Land mine detection with neutron back scattering imaging using a neutron generator

Abstract

Abstract-The neutron back scattering technique may be used to search for low-metallic land mines. An advantage of this technique is the speed of detection: the scanning speed may be made comparable to that of a metal detector. The method is sensitive to soil moisture. A limitation of the method is therefore that the soil must be sufficiently dry. The neutrons are produced with a pulsed neutron generator. An image of the back scattered thermal neutron radiation is obtained with a two dimensional position sensitive detector. Getting optimal settings for the detector system is described. The mine detection time as function of the neutron pulse parameters is investigated. Results with various dummy mines are presented.

Thermal neutron imaging in an active interrogation environment

“…Coded aperture imaging of thermal neutron sources has previously been proposed for a number of applications, including warhead counting for treaty verification [1], detecting nuclear smuggling [2], explosives detection [3,4], monitoring stored spent nuclear fuel [5]. In earlier testing of our coded aperture camera, which uses a 2-dimensional He-3 positionsensitive wire chamber and a Cd mask, we used isotopic sources (such as 252 Cf or 241 Am-Be) which continuously emitted fast neutrons that were then thermalized in paraffin.…”

A Novel Scanning Land Mine Detector Based on the Technique of Neutron Back Scattering Imaging

“…Mine detection times of less than a second are feasible when a sufficiently strong neutron source is used [16], [17]. NBS based systems can therefore be used to scan an area for land mines.…”

“…The detector is based on the Delft DUNBID land mine system [17], [23], which was tested in Egypt [16], but which is not suitable for surface scanning. Scanning NBS land mine detectors do not exist at present.…”

Multi-parameter optimization of a neutron backscattering landmine detection system

“…For example, the energy and intensity of the gamma rays resulting from neutron interactions can be used to measure the concentration of nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen in target area to determine the presence of landmines (Hussein and Waller, 2000). Neutron techniques typically involve the use of 252 Cf or pulsed neutron sources with 3 He detectors (Bom, 2006;Datema et al, 2001).…”