Spatial deconvolution of aerial radiometric survey and its application to the fallout from a radiological dispersal device

Sinclair, L.E.; Fortin, R

doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2018.10.014

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Flying lower and slower than manned aircraft, a UAV can provide improved spatial resolution. This is particularly beneficial in hot spot activity assessments as lower resolution surveys can underestimate count rates by averaging the hot spot over a larger area [5]. UAVs are also able to provide an additional level of safety for operators as they are able to collect measurements in areas containing possible radiological threats, or associated threats such as explosive or chemical hazards.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In-flight performance of the Advanced Radiation Detector for UAV Operations (ARDUO)

Chen

Sinclair

Fortin

et al. 2020

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A:

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Natural Resources Canada is responsible for the provision of aerial radiometric surveys in the event of a radiological or nuclear emergency in Canada. Manned aerial surveys are an essential element of the planned consequence management operation, as demonstrated by the recovery work following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and their effects in Fukushima, Japan. Flying lower and slower than manned aircraft, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can provide improved spatial resolution. In particular, hot spot activity can be underestimated in manned survey results as the higher flight altitude and wider line spacing effectively average the hot spot over a larger area. Moreover, a UAV can enter an area which is too hazardous for humans, due not only to the radiological threat which is its target, but also to other anticipated hazards such as explosives, airborne chemical hazards, or open water. Natural Resources Canada has been investigating the inclusion of UAV-borne radiation survey spectrometers into its aerial survey response procedures. The Advanced Radiation Detector for UAV Operations (ARDUO) was developed to exploit the flight and lift capabilities available in the under 25 kg class of UAVs. The detector features eight 2.8 cm × 2.8 cm × 5.6 cm CsI(Tl) crystals arranged in a self-shielding configuration, read out with silicon photomultipliers. The signal is digitized using miniaturized custom electronics. The ARDUO is flown on a main-and tail-rotor UAV called Responder which has a 6 kg lift capacity and up to 40 minute endurance. Experiments were conducted to characterize the performance of the ARDUO and Responder UAV system in both laboratory and outdoor trials. Outdoor trials consisted of aerial surveys over sealed point sources and over a distributed source of 10 MBq/m 2 of La-140. Results show how the directional response of the ARDUO can provide an indication in real time of source location to guide the UAV during flight. As well, the results show how utilization of the directional information in post-acquisition processing can result in improved spatial resolution of radiation features for both point and distributed sources.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In-flight performance of the Advanced Radiation Detector for UAV Operations (ARDUO)

Chen

Sinclair

Fortin

et al. 2020

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A:

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“…Resources Canada (NRCan) has developed technology for use on unmanned aerial vehicles, 2 and has successfully used aerial-survey measurements with conventional aircraft in mapping radioactive contamination following detonation of a radiological dispersal device. 3 Other groups have investigated a range of other detection methods for different scenarios. Mobile ground-based sensor networks have been investigated…”

Section: Statement Of Contributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstruction of a Radioactive Source Distribution using a Tomographic Spatial-unfolding Method with Compton Gamma Imager Measurements

Murtha¹

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Advanced detection and reconstruction techniques are utilized to characterize the distribution of radioactive materials in radiological safety and security operations. Most radioactive materials can be detected through their gamma-ray emissions. There can arise circumstances in which the measurement of these gamma rays must be made from behind a pre-established perimeter, however. To address this, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) have jointly developed novel Compton gamma imaging technology for use in safety and security applications. Compton gamma imaging utilizes the physics of Compton scattering to locate gamma-ray sources, making the technology well-suited to localization at a distance from the suspected source.A fast tomographic reconstruction method has been developed for use with Compton gamma imaging measurements to provide rapid, in situ source localization. For a more precise offline reconstruction of the data, a spatial unfolding technique has also been developed that fits the observed experimental tomogram with tomographicresponse templates produced by Monte Carlo simulation of spatially-localized sources of radioactivity.I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr. Laurel Sinclair and Dr. Patrick Saull, for their guidance, their patience, and for providing me with several fantastic opportunities throughout my graduate studies. I have grown as a researcher while working with them, and I will forever be grateful for the lessons learnt. I would also like to thank Dr. Andrew McCann and Dr. Audrey MacLeod, two other core members of the Compton imaging research team, for their support, their encouragement, and for being constantly willing to provide their insight and assistance. Spending these years as part of the "Compton crew" has been one of my most unique and valuable experiences.My thanks go also to the members of my committee, Dr. Paul Johns and Dr. André Staudte (in addition to Dr. Sinclair and Dr. Saull), for periodically meeting with me during my degree and offering their thoughts and suggestions for my research.I am thankful to Natural Resources Canada and the National Research Council Canada for hosting me during my time as a graduate student. The groups at each agency were welcoming to me from the beginning, and I feel that it was a valuable experience to be able to work with each of them. I would also like to extend my thanks to the team at Defence Research and Development Canada Suffield Research Centre, without whom the trial presented in chapter 6 would not have been possible.

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“…This may be due to a number of effects, one of which is the smearing effect described above. A new method has been developed by Sinclair and Fortin[47] to deconvolve the spatial smearing of the data, therefore producing a more precise result of the spatial distribution of the source. The use of this method to improve the surface activity concentration reconstruction results is outside the scope of this thesis.By integrating the surface activity concentration anomaly caused by the source over the total area of the anomaly, an estimate of the total activity of the source within the area can be calculated.…”

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confidence: 99%

Demonstration of a new gamma spectrometer designed for radiometric surveying with an unmanned aircraft system

Chen¹

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The performance of a radiometric unmanned aircraft system (UAS) composed of a directional gamma spectrometer, the Advanced Radiation Detector for Unmanned Aircraft System Operations (ARDUO), and a medium-lift helicopter airframe was demonstrated. The ARDUO's properties of the full-width half maximum energy resolution, linearity, gain stability, intrinsic photopeak efficiency, sheet source sensitivity and directional response were characterized in laboratory experiments. Smallscale trials were conducted over a single point source and two point sources of 137 Cs at a 27 m separation. The single point source strength was measured at iii Statement of Contribution v Table of Contents vii List of Tables x List of Figures xi List of Acronyms xiv List of Symbols xvii List of Acronyms Acronym Meaning 40 Ar Argon-40 ARDUO Advanced Radiation Detector for Unmanned Aircraft System Operations 133 Ba Barium-133 Bi Bismuth-214 Bq, kBq, MBq, GBq Becquerel, disintegrations per second, kilo-becquerel, mega-becquerel, giga-becquerel Ci Curie 60 Co Co-60 cps Counts per second 137 Cs Cesium-137 CsI, CsI(Tl) Cesium iodide, thallium-doped cesium iodide CZT Cadmium zinc telluride EDT Eastern day time EKF Extended Kalman Filter xiv Acronym Meaning 152 Eu Europium-152 eV, keV, MeV Electron volt, kilo-electron volt, mega-electron volt FWHM Full-width half maximum g, kg Gram, kilogram GCS Ground Control Station GHz Gigahertz GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System 140 La Lanthanum-140 m, km, cm Metre, kilometre, centimetre MDT Mountain day time xv Acronym Meaning min Minute 54 Mn Magnesium-54 NaI, NaI(Tl) Sodium iodide, thallium-doped sodium iodide NRCan Natural Resources Canada RSI Radiation Solutions Inc. [5] RTL Return to Launch s, µs Second, microsecond

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Spatial deconvolution of aerial radiometric survey and its application to the fallout from a radiological dispersal device

Cited by 8 publications

References 19 publications

In-flight performance of the Advanced Radiation Detector for UAV Operations (ARDUO)

In-flight performance of the Advanced Radiation Detector for UAV Operations (ARDUO)

Reconstruction of a Radioactive Source Distribution using a Tomographic Spatial-unfolding Method with Compton Gamma Imager Measurements

Demonstration of a new gamma spectrometer designed for radiometric surveying with an unmanned aircraft system

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