MoMIS - Mobile Muon Imaging System

我们已经习惯了技术可以让世界变得透明的想法。我们第一次看到我们的孩子是在超声波照片上。CT和MRI扫描使我们能够诊断疾病并优化治疗。我们的愿景是将这种透明度扩展到桥梁和其他民用结构，并且不需要任何额外的人工放射源。我们还看到在核安全方面的重要应用，特别是在安全验证方面。进入大气层的高能宇宙射线产生大量粒子阵雨，其中一些粒子一直到达地球表面。这些粒子是µ子--与电子类似的基本粒子，但重量是电子的200倍。它们的典型能量大约是X射线的1万倍，这使得它们具有很强的穿透性--事实上，它们可以穿透几米厚的岩石、混凝土或钢铁。有了合适的探测系统，跟踪传入和传出的Muon，它们可以用来创建屏蔽容器或混凝土中钢筋内容物的3D图像(也称为Muon断层图)。由于Muon具有很强的穿透性，与超声波或探地雷达等其他无损检测技术相比，Muon成像可以穿透更厚的材料，这些技术通常被限制在30厘米左右。Muon是自然产生的，该技术不使用任何人工辐射，完全是被动的。因此，Muon成像是健康和安全中立的，因此也不需要特别许可。与CAT扫描中的X射线光子相比，每个给定区域和时间的宇宙射线µ子要少得多。这意味着测量需要几小时或几天，而不是几秒钟。因此，对于那些对时间不敏感、涉及大量屏蔽或发生在公共场所的介子成像，特别适合实际应用的介子成像。在公共场所，很难获得活动方法(例如，涉及伽马源)的许可。从核废料容器上的火山喷发到埃及胡夫金字塔内发现一个巨大的空洞，Muon成像，或称Muon成像，已经被用于许多不同的应用。格拉斯哥大学分拆公司Lynkeos Technology Ltd.已成功通过CE认证，并于2018年10月在塞拉菲尔德安装了Muon成像系统。Sellalfield的Lynkeos管理信息系统是TRL 8的静态Muon断层扫描系统。在苏格兰企业的支持下于2019/20年度进行的市场研究表明，移动Muon成像系统有更大的市场，特别是在土木工程领域的无损检测方面。格拉斯哥大学与德国联邦材料科学与测试研究所(BAM)合作进行的测试测量证明了土木工程测试对象的可行性。原子能机构保障监督专题讨论会上展示了对干燥储存桶内容物进行核查的蒙特卡洛模拟。要使Muon成像成为土木工程和核安全中的实用方法，关键的一步是创建实用的移动Muon成像系统。该系统应具有简单、坚固耐用、具有足够分辨率和效率的探测器，同时还应具有便携和耐室外的特点。到目前为止，还没有满足这些要求的移动Muon层析成像系统。这项提议的目标就是设计和建造这样一个系统，更具体地说是这样一个系统的小规模原型-尽管其大小已经对一些应用程序有用，并且可以在现实环境中进行测试。这项研究将在格拉斯哥大学与Lynkeos Technology、BAM、Babcock和斯旺西大学合作进行。

We have grown used to the idea that technology can make the world transparent. The first time we see our children is on an ultrasound picture. CT and MRI scans allow us to diagnose illnesses and optimize treatment. Our vision is to extend this transparency to bridges and other civil structures and to do so without any additional, artificial radiation source. We also see important applications in nuclear security, in particular in verification for safeguards.High-energy cosmic rays that enter the atmosphere create large showers of particles and some of these particles reach all the way down to the Earth's surface. These particles are muons - elementary particles similar to electrons but 200 times as heavy. Their typical energy is about 10,000 times higher than that of X-rays, which makes them highly penetrating - in fact they can pass through meters of rock, concrete or steel. With the right kind of detection system, that tracks the incoming and the outgoing muons, they can be used to create 3D images (aka muon tomograms) of the contents of shielded containers or of steel reinforcements in concrete. Because muons are highly penetrating, muon imaging can 'see' through larger thicknesses of material than other non-destructive testing techniques like ultrasound or ground-penetrating radar that are typically limited to about 30 cm.Muons occur naturally and the technique does not use any artificial radiation and is entirely passive. Muon imaging therefore is health-and-safety neutral and therefore also does not require special permits. There are a lot less cosmic-ray muons per given area and time than there are e.g. X-ray photons in a CAT scan. This means that measurements take hours or days, not seconds. Especially good candidates for practical applications of muon imaging therefore a those that are not time critical, that involve a lot of shielding or that take place in public spaces, where permits for active methods (e.g. involving gamma sources) would be difficult to obtain.Muon imaging, or muography, has already been used for many different applications, ranging from volcanology over nuclear waste containers to the discovery of a 'big void' within the Khufu pyramid in Egypt. Lynkeos Technology Ltd., a University of Glasgow spin-off company, has successfully CE-certified and installed a muon imaging system at Sellafield in October 2018. The Lynkeos MIS at Sellalfield is a static muon tomography system at TRL 8. Market research carried out with support from Scottish Enterprise in 2019/20 has shown that there is a larger market for a mobile muon imaging system, especially for non-destructive testing in a civil engineering context. Test measurements at the University of Glasgow in collaboration with the German Federal Institute for Material Science and Testing (BAM) have demonstrated the feasibility on a civil engineering test object. Monte Carlo simulations of the verification of the contents of a dry storage cask have been shown at the IAEA Safeguards Symposium. The crucial step for muon imaging to become a practical method in civil engineering and nuclear security is the creation of a practical mobile muon imaging system. This system should be simple and robust, have detectors with sufficient resolution and efficiency, and at the same time be portable and outdoor-proof. Up to now no mobile muon tomography system exists that fulfils these requirements. The objective of this proposal is the design and construction of just such a system, more specifically a small-scale prototype for such a system - albeit of a size that is already useful for some applications and that can be tested in a realistic environment.The research will be carried out at the University of Glasgow, in collaboration with Lynkeos Technology, BAM, Babcock, and Swansea University.