Active detection of shielded SNM with 60-keV neutrons

Christian A. Hagmann; Daniel D. Dietrich; James M. Hall; Phillip L. Kerr; Leslie F. Nakae; Robert J. Newby; Mark S. Rowland; Neal J. Snyderman; Wolfgang Stoeffl

doi:10.1109/TNS.2009.2012859

Active detection of shielded SNM with 60-keV neutrons

Christian A. Hagmann, Daniel D. Dietrich, James M. Hall, Phillip L. Kerr, Leslie F. Nakae, Robert J. Newby, Mark S. Rowland, Neal J. Snyderman, Wolfgang Stoeffl

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Fissile materials, e.g.,²³⁵U and²³⁹Pu , can be detected non-invasively by active neutron interrogation. A unique characteristic of fissile material exposed to neutrons is the prompt emission of high-energy (E > 1 MeV) fission neutrons. One promising mode of operation subjects the object to a beam of low-energy (E > MeV) neutrons, generated by a proton beam impinging on a Li target. The emergence of high-energy secondary neutrons then clearly indicates the presence of fissile material. Our interrogation system comprises a low-dose 60-keV neutron generator (5 times; 10⁶/s), and a 1 m² array of scintillators for high-energy neutron detection. Preliminary experimental results demonstrate the detectability of small quantities (376 g) of ²³⁵U shielded by steel (200 g/cm² ) or plywood (30 g/cm²), with a typical measurement time of 1 min.

Original language	English
Article number	5075952
Pages (from-to)	1215-1217
Number of pages	3
Journal	IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science
Volume	56
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/TNS.2009.2012859
State	Published - Jun 2009
Externally published	Yes

Funding

Manuscript received July 25, 2008; revised October 24, 2008. Current version published June 10, 2009. This work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. The authors are with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550 USA (e-mail: hagmann1@ llnl.gov). Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TNS.2009.2012859

Funders	Funder number
U.S. Department of Energy
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory	DE-AC52-07NA27344

Keywords

Detectors
Inspection
Neutron beams
Neutron sources.

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10.1109/TNS.2009.2012859

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title = "Active detection of shielded SNM with 60-keV neutrons",

abstract = "Fissile materials, e.g.,235U and239Pu , can be detected non-invasively by active neutron interrogation. A unique characteristic of fissile material exposed to neutrons is the prompt emission of high-energy (E > 1 MeV) fission neutrons. One promising mode of operation subjects the object to a beam of low-energy (E > MeV) neutrons, generated by a proton beam impinging on a Li target. The emergence of high-energy secondary neutrons then clearly indicates the presence of fissile material. Our interrogation system comprises a low-dose 60-keV neutron generator (5 times; 106/s), and a 1 m2 array of scintillators for high-energy neutron detection. Preliminary experimental results demonstrate the detectability of small quantities (376 g) of 235U shielded by steel (200 g/cm2 ) or plywood (30 g/cm2), with a typical measurement time of 1 min.",

keywords = "Detectors, Inspection, Neutron beams, Neutron sources.",

author = "Hagmann, {Christian A.} and Dietrich, {Daniel D.} and Hall, {James M.} and Kerr, {Phillip L.} and Nakae, {Leslie F.} and Newby, {Robert J.} and Rowland, {Mark S.} and Snyderman, {Neal J.} and Wolfgang Stoeffl",

year = "2009",

month = jun,

doi = "10.1109/TNS.2009.2012859",

language = "English",

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T1 - Active detection of shielded SNM with 60-keV neutrons

AU - Hagmann, Christian A.

AU - Dietrich, Daniel D.

AU - Hall, James M.

AU - Kerr, Phillip L.

AU - Nakae, Leslie F.

AU - Newby, Robert J.

AU - Rowland, Mark S.

AU - Snyderman, Neal J.

AU - Stoeffl, Wolfgang

PY - 2009/6

Y1 - 2009/6

N2 - Fissile materials, e.g.,235U and239Pu , can be detected non-invasively by active neutron interrogation. A unique characteristic of fissile material exposed to neutrons is the prompt emission of high-energy (E > 1 MeV) fission neutrons. One promising mode of operation subjects the object to a beam of low-energy (E > MeV) neutrons, generated by a proton beam impinging on a Li target. The emergence of high-energy secondary neutrons then clearly indicates the presence of fissile material. Our interrogation system comprises a low-dose 60-keV neutron generator (5 times; 106/s), and a 1 m2 array of scintillators for high-energy neutron detection. Preliminary experimental results demonstrate the detectability of small quantities (376 g) of 235U shielded by steel (200 g/cm2 ) or plywood (30 g/cm2), with a typical measurement time of 1 min.

AB - Fissile materials, e.g.,235U and239Pu , can be detected non-invasively by active neutron interrogation. A unique characteristic of fissile material exposed to neutrons is the prompt emission of high-energy (E > 1 MeV) fission neutrons. One promising mode of operation subjects the object to a beam of low-energy (E > MeV) neutrons, generated by a proton beam impinging on a Li target. The emergence of high-energy secondary neutrons then clearly indicates the presence of fissile material. Our interrogation system comprises a low-dose 60-keV neutron generator (5 times; 106/s), and a 1 m2 array of scintillators for high-energy neutron detection. Preliminary experimental results demonstrate the detectability of small quantities (376 g) of 235U shielded by steel (200 g/cm2 ) or plywood (30 g/cm2), with a typical measurement time of 1 min.

KW - Detectors

KW - Inspection

KW - Neutron beams

KW - Neutron sources.

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U2 - 10.1109/TNS.2009.2012859

DO - 10.1109/TNS.2009.2012859

M3 - Article

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SN - 0018-9499

VL - 56

SP - 1215

EP - 1217

JO - IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science

JF - IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science

IS - 3

M1 - 5075952

ER -

Active detection of shielded SNM with 60-keV neutrons

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