the geological data better than conventional transient field response analysis of local targets.

Numerical modeling of the 2D time-domain transient electromagnetic secondary field of the line source of the current excitation

To effectively minimize the electromagnetic field response in the total field solution, we propose a numerical modeling method for the two-dimensional （2D） time- domain transient electromagnetic secondary field of the line source based on the DuFort- Frankel finite-difference method. In the proposed method, we included the treatment of the earth-air boundary conductivity, calculated the normalized partial derivative of the induced electromotive force （Emf）, and determined the forward time step. By extending upward the earth-air interface to the air grid nodes and the zero-value boundary conditions, not only we have a method that is more efficient but also simpler than the total field solution. We computed and analyzed the homogeneous half-space model and the fiat layered model with high precision--the maximum relative error is less than 0.01% between our method and the analytical method--and the solution speed is roughly three times faster than the total-field solution. Lastly, we used the model of a thin body embedded in a homogeneous half-space at different delay times to depict the downward and upward spreading characteristics of the induced eddy current, and the physical interaction processes between the electromagnetic field and the underground low-resistivity body.

A study on the discrete image method for calculation of transient electromagnetic fields in geological media

We conducted a study on the numerical calculation and response analysis of a transient electromagnetic field generated by a ground source in geological media. One solution method, the traditional discrete image method, involves complex operation, and its digital filtering algorithm requires a large number of calculations. To solve these problems, we proposed an improved discrete image method, where the following are realized： the real number of the electromagnetic field solution based on the Gaver-Stehfest algorithm for approximate inversion, the exponential approximation of the objective kernel function using the Prony method, the transient electromagnetic field according to discrete image theory, and closed-form solution of the approximate coefficients. To verify the method, we tentatively calculated the transient electromagnetic field in a homogeneous model and compared it with the results obtained from the Hankel transform digital filtering method. The results show that the method has considerable accuracy and good applicability. We then used this method to calculate the transient electromagnetic field generated by a ground magnetic dipole source in a typical geoelectric model and analyzed the horizontal component response of the induced magnetic field obtained from the ＂ground excitation-stratum measurement method. We reached the conclusion that the horizontal component response of a transient field is related to the geoelectric structure, observation time, spatial location, and others. The horizontal component response of the induced magnetic field reflects the eddy current field distribution and its vertical gradient variation. During the detection of abnormal objects, positions with a zero or comparatively large offset were selected for the drill- hole measurements or a comparatively long observation delay was adopted to reduce the influence of the ambient field on the survey results. The discrete image method and forward calculation results in this paper can be used as references for relevant research.

Research on Full Space Transient Electro-magnetism Technique for Detecting Aqueous Structures in Coal Mines

Based on the transmitting theory of "smoke ring effect", the transient electromagnetism technique was used in coal mines to detect abnormal areas of aquiferous structures in both roofs and floors of coal seams and in front of excavated roadways. Survey devices, working methods and techniques as well as data processing and interpretation are discussed systematically. In addition, the direction of mini-wireframe emission electromagnetic wave of the full space transient electromagnetism technique was verified by an underground borehole for water detection and drainage. The result indicates that this technique can detect both horizontal and vertical development rules of abnormal water bodies to a certain depth below the floor of coal seams and can also detect the abnormal, low resistance water bodies within a certain distance of roofs. Furthermore, it can detect such abnormal bodies in ahead of the excavated roadway front. Limited by the underground environment, the full space transient electromagnetism technique can detect to a depth of only 120 m or so.

Time-depth conversion of transient electromagnetic method used in coal mines

Accuracy of time-depth conversion in data processing of transient electromagnetic prospecting always affects the accu- rate positioning of water bodies in coal mines. In order to improve the accuracy of time-depth conversion, we established a mathe- matical model of time-depth conversion for a transient electromagnetic method based on the theory of "double smoke ring effect" of full space transient electromagnetic field transmission. Using a 3-layer as well as a 4-layer geo-electric model for roadway floors, we performed the time-depth conversion of theoretical curves of apparent resistance varying over time. In these curves, the depth corresponding to extreme value points is nearly the same as the depth of a geo-electric model. The position of water body deter- mined by our time-depth conversion method agrees well with the result of borehole drilling, indicating that the established time-depth conversion model can clearly improve the accuracy of spatial positioning of water bodies in coal mines.

Application of geophysical methods in fine detection of urban concealed karst:A case study of Wuhan City,China

The construction of modern livable cities faces challenges in karst areas,including ground collapse and engineering problems.Wuhan,with a population of 13.74×10^(6) and approximately 1161 km^(2)of soluble rocks in the urban area of 8569.15 km^(2),predominantly consists of concealed karst areas where occasional ground collapse events occur,posing significant threats to underground engineering projects.To address these challenges,a comprehensive geological survey was conducted in Wuhan,focusing on major karstrelated issues.Geophysical methods offer advantages over drilling in detecting concealed karst areas due to their efficiency,non-destructiveness,and flexibility.This paper reviewed the karst geological characteristics in Wuhan and the geophysical exploration methods for karst,selected eight effective geophysical methods for field experimentation,evaluated their suitability,and proposed method combinations for different karst scenarios.The results show that different geophysical methods have varying applicability for karst detection in Wuhan,and combining multiple methods enhances detection effectiveness.The specific recommendations for method combinations provided in this study serve as a valuable reference for karst detection in Wuhan.

Research and Application of Advanced Detection of Water Hazards in Coal Mine Bore-Hole

For many years, the “short excavation and short exploration” excavation mode has been mainly used in the underground tunnel excavation of coal mines, which is difficult to meet the needs of rapid tunnel excavation. For this reason, CCTEG Xi’an Research Institute has innovatively proposed a new working mode of “long excavation and long exploration” using directional long drilling and borehole geophysical exploration. This method utilizes directional long boreholes that have already been constructed, and uses transient electromagnetic technology in the borehole to detect the radial range of 30 meters and the depth exceeding 1000 meters of the borehole, ultimately forming a three-dimensional imaging of the entire spatial geological anomaly body, providing reliable technical support for the safety and long-term excavation of the tunnel. This paper introduces the application which is a long-distance advanced detection of 1026 m. .

Three-dimensional numerical modeling of fullspace transient electromagnetic responses of water in goaf

The full-space transient electromagnetic response of water-filled goaves in coal mines were numerically modeled. Traditional numerical modeling methods cannot be used to simulate the underground full-space transient electromagnetic field. We used multiple transmitting loops instead of the traditional single transmitting loop to load the transmitting loop into Cartesian grids. We improved the method for calculating the z-component of the magnetic field based on the characteristics of full space. Then, we established the full- space 3D geoelectrical model using geological data for coalmines. In addition, the transient electromagnetic responses of water-filled goaves of variable shape at different locations were simulated by using the finite-difference time-domain （FDTD） method. Moreover, we evaluated the apparent resistivity results. The numerical modeling results suggested that the resistivity differences between the coal seam and its roof and floor greatly affect the distribution of apparent resistivity, resulting in nearly circular contours with the roadway head at the center. The actual distribution of apparent resistivity for different geoelectrical models of water in goaves was consistent with the models. However, when the goal water was located in one side, a false low-resistivity anomaly would appear on the other side owing to the full-space effect but the response was much weaker. Finally, the modeling results were subsequently confirmed by drilling, suggesting that the proposed method was effective.

Mapping coalmine goaf using transient electromagnetic method and high density resistivity method in Ordos City, China

The research about subsurface characteristics by using transient electromagnetic method（TEM） and high density resistivity method（HDRM） were already conducted in Ordos. The objective of this research is to detect coalmine goaf areas based on rock resistivity. The data processing using wavelet transform, three point smoothing, RES2 DINV and Maxwell processing software to obtain 2D resistivity structure. The results showed that the layers with maximum resistivity values（30e33 U m on Line 1, 30e31 U m on Line 2, 32e40 U m on Line3） are founded at station 1e7, and 14e20 on Line 1,13e18 on Line 2, and 8e13 and 16e20 on Line 3 which is predicted as goaf layer, and the minimum resistivity values（20e26 U m of TEM, 45e75 U m of HDRM） at the other layers. This resistivity difference was caused by the geology and characteristics of the study area which is located close by the cleugh with rich coal, so the goaf area distinguishable with aquifer layer and coal seam. The results were also significant accidents and serious destruction of ecological environment.

Prediction Technology of Buried Water-Bearing Structures in Coal Mines Using Transient Electromagnetic Method

Buried water-conducting and water-bearing structures in front of the driving head may easily lead to water bursts in coal mines. Therefore,it is very important for the safety of production to make an accurate and timely forecast about water bursts. Based on the smoke ring effect of transient electromagnetic fields,the principle of transient electro-magnetic method used in detecting buried water-bearing structures in coal mines in advance,is discussed. Small multi-turn loop configurations used in coal mines are proposed and a field procedure of semicircular sector scanning is presented. The application of this method in one coal mine indicates that the technology has many advantages compared with others. The method is inexpensive,highly accurate and efficient. Suggestions are presented for future solutions to some remaining problems.

Experiment in metal disturbance during advanced detection using a transient electromagnetic method in coal mines

Tunneling machines, or excavators, are large and good conductors and affect the reliability of data gathering and interpretation in advanced detection using transient electromagnetic methods. In our experiment, we used a coincident-loop and central loop type of configuration, where the coil plane l） vertical to and 2） parallel to the working face. A SIROTEM instrument at different locations was used to observe the transient electromagnetic responses of the excavator and to analyze the response amplitudes. The result shows that the tunneling machine affects the advanced detection data and is related to the way the coil is coupled. When the excavator is 6 m from the observatory, the interference of tunneling machine can be ignored.

Calculation of all-time apparent resistivity of large loop transient electromagnetic method with very fast simulated annealing

In large loop transient electromagnetic method(TEM),the late time apparent resistivity formula cannot truly reflect the geoelectric model,thus it needs to define the all-time apparent resistivity with the position information of measuring point.Utilizing very fast simulated annealing(VFSA) to fit the theoretical electromagnetic force(EMF) and measured EMF could obtain the all-time apparent resistivity of the measuring points in rectangular transmitting loop.The selective cope of initial model of VFSA could be confirmed by taking the late time apparent resistivity of transient electromagnetic method as the prior information.For verifying the correctness,the all-time apparent resistivities of the geoelectric models were calculated by VFSA and dichotomy,respectively.The results indicate that the relative differences of apparent resistivities calculated by these two methods are within 3%.The change of measuring point position has little influence on the tracing pattern of all-time apparent resistivity.The first branch of the curve of all-time apparent resistivity is close to the resistivity of the first layer medium and the last branch is close to the resistivity of the last layer medium,which proves the correctness of the arithmetics proposed.

Research on application of transient electromagnetic technology in coal mine

Studied the principle of transient electromagnetic method in coalmine and solved the computation of the whole time apparent resistivity and the relation between apparent resistivity and exploration depth and so on. Studied the work method of transient electromagnetic method in coalmine and obtained reasonable arrangement way. Studied data processing and explanation method of transient electromagnetic method and obtained high quality electric section. Finally the purpose to detect water-bearing body and water-bearing structure in front of roadway in advance, and detect the water-bearing property of the roof and floor rock layer of coal face were realized by use of transient electromagnetic method.

Algorithm study of transient response of vertical magnetic bipolar source in whole space plane layered medium

For some time, whole space feature as a theoretical problem has been a puzzle in mining transient electromagnetic method （TEM）. We have introduced a detailed method of calculating the transient response of a vertical magnetic bipolar source in a whole space plane layered medium in order to obtain whole space features. After designing a whole space plane layered medium model, equations were established based on boundary conditions in terms of electromagnetic vector potential. Expressions of electromagnetic fields were obtained by solving these equations. The expressions were computed by the Hankel transform after dispersion. The results in a frequency domain were changed into a time domain by using a multinomial cosine transform method. The expressions were correctly validated by comparing them with the analytical solution in half space. The half space and whole space results show that the whole space features are dear, suggesting that the theory of half space is not suitable for the whole space. Our algorithm supplied the technical instrument for studying the distributed features of whole space transient electromagnetic fields.

Calculation and application of full-wave airborne transient electromagnetic data in electromagnetic detection

Airborne electromagnetic transient method enjoys the advantages of high-efficiency and the high resolution of electromagnetic anomalies,especially suitable for mining detection around goaf areas and deep exploration of minerals.In this paper,we calculated the full-wave airborne transient electromagnetic data,according to the result of numerical research,the advantage of switch-off time response in electromagnetic detection was proofed via experiments.Firstly,based on the full-wave airborne transient electromagnetic system developed by Jilin University(JLU-ATEMI),we proposed a method to compute the full-waveform electromagnetic(EM)data of 3D model using the FDTD approach and convolution algorithm,and verify the calculation by the response of homogenous half-space.Then,through comparison of switch-off-time response and off-time response,we studied the effect of ramp time on anomaly detection.Finally,we arranged two experimental electromagnetic detection,the results indicated that the switch-off-time response can reveal the shallow target more effectively,and the full-waveform airborne electromagnetic system is an effective technique for shallow target detection.