Cosmic-ray muon radiography of UO<sub>2</sub>fuel assembly

Sugita, Tsukasa; Bacon, Jeffrey; Ban, Y.; Borozdin, K.; Izumi, Mikio; Karino, Yoshiji; Kume, N.; Miyadera, Haruo; Mizokami, Shinya; Morris, C. L.; Nakayama, K.; Otsuka, Yasuyuki; Perry, J.; Ramsey, J.; Sano, Yuji; Yamada, Daichi; Yoshida, Noriyuki; Yoshioka, Kenichi

doi:10.1080/00223131.2014.919884

Cited by 17 publications

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“…George [1] and L. Alvarez [2], relativistic muons have been shown to have the ability to penetrate dense materials and by monitoring the subsequent scattering and/or attenuation of muons, a measurable signal about the structure and composition of the interrogated material can be obtained [3]. Recently, cosmic ray muons have been investigated for volcano imaging and cargo scanning applications and their use has been extended to nuclear waste imaging and determination of molten nuclear fuel location in nuclear reactors having suffered from the effects of a severe accident similar to the one happened in Fukushima [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23].Earlier muon radiographic techniques were based on attenuation principles. A new promising method based on multiple Coulomb scattering was developed and demonstrated at LANL for detection of high-Z materials hidden in a large volume of low-Z materials, a situation representative of shielded material shielded hidden in a cargo container [24,25].…”

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confidence: 99%

Analysis of Spent Nuclear Fuel Imaging Using Multiple Coulomb Scattering of Cosmic Muons

Chatzidakis

Choi

Tsoukalas

2016

IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.

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Cosmic ray muons passing through matter lose energy from inelastic collisions with electrons and are deflected from nuclei due to multiple Coulomb scattering. The strong dependence of scattering on atomic number Z and the recent developments on position sensitive muon detectors indicate that multiple Coulomb scattering could be an excellent candidate for spent nuclear fuel imaging. Muons present significant advantages over existing monitoring and imaging techniques and can play a central role in monitoring nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel stored in dense well shielded containers. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the applicability of multiple Coulomb scattering for imaging of spent nuclear fuel dry casks stored within vertical and horizontal commercial storage dry casks. Calculations of muon scattering were performed for various scenarios, including vertical and horizontal fully loaded dry casks, half loaded dry casks, dry casks with one row of fuel assemblies missing, dry casks with one fuel assembly missing and empty dry casks. Various detector sizes (1.2 m x 1.2 m, 2.4 m x 2.4 m and 3.6 m x 3.6 m) and number of muons (10 5 , 5·10 5 , 10 6 and 10 7 ) were used to assess the effect on image resolution. The Point-of-Closest-Approach (PoCA) algorithm was used for the reconstruction of the stored contents. The results demonstrate that multiple Coulomb scattering can be used to successfully reconstruct the dry cask contents and allow identification of all scenarios with the exception of one fuel assembly missing. In this case, an indication exists that a fuel assembly is not present; however the resolution of the imaging algorithm was not enough to identify exact location.*Corresponding author: schatzid@purdue.edu I. INTRODUCTIONSince the pioneering work of E.P. George [1] and L. Alvarez [2], relativistic muons have been shown to have the ability to penetrate dense materials and by monitoring the subsequent scattering and/or attenuation of muons, a measurable signal about the structure and composition of the interrogated material can be obtained [3]. Recently, cosmic ray muons have been investigated for volcano imaging and cargo scanning applications and their use has been extended to nuclear waste imaging and determination of molten nuclear fuel location in nuclear reactors having suffered from the effects of a severe accident similar to the one happened in Fukushima [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23].Earlier muon radiographic techniques were based on attenuation principles. A new promising method based on multiple Coulomb scattering was developed and demonstrated at LANL for detection of high-Z materials hidden in a large volume of low-Z materials, a situation representative of shielded material shielded hidden in a cargo container [24,25]. It was suggested that muon momentum measurement which can be achieved by indirectly measuring muon scattering in several layers of materials with known thickness could improve image resolution.This was later demonstrate...

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confidence: 99%

Analysis of Spent Nuclear Fuel Imaging Using Multiple Coulomb Scattering of Cosmic Muons

Chatzidakis

Choi

Tsoukalas

2016

IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.

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“…Two-sided muon tomography has been suggested as a candidate for imaging large critical infrastructure such as operating reactor cores [9], nuclear waste storage containers [3], and for assessing the damage done to the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant in 2011 [10]. However, the size and cost of the required detectors is significantly greater than that of the proposed one-sided method.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…When the space constraints inside the reactor building are taken into account, it is clear that these 9x4 m 2 detectors cannot realistically be positioned as suggested by Figure 5. Interestingly, this two-sided method is currently being proposed for imaging the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant to assess the damage done by the earthquake in 2011 [10].…”

Section: Previously Published Results Using Two-sided Tomographymentioning

confidence: 99%

One-Sided Muon Tomography—a Portable Method for Imaging Critical Infrastructure With a Single Muon Detector

Erlandson¹,

Boniface²,

Anghel³

et al. 2016

CNL Nuclear Review

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High-energy muons generated from cosmic-ray particle showers have been shown to exhibit properties ideal for imaging the interior of large structures. This paper explores the possibility of using a single portable muon detector in conjunction with image reconstruction methods used in nuclear medicine to reconstruct a 3D image of the interior of critical infrastructure such as the Zero Energy Deuterium (ZED-2) research reactor at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories' Chalk River site. The ZED-2 reactor core and muon detector arrangement are modeled in GEANT4 and Monte Carlo measurements of the resultant muon throughput and angular distribution at several angles of rotation around the reactor are generated. Statistical analysis is then performed on these measurements based on the well-defined flux and angular distribution of muons expected near the surface of the earth. The results of this analysis are shown to produce reconstructed images of the spatial distribution of nuclear fuel within the core for multiple fuel configurations. This one-sided tomography concept is a possible candidate for examining the internal structure of larger critical facilities, for example the Fukushima Daiichi power plant where the integrity of the containment infrastructure and the location of the reactor fuel is unknown.

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“…This can be because it was the fuel that failed, or because the failure could have a profound effect on the fuel. Similar to the work carried out in Jonkmans et al (2010Jonkmans et al ( , 2013, described earlier, muons can be used to visualise nuclear fuel materials [Sugita et al (2014)]. This method can be particularly useful for accident scenarios such as those found in Fukushima after the 2011 nuclear disaster.…”

Section: Accident Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 88%

The use of ionising radiation to image nuclear fuel: A review

Parker

Joyce

2015

Progress in Nuclear Energy

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a b s t r a c tImaging of nuclear fuel using radiation has been carried out for decades for a variety of reasons. Two important reasons are Physical Invertory Verification (PIV) and Quality Assurance (QA). The work covered in this review focuses on the imaging of nuclear fuel using ionising radiation. The fuels investigated are both fresh and spent, composed of assorted materials, and in various physical forms. The radiations used to characterise the nuclear fuel include g, a, b, muons, neutrons and X-rays. The research covered in this review, spans the past four decades and show how the technology has developed over that time. The advancement of computing technology has greatly helped with the progression of the images that are produced. The field began with 2D images in black and white showing the density profiles of g rays from within an object, culminating in 2013 when a pebble bed fuel element was reproduced in 3D showing each 0.5 mm UO 2 globule within it. With the ever increasing computing technology available to the industry, this can only mean an increase in the rate of development of imaging technologies like those covered in this review.

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Cosmic-ray muon radiography of UO₂fuel assembly

Cited by 17 publications

References 11 publications

Analysis of Spent Nuclear Fuel Imaging Using Multiple Coulomb Scattering of Cosmic Muons

Analysis of Spent Nuclear Fuel Imaging Using Multiple Coulomb Scattering of Cosmic Muons

One-Sided Muon Tomography—a Portable Method for Imaging Critical Infrastructure With a Single Muon Detector

The use of ionising radiation to image nuclear fuel: A review

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Cosmic-ray muon radiography of UO2fuel assembly

Cited by 17 publications

References 11 publications

Analysis of Spent Nuclear Fuel Imaging Using Multiple Coulomb Scattering of Cosmic Muons

Analysis of Spent Nuclear Fuel Imaging Using Multiple Coulomb Scattering of Cosmic Muons

One-Sided Muon Tomography—a Portable Method for Imaging Critical Infrastructure With a Single Muon Detector

The use of ionising radiation to image nuclear fuel: A review

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Cosmic-ray muon radiography of UO₂fuel assembly