Numerical modeling of nonintrusive inspection systems.

摘要

A wide variety of nonintrusive inspection systems have been proposed in the past several years for the detection of hidden contraband in airline luggage and shipping containers. The majority of these proposed techniques depend on the interaction of radiation with matter to produce a signature specific to the contraband of interest, whether drugs or explosives. In the authors' role as diagnostic specialists in the Underground Test Program over the past forty years, L-Division of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has developed a technique expertise in the combined numerical and experimental modeling of these types of system. Based on their experience, they are convinced that detailed numerical modeling provides a much more accurate estimate of the actual performance of complex experiments than simple analytical modeling. Furthermore, the construction of detailed numerical prototypes allows experimenters to explore the entire region of parameter space available to them before committing their ideas to hardware. This sort of systematic analysis has often led to improved experimental designs and reductions in fielding costs. L-Division has developed an extensive suite of computer codes to model proposed experiments and possible background interactions. These codes allow one to simulate complex radiation sources, model 3-dimensional system geometries with (open quotes)real world(close quotes) complexity, specify detailed elemental distributions, and predict the response of almost any type of detector. In this work several examples are presented illustrating the use of these codes in modeling experimental systems at LLNL and their potential usefulness in evaluating nonintrusive inspection systems is discussed. (ERA citation 18:036718)