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Subterranean system comprising wireless communication network and syntactic foam panels

  • US 9,820,164 B1
  • Filed: 07/24/2015
  • Issued: 11/14/2017
  • Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2014
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A subterranean system comprising:

  • a tunnel network;

    a plurality of syntactic foam panels; and

    a wireless communications network;

    whereinthe wireless communications network comprises a plurality of wireless transceivers positioned throughout the tunnel network,respective ones of the wireless transceivers are communicatively coupled to one or more additional wireless transceivers of the wireless communications network such that communicatively coupled transceivers of the wireless communications network lie within wireless communication range of each other,the wireless communication range defined by communicatively coupled transceivers is a function of signal strength attenuation in a wireless signal traveling between the communicatively coupled transceivers,the tunnel network comprises tunnel support structure that contributes to the signal strength attenuation and a plurality of support apertures formed in the tunnel support structure,the syntactic foam panels are secured to the tunnel support structure to cover at least some of the support apertures, andthe composition and configuration of the syntactic foam panels are such that the panels do not make a significant contribution to the signal strength attenuation between communicatively coupled transceivers.

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