PELAN: A Pulsed Neutron Portable Probe for UXO and Landmine Identification

摘要

There has been much work increasing the sensitivity of detecting metallic objects in soils and other environments. This has lead to a problem in discriminating unexploded ordnance (UXO) and landmines from other metallic clutter (cartridge casings, shrapnel, etc.). PELAN (Pulsed ELemental Analysis with Neutrons) is a small portable system for the detection of explosives. PELAN weighs less than 45 kg and is man portable. It is based on the principle that explosives and other contraband contain various chemical elements such as H, C, N, O, etc. in quantities and ratios that differentiate them from other innocuous substances. The pulsed neutrons are produced with a 14 MeV (d-T) neutron generator. Separate gamma-ray spectra from fast neutron, thermal neutron and activation reactions are accumulated and analyzed to determine elemental content. The data analysis is performed in an automatic manner and a result of whether a threat is present is returned to the operator. PELAN has successfully undergone field demonstrations for explosive detection. In this paper, we will discuss the application of PELAN to the problem of differentiating threats (e.g. UXO and landmines) from metallic clutter.