Title :
The Application of High Energy Resolution Green´s Functions to Threat Scenario Simulation
Author :
Thoreson, Gregory G. ; Schneider, Erich A.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Nucl. & Radiat. Eng., Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
fDate :
4/1/2012 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Radiation detectors installed at key interdiction points provide defense against nuclear smuggling attempts by scanning vehicles and traffic for illicit nuclear material. These hypothetical threat scenarios may be modeled using radiation transport simulations. However, high-fidelity models are computationally intensive. Furthermore, the range of smuggler attributes and detector technologies create a large problem space not easily overcome by brute-force methods. Previous research has demonstrated that decomposing the scenario into independently simulated components using Green´s functions can simulate photon detector signals with coarse energy resolution. This paper extends this methodology by presenting physics enhancements and numerical treatments which allow for an arbitrary level of energy resolution for photon transport. As a result, spectroscopic detector signals produced from full forward transport simulations can be replicated while requiring multiple orders of magnitude less computation time.
Keywords :
Green´s function methods; radiation detection; brute-force methods; coarse energy resolution; computation time; detector technologies; full forward transport simulations; high energy resolution Green´s functions; high-fidelity models; hypothetical threat scenarios; illicit nuclear material; independently simulated components; interdiction points; large problem space; nuclear smuggling; numerical treatments; photon detector signals; photon transport; physics enhancements; radiation detectors; radiation portal monitor; radiation transport simulations; scanning vehicles; spectroscopic detector signals; threat scenario simulation; Computational modeling; Detectors; Energy resolution; Green´s function methods; Interpolation; Materials; Photonics; Interdiction; nuclear material; photon transport; radiation portal monitor; smuggle;
Journal_Title :
Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TNS.2012.2187679