Modeling explosive vapor transport through porous media

The detection of buried mines is important to both the military and to civilians, and the possibility of chemical detection may provide a more definitive identification. Understanding the transport of explosive vapors through soil or snow is a major step in the detection problem. In cold regions, the presence of freezing ground or a snow cover complicates the situation, yet also may provide temporary storage of the explosive, potentially leading to opportunities for more optimal sensing conditions later. This paper discusses preliminary work towards adapting an existing two-dimensional heat, mass, and chemical vapor transport model to the problem of explosives transport. The model, originally developed for simulating heat and mass transport through snow and firn under a variety of meteorological conditions, shows promise for simulating explosives vapor transport for buried mines.