Applying pressure for clearing land mines

Baluncore said:

detonation in place is sufficient.

Then, will those water ballons suffice if there is no detonation?

Rive said:

Then, will those water ballons suffice if there is no detonation?

That depends on what it really is. If there is no detonation you will have to examine or lift the target to identify why it has the signature of a mine, but is abnormal in it's response. Without careful examination of inactive targets you cannot learn, nor will you find all the duds.

Baluncore said:

Without careful examination

Then, the next question: if there is detonation, then that water balloon can provide proof that the whole charge is gone?

Ps.: actually, I'm more and more sure that the most useful function of any mine-clearing assistant system would not be about the flashy ability of forcefully triggering them, but about the far more difficult task of - digging holes...

Rive said:

Ps.: actually, I'm more and more sure that the most useful function of any mine-clearing assistant system would not be about the flashy ability of forcefully triggering them, but about the far more difficult task of - digging holes...

The original post is about an industrial design project to use an ROV to detonate a mine in a certain way - on the assumption the mine can be so detonated. The thread digresses into the general question of how to clear minefields. The question of how to clear minefields , in general, is interesting, but if the conclusion is "You can't clear mines with an ROV", it just says the design project is a purely academic exercise. Perhaps the industrial design project is an academic exercise! Most problems posted on physicsforums are.

Stephen Tashi said:

The original post is about ...

Well, the OP was from April 2016, and:

ferchotous was last seen:
May 3, 2016

So I'm not sure it matters what the OP was about :)

Rive said:

Then, will those water ballons suffice if there is no detonation?

No. The water balloon is destroyed by being dropped, or any detonation of the mine. If the mine is identified and located by it's trigger mechanism, or the mass of the charge, then type of mine will be known and the size of the bang will tell you if it was as expected, or if further investigation is necessary. It is necessary to destroy-in-place, or dig out, only one device at the time in order to confirm expectations of identified targets.

A toolbox contains more than one tool. The idea that one solution must be applicable in all cases is clearly irrational. Clearance officers are selected to be more intelligent than grunt, so are able to deal with the complexity of decision making based on observation and experience. They are able to follow flow charts, to identify unusual situations, and to plan their action in a rational way. Stopping to think about an unusual situation is essential, as a score of 100% is required in every practical exam undertaken.

Rive said:

Ps.: actually, I'm more and more sure that the most useful function of any mine-clearing assistant system would not be about the flashy ability of forcefully triggering them, but about the far more difficult task of - digging holes...

Why dig a hole when a charge has been planted and is ready to be fired. It is often safer to detonate than to dismantle.

Could Ground penetrating radar (GPR), also used in archaeology, be used to verify clearance and to locate buried mines? The device is about the size of a lawnmower. judging from videos I have observed, the device should be fitted with an extra long handle and a blast shield in case it activates a mine. It might also be retrofitted with larger than standard wheels to reduce accidental triggering.

As I understand it --Been a while since my brother did EOD course-- grunt-maimers are often laid atop tank-busters, and some of the latter may include 'sea-mine stuff' such as 'nudge counters' specifically to target vehicles following eg mine-clearance rollers...

Short of deep-ploughing / disk-harrowing battlefield to ~60 cms, with proviso that some whatsits may now be deeper than lain due burial by cratering splatter, 'clearance' is often a matter of 'probability'...

IIRC, French WW1 battle-fields still yield a scary Spring harvest of nasties due 'frost heave'...