Test plan for FY-94 digface characterization field experiments

The digface characterization concept has been under development at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) since fiscal year (FY) 1992 through the support of the Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration Program. A digface characterization system conducts continuous subsurface characterization simultaneously with retrieval of hazardous and radioactive waste from buried waste sites. The system deploys multiple sensors at the retrieval operation digface and collects data that provide a basis for detecting, locating, and classifying buried materials and hazardous conditions before they are disturbed by the retrieval equipment. This test plan describes ongoing efforts to test the digface characterization concept at the INEL's Cold Test Pit using a simplified prototype deployment apparatus and off-the-shelf sensors. FY-94 field experiments will explore problems in object detection and classification. Detection and classification of objects are fundamental to three of the four primary functions of digface characterization during overburden removal. This test plan establishes procedures for collecting and validating the digface characterization data sets. Analysis of these data will focus on testing and further developing analysis methods for object detection and classification during overburden removal