Dielectric Properties of Landmine Fillers (Waxes and Sands)

This report contains dielectric property measurement results for five different materials that have been used as fillers for various inert landmines. The original data were collected in the form of the real and imaginary parts of the complex dielectric constant versus frequency utilizing a Hewlett-Packard 8510C Vector Network Analyzer System with an S-Parameter Test Set and a coaxial sample holder. Software developed at the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station was used to convert S-parameter measurements at selected frequencies into a complex dielectric constant. The materials were assumed to be nonmagnetic. Other useful electromagnetic properties were calculated from the dielectric constant and frequency, including an equivalent electrical conductivity, the loss tangent, power attenuation, and a normalized phase velocity. The section entitled Fundamental Relationships, contains the formulae use to calculate these properties.