One-sided muon tomography - A portable method for imaging critical infrastructure with a single muon detector

摘要

High-energy muons generated from cosmic-ray particle showers have been shownto exhibit properties ideal for imaging the interior of large structures. Thispaper explores the possibility of using a single portable muon detector inconjunction with image reconstruction methods used in nuclear medicine toreconstruct a 3D image of the interior of critical infrastructure such as theZero Energy Deuterium (ZED-2) research reactor at Canadian NuclearLaboratories' Chalk River site. The ZED-2 reactor core and muon detectorarrangement are modeled in GEANT4 and Monte Carlo measurements of the resultantmuon throughput and angular distribution at several angles of rotation aroundthe reactor are generated. Statistical analysis is then performed on thesemeasurements based on the well-defined flux and angular distribution of muonsexpected near the surface of the earth. The results of this analysis are shownto produce reconstructed images of the spatial distribution of nuclear fuelwithin the core for multiple fuel configurations. This one-sided tomographyconcept is a possible candidate for examining the internal structure of largercritical facilities, for example the Fukushima Daiichi power plant where theintegrity of the containment infrastructure and the location of the reactorfuel is unknown.