FEASIBILITY STUDY ON USING FNA TO COMPLEMENT TNA IN LANDMINE DETECTION BY MONTE CARLO SIMULATION
Keywords:
Monte Carlo simulation, TNT-landmine detection, fast neutron analysis, thermal neutron analysisAbstract
MCNP5, a Monte Carlo computer code, is used to simulate the detection of TNT-landmines by using the technique of Fast Neutron Analysis (FNA) to complement Thermal Neutron Analysis (TNA).This technique utilizes a gamma ray detector to detect gamma rays induced from neutron interactions with the constituents of a TNT-landmine, H, C, O, and N, concurrently. The detection heads used in the simulation are composed of combinations of 2 isotopic neutron sources, 252Cf and241Am-9Be, and 3 gamma ray detectors, NaI, BGO, and LaBr3. One kg of TNT, buried under 3formation surfaces, sand, CaCO3, and clay at 5 cm, is used as the dummy landmine. Flux ratios of4 prominent gamma rays with energies of 2.22, 4.44, 6.13, and 10.83 MeV, which are induced fromH, C, O, and N, respectively, are estimated and compared with their corresponding concentration ratios of the TNT-landmine’s constituents. The estimated flux ratio between gamma rays induced from H and N based on using LaBr3 to detect a TNT-landmine buried under sand agree with their corresponding concentration ratios between H and N within their error limits. However, the same ratios based on using other gamma ray detectors to detect a TNT-landmine buried under sand do not agree with their corresponding concentration ratios. Nevertheless, they are close, being less than15% different. Other ratios of gamma ray fluxes induced from the TNT-landmine’s constituents based on using other types of detection heads do not agree with their corresponding concentration ratios. These results imply that the complementary FNA-TNA technique cannot be used to detect a1-kg TNT-landmine buried under a sand surface at 5 cm. However, the TNA technique which utilizes the detections of gamma rays induced from H and N concurrently should be able to detect such a landmine effectively.
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