Acoustic source fragmentation system for breaking ground material

A system for fragmenting material, comprising:

• an energy source;
• an acoustic transmitter coupled to the energy source and including a unit acoustic source configured to emit an acoustic wave through a volume of ground material;
• at least one of a bidirectional acoustic transmitter and an acoustic receiver;
• and
• a controller configured to engage the acoustic transmitter such that the unit acoustic source emits the acoustic wave toward a target location, wherein the acoustic wave is configured to fracture the volume of ground material at the target location.

A system for fragmenting material, comprising:

• an energy source;
• an acoustic transmitter including a unit acoustic source configured to emit a test signal through a volume of ground material;
• at least one of a bidirectional acoustic transmitter and an acoustic receiver configured to detect the test signal and provide an output signal;
• and
• a controller configured to:
• determine a propagation characteristic associated with the volume of ground material based on the test signal and the output signal, wherein the propagation characteristic includes at least one of a homogeneity, a sound propagation speed, a presence of defects, and a location of defects within the volume of ground material;
• and
• provide an output based on the propagation characteristic that facilitates fracturing the volume of ground material at a target location.