The use of radiation sensors as portal monitors is increasing due to heightened concerns over the smuggling of fissile material. Transportable systems that can detect significant quantities of fissile material that might be present in vehicular traffic are of particular interest, especially if they can be rapidly deployed to different locations. To serve this application, we have constructed a rapid-deployment portal monitor that uses visible-light and gamma-ray imaging to allow simultaneous monitoring of multiple lanes of traffic from the side of a roadway. The system operation uses machine vision methods on the visible-light images to detect vehicles as they enter and exit the field of view and to measure their position in each frame. The visible-light and gamma-ray cameras are synchronized which allows the gamma-ray imager to harvest gamma-ray data specific to each vehicle, integrating its radiation signature for the entire time that it is in the field of view. Thus our system creates vehicle-specific radiation signatures and avoids source confusion problems that plague non-imaging approaches to the same problem. Our current prototype instrument was designed for measurement of upto five lanes of freeway traffic with a pair of instruments, one on either side of the roadway. Stereoscopic cameras are used with a third "alignment" camera for motion compensation and are mounted on a 50' deployable mast. In this paper we discuss the design considerations for the machine-vision system, the algorithms used for vehicle detection and position estimates, and the overall architecture of the system. We also discuss system calibration for rapid deployment. We conclude with notes on preliminary performance and deployment.
This report is dedicated to the memory of Joel Chesser, who passed away before it was published. Joel was instrumental in helping lead the assembly of the system described herein, and his coauthors wish to recognize his achievements with this small gesture. He is missed very much by his friends and colleagues at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
While there is a wide range of actuation technologies, none currently rivals the overall performance (power density, bandwidth, stress, stroke) of conventional hydraulic actuation [l]. It is well known in the actuation community that the power-to-weight ratios and the power-tovolume ratios of hydraulic actuators are, respectively, around 5 times and 10 to 20 times larger than comparable electric motors. Due to fundamental limitations in the magnetic flux density in the supporting structures and limitations in the heat transfer out of electric actuators, significant changes in these ratios are not likely in the near future [2]. Thermal limitations associated with electric motors do not apply to hydraulic actuators since the hydraulic fluid cools and lubricates the system. However, with all of these virtues, hydraulic actuators have serious practical implementation problems. Typically, servo-based hydraulic actuators are leaky and have generally poor energy efficiencies. This work addresses a new type of electric actuator that combines the best of both the electric and hydraulic mediums.
A conceptual design for a neutrino producing facility has been developed based on a mercury jet target that interacts with a 24 GeV, 1 MW proton beam. The facility consists of a target region where pions and muons are produced, a crane hall, and hot cells for radioactive component handling. The major components include the target containment system, a high magnetic field target solenoid region, a beam absorber, a low-field solenoid decay channel, and steel and concrete radiation shielding. The design was based in part, on meeting a system operating availability of 10 7 sec/yr, and on remotely replacing lifelimited components that are exposed to neutron and gamma radiation damage.
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