Neutron scanner

The Fast Neutron Gamma-Ray Radiography (FNGR) air-cargo scanner was developed by CSIRO and trialled in Brisbane International Airport in 2005–2006. It used neutron and gamma-ray radiography to perform fast non-intrusive scans of cargo containers that are capable of detecting more than X-ray scanners are. X-ray scanning of air freight can detect metallic items such as firearms, but has problems with other substances, whereas fast neutron radiography can analyse element composition of scanned substances.

An upgraded version of the scanner, named the AC6015XN Air Cargo Scanner and co-developed by Nuctech and CSIRO, was then developed and trialled in Beijing in 2009.

The Brisbane scanner used neutron generators and a gamma-ray source to produce collimated beams, with cargo containers passing on a chain conveyor belt through a tunnel, and scintillator neutron detectors and gamma ray detectors mounted in columns on the opposite side of the tunnel. Containers would take approximately 2 minutes to pass through the device.

By measuring the ratios of neutron beam attenuation to gamma ray attenuation, it was possible to determine what class of material the two beams were passing through.

The radiation dosage from the neutron radiation was approximately 8 microsieverts (800 μrem) and was well below the limits set on food irradiation in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

The AC6015XN had a smaller footprint, different shielding, stereoscopic dual X-ray beams (produced by a LINAC) instead of the gamma-ray beams, and Nuctech's X-ray detectors across both the side and the top of the tunnel. Because of the use of X-rays instead of gamma-rays, the ratio of the beam attenuations had to be corrected to account for beam hardening.

Sources

• Sowerby, B.D.; Cutmore, N.G.; Liu, Y.; Peng, H.; Tickner, J.R.; Xie, Y.; Zong, C. (8 May 2009). "Recent Developments in Fast Neutron Radiography for the Interrogation of Air Cargo Containers". IAEA Conference. Vienna.

Further reading

• Eberhardt, J.; Liu, Y.; Rainey, S.; Roach, G.; Sowerby, B.; Stevens, R.; Tickner, J. (2006-05-05). "Fast-neutron/gamma-ray radiography scanner for the detection of contraband in air cargo containers". In Vourvopoulos, George; Doty, F. Patrick (eds.). SPIE Proceedings. Vol. 6213. doi:10.1117/12.663984.
• Liu, Y.; Tickner, J. R. (2006). "Image Processing and Display Systems for the CSIRO Air Cargo Scanner". 2006 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium Conference Record. San Diego, CA, USA. pp. 77–81. doi:10.1109/NSSMIC.2006.356111. ISSN 1082-3654.
• Wahyu Musa, Wibisono; Muslih, M. Refai; Widyastuti, Henni; Ningsih, Firliyani Rahmatia; Wijaya, Sastra Kusuma (July 2023). "Sludge interface measurement in the storage tank utilizing neutron backscattering technique: A field experiment". Heliyon. 9 (7): e17948. Bibcode:2023Heliy...917948W. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17948. ISSN 2405-8440. PMC 10372229. PMID 37519763.
• Griffith, G. W.; Menlove, H. O. (1 September 1997). "Design study for MOX fuel rod scanner for ATR fuel fabrication. Phase I: Design of active neutron scanner. Phase II: Design of passive neutron scanner. Phase III: Design of passive gamma-ray scanner". Los Alamos National Laboratory. Los Alamos, NM (United States). doi:10.2172/534497. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
• Yousri, A. M.; Bashter, I. I.; Megahid, M. R.; Osman, A. M.; Kansouh, W. A.; Reda, A. M. (1 July 2011). "Scanning of Cargo Containers by Gamma-Ray and Fast Neutron Radiography". republished by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information. Tenth Radiation Physics & Protection Conference, 27-30 November 2010, Nasr City - Cairo, Egypt. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
• A.M., Balagurov; V.G., Simkin; Yu.V., Taran; V.A., Trunov; V.A., Kudryashov; A.P., Bulkin (1993). "Possible utilization of high resolution Fourier diffractometer at reactor IBR-2 for strain measurements". republished through the International Nuclear Information System of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
• Albertini, G.; Ceretti, M.; Coppola, R.; Ghia, S.; Lodini, A.; Mariani, P.; Perrin, M.; Rustichelli, F. (1993). "Map of Residual Strain in a Welded AISI 304 Steel Component, Obtained by Neutron Diffraction". Metallurgical Science and Technology. 1 (1): 18–24. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
• Malamud, F.; Northover, P.; Northover, S.; Nneji, S.; Kelleher, J.; Ciarlo, N. C.; Mauri, R. Geli (1 October 2022). "Spatially resolved neutron texture measurements of copper bolts from the Deltebre I (1813) site". Materials Characterization. 192: 112183. doi:10.1016/j.matchar.2022.112183. ISSN 1044-5803. S2CID 251337913. Retrieved 14 December 2023. Neutron scanning used to evaluate bolts found in the Deltebre I shipwreck
• Schneider, Stephan; Tietze-Jaensch, Holger; Bosbach, Dirk (2011). "Numerical Tools for the Evaluation of Super-Compacted Radioactive Waste Residues" (PDF). Progress in Nuclear Science and Technology. 2: 406–410. doi:10.15669/pnst.2.406. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
• Stokes, Maurice A.; Hill, Graham L. (January 1993). "Total Energy Expenditure in Patients With Crohn's Disease: Measurement by the Combined Body Scan Technique". Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. 17 (1): 3–7. doi:10.1177/014860719301700103. ISSN 0148-6071. PMID 8437320. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
• Cocks, F. H; Klenk, P. A; Watkins, S. A; Simmons, W. N; Cocks, J. C; Cocks, E. E; Sussingham, J. C (1 December 2002). "Lunar Ice: Adsorbed Water on Subsurface Polar Dust". Icarus. 160 (2): 386–397. Bibcode:2002Icar..160..386C. doi:10.1006/icar.2002.6972. ISSN 0019-1035. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
• Hasholt, Marianne Tange; Frid, Katja; Spörel, Frank; Lahdensivu, Jukka; Helsing, Elisabeth; Müller, Matthias; Faheem, Abdul; Sleiman, Sara Al Haj; Jacobsen, Stefan (1 July 2022). "Nordic Concrete Research workshop: "Accelerated freeze-thaw testing of concrete", Lyngby, 20 April 2022". Nordic Concrete Research. 66 (1): 113–133. doi:10.2478/ncr-2022-0007. hdl:11250/3049844. Retrieved 14 December 2023.