Muon tomography imaging algorithms for nuclear threat detection inside large volume containers with the Muon Portal detector

Riggi, S.; Antonuccio-Delogu, V.; Bandieramonte, Marilena; Becciani, U.; Costa, Alessandro; Rocca, P. La; Massimino, P.; Petta, C.; Pistagna, Costantino; Riggi, F.; Sciacca, Eva; Vitello, F.

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2013.06.040

Cited by 51 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Using fewer muons provides significant time savings but lower quality images, while a higher number of measured muons results in improved image contrast and resolution but increased measurement time. Existing studies on muon-CT detectors have demonstrated that muons on the order of millions (requiring minutes to days of measurement time, depending on the size and orientation of the detectors) are required for imaging large scale objects such as cargo containers [4,5,11] or dry casks [21][22][23]. Recent work based on simulations showed that several days (>10 6 muons) are needed to identify the location of spent nuclear fuel in dry casks [21][22][23].…”

Section: Cosmic Ray Muon Tomographymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This endeavor has been assisted by the development of detectors that can measure and provide information related to the incoming and outgoing trajectories of individual muons [2][3][4][5][6]. Recently, cosmic ray muons have been investigated for volcano imaging [7][8][9] and cargo scanning applications [10][11][12]. Their use has been extended to nuclear waste imaging [13][14][15][16] and determination of nuclear fuel debris location in nuclear reactors having suffered from the effects of a severe accident such as the one that occurred in Fukushima [17,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A generalized muon trajectory estimation algorithm with energy loss for application to muon tomography

Chatzidakis

Liu

Hayward

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Physics

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This work presents a generalized muon trajectory estimation (GMTE) algorithm to estimate the path of a muon in either uniform or nonuniform media. The use of cosmic ray muons in nuclear nonproliferation and safeguards verification applications has recently gained attention due to the non-intrusive and passive nature of the inspection, penetrating capabilities, as well as recent advances in detectors that measure position and direction of the individual muons before and after traversing the imaged object. However, muon image reconstruction techniques are limited in resolution due to low muon flux and the effects of multiple Coulomb scattering (MCS). Current reconstruction algorithms, e.g., point of closest approach (PoCA) or straight-line path (SLP), rely on overly simple assumptions for muon path estimation through the imaged object. For robust muon tomography, efficient and flexible physics-based algorithms are needed to model the MCS process and accurately estimate the most probable trajectory of a muon as it traverses an object. In the present work, the use of a Bayesian framework and a Gaussian approximation of MCS are explored for estimation of the most likely path of a cosmic ray muon traversing uniform or nonuniform media and undergoing MCS. The algorithm's precision is compared to Monte Carlo simulated muon trajectories. It was found that the algorithm is expected to be able to predict muon tracks to less than 1.5 mm RMS for 0.5 GeV muons and 0.25 mm RMS for 3 GeV muons, a 50% improvement compared to SLP and 15% improvement when compared to PoCA. Further, a 30% increase in useful muon flux was observed relative to PoCA. Muon track prediction improved for higher muon energies or smaller penetration depth where energy loss is not significant. The effect of energy loss due to ionization is investigated, and a linear energy loss relation that is easy to use is proposed.

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Section: Cosmic Ray Muon Tomographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A generalized muon trajectory estimation algorithm with energy loss for application to muon tomography

Chatzidakis

Liu

Hayward

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Physics

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“…The clustering algorithm is a density-based algorithm [11]. It is an improvement of the POCA method, based on a two points correlation analysis.…”

Section: B Reconstruction Algorithmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The muon portal double tracker to inspect travelling containers

Pugliatti

Antonuccio

Bandieramonte

et al. 2014

2014 19th IEEE-NPSS Real Time Conference

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The Muon Portal Project goal is the design and construction of a working detector prototype in scale 1:1, to inspect the content of travelling containers by means of the secondary cosmic-ray muon radiation and recognize high-Z hidden materials (U, Pu or other fissile samples). The radiographic image is obtained by reconstructing the input and output trajectories of each muon and consequently the scattering angle, exploiting two trackers placed above and below the container. The scan is performed without adding any external radiation, in a reasonable time (a few minutes) and with a good spatial and angular resolution. The detector consists of 8 planes segmented in 6 identical modules. Each module is made of scintillating strips with two WaveLength Shifting fibers (WLS) inside, coupled to Silicon photomultipliers. The customized readout electronics employs trading programmable boards. Thanks to a smart read-out system, the number of output channels is reduced by a factor 10. The signals from the front-end modules are sent to the read-out boards, in order to convert the analog signal to a digital signal, by a comparison to a threshold. The data are pre-analyzed and stored into a data acquisition PC. Actually, an intense measurement and simulation campaign is in progress to characterize carefully the detector components. The first detection modules (1 x 3 m 2 ) is now under construction. The detector architecture with a particular attention to the used electronics and the main preliminary results will be presented.

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“…A considerable amount of simulations and experimental tests on the individual components (scintillators, WLS fibres, photosensors, frontend electronics,...) have been already done. Different reconstruction and visualization algorithms have been implemented and have demonstrated the feasibility of this Project, with several papers reporting specific aspects [3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Muon Portal Project: A large-area tracking detector for muon tomography

Riggi

2016

EPJ Web of Conferences

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The Muon Portal Project [1] is a joint initiative between research and industrial partners, aimed at the construction of a real size detector protoype to search for hidden high-Z fissile materials inside containers by the muon scattering technique. The detector is based on a set of 48 detection modules (1 m × 3 m), so as to provide four X-Y detection planes, two placed above and two below the container to be inspected. After a research and development phase, which led to the choice and test of the individual components, the construction of the full size detector has already started and will be completed in a few months. IntroductionAn estimate of about 200 million containers are traveling each year through the custom borders of many countries. They are in principle potential sources of small quantities of hidden nuclear material, such as fissile elements. As an alternative to traditional systems based on X-ray inspection it has been long suggested [2] to employ the scattering process of the secondary cosmic muons, which strongly depends on the atomic number of the traversed material, hence particularly sensitive to high-Z fissile elements. For a detection system employing such technique (muon tomography) a large area muon detector is required, to reconstruct the muon tracks with good angular resolution before and after traversing the container volume. 201, 05003 (2016) EPJ Web of Conferences

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Muon tomography imaging algorithms for nuclear threat detection inside large volume containers with the Muon Portal detector

Cited by 51 publications

References 15 publications

A generalized muon trajectory estimation algorithm with energy loss for application to muon tomography

A generalized muon trajectory estimation algorithm with energy loss for application to muon tomography

The muon portal double tracker to inspect travelling containers

The Muon Portal Project: A large-area tracking detector for muon tomography

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