3D cosmic-ray muon tomography using portable muography detector

Abstract

A feasibility demonstration of three-dimensional (3D) muon tomography was performed for infrastructure equivalent targets using the proposed portable muography detector. For the target, we used two sets of lead blocks placed at different heights. The detector consists of two muon position-sensitive detectors, made of plastic scintillating fibers (PSFs) and multi-pixel photon counters (MPPCs) with an angular resolution of 8 msr. In this work, the maximum likelihood-expectation maximization (ML-EM) method was used for the 3D imaging reconstruction of the muography. For both simulation and experiment, the reconstructed positions of the blocks produce consistent results with prior knowledge of the blocks' arrangement. This result demonstrates the potential of the 3D tomographic imaging of infrastructure by using seven detection positions for portable muography detectors to image infrastructure scale targets.

Investigation of the Impact of Magnetic Fields on Scattering Muography Images

“…Muon radiography was first employed by Alvarez to study hidden chambers within pyramids [5]. Since then, muon imaging applications have expanded to fields such as volcanology [6], geotomography [7], nuclear waste investigations [8], inspection of nuclear reactors [9], detection of shielded high-Z materials [10], imaging of cultural heritage objects [11], infrastructure degradation investigation [12], and 3D muon tomography of targets using portable detectors [13].…”

Magnetic Field Imaging by Cosmic-Ray Muons (Magic-μ): First Feasibility Simulation for Strong Magnetic Fields

“…Moreover, portable muography detectors have been developed for the investigation of civil infrastructures [7] or for underground exploration in confined environments [8]. Furthermore, three-dimensional imaging is also possible with this technique [9]. Since the invention of the scattering method by Borozdin et al in 2003 [10], muography has also been applied to identify nuclides, especially heavy ones, such as uranium or plutonium.…”