Investigation the Effects of Neutron Source Number and Arrangement in Landmines Detection by Thermal Neutron Capture Gamma Ray Analysis

Leila Abdolahi Shiramin, Seyed Farhad Masoudi

Physics Department, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, P.O. Box 15875-4416, Tehran, Iran.

DOI: 10.4236/wjnst.2012.22009                

Abstract

Thermal neutron capture can be used as a successful technique for detection of non-metallic landmines via the detection of their constituent like nitrogen. Recently, it has been shown that the detection of 10.829 MeV photons from the ¹⁴N(n,γ)¹⁵N reaction can be used for finding the landmines. In this method a high-energy neutron source like 241Am-Be inside water as a moderator is used to have thermal neutron. In this paper we have investigated the effects of the number of neutron sources and their orientation on the gamma ray spectrum by using MCNP4C code. The best case for number of sources and their positions and orientations have been achieved corresponding to maximum flux of 10.829 MeV photons.

Keywords

Monte Carlo Simulation; Landmine Detection; Thermal Neutron Capture; Neutron Source; Source Arrangement

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	J. C. Campbell and A. M. Jacobs, “Detection of Buried Landmines by Backscatter Imaging,” Nuclear Science and Engineering, Vol. 110, 1992, pp. 417-424.
[2]	M. Maucec and R. J. de Meijer, “Monte Carlo Simulations as a Feasibility Tool for Non-Metallic Landmine Detection by Thermal-Neutron Backscattering,” Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Vol. 56, No. 6, 2002, pp. 837-846. doi:10.1016/S0969-8043(02)00064-7
[3]	K. M. Dawson-Howe and T. G. Williams, “The Detection of Buried Landmines Using Probing Robots,” Robotics and Autonomous System, Vol. 23, No. 4, 1998, pp. 235-243. doi:10.1016/S0921-8890(98)00010-4
[4]	A. V. Kuznetsov, A. V. Evsenin and I. Y. Gorshkov, “Detection of Buried Explosives Using Portable Neutron Sources with Nanosecond Timing,” Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Vol. 61, No. 1, 2004, pp. 51-57. doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2004.02.016
[5]	M. Lunardon, G. Nebbia, S. Pesente, G. Viesti and V. Filippini, “Detection of Landmines by Using 14 MeV Neutron Tagged Beams,” Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Vol. 61, No. 1, 2004, pp. 43-49. doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2004.02.015
[6]	M. Maucec and C. Rigollet, “Monte Carlo Simulations to Advance Characterisation of Landmines by Pulsed Fast/ Thermal Neutron Analysis,” Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Vol. 61, No. 1, 2004, pp. 35-42. doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2004.02.014
[7]	A. Pazirandeh, M. Azizi and S. F. Masoudi, “Monte Carlo Assessment of Soil Moisture Effect on High-Energy Thermal Neutron Capture Gamma-Ray by14N,” Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Vol. 64, No. 1, 2006, pp. 1-6. doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2005.05.053
[8]	D. R. Ochbelagh, H. M. Hakimabad and R. I. Najafabadi, “The Soil Moisture and Its Effect on the Detection of Buried Hydrogenous Material by Neutron Backscattering Technique,” Radiation Physics and Chemistry, Vol. 78, No. 5, 2009, pp. 303-306. doi:10.1016/j.radphyschem.2009.02.002
[9]	J. Obhodas, D. Sudac, K. Nad, V. Valkovic, G. Nebbia and G. Viesti, “The Soil Moisture and Its Relevance to the Landmine Detection by Neutron Backscattering Technique,” Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B, Vol. 213, 2004, pp. 445-451. doi:10.1016/S0168-583X(03)01587-8
[10]	S. Pesente, M. Cinausero, D. Fabris and E. Fioretto, “Effects of Soil Moisture on the Detection of Buried Explosives by Radiative Neutron Capture,” Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, Vol. 459, No. 3, 2001, pp. 577-580. doi:10.1016/S0168-9002(00)01058-5
[11]	H. M. Hakimabad, A. V. Noghreiyan and H. Panjeh, “Improving the Moderator Geometry of an Anti-Personnel Landmine Detection System,” Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Vol. 66, No. 5, 2008, pp. 606-611.
[12]	H. T. Anbaran, R. I. Najafabadi and H. M. Hakimabad, “Optimization of a Detector Collimator for Use in a Gamma-Ray Backscattering Device for Anti-Personal Landmines Detection,” Applied Sciences, Vol. 9, No. 9, 2009, pp. 2168-2173.
[13]	E. Chukhaev and A. I. Melnikov, “CsI(Tl) Scintillators as γ-Ray Detectors for the Identification of Hidden Explosives,” Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, Vol. 471, No. 1-2, 2001, pp. 234-238. doi:10.1016/S0168-9002(01)00979-2
[14]	C. P. Datema, V. R. Bom and C.W. E. van Eijk, “Experimental Results and Monte Carlo Simulations of a Land-mine Localization Device Using the Neutron Backscattering Method,” Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, Vol. 48, No. 1-2, 2002, pp. 441-450. doi:10.1016/S0168-9002(02)00402-3
[15]	H. Akkurt, J. Wagner and K. Eckerman, “Hand Held Instruments for Landmine Detection: View from Radiation Dosimetry,” Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, Vol. 579, No. 1, 2007, pp. 391-394. doi:10.1016/j.nima.2007.04.097