The Woodruff School

SUMMARY

This work focuses on using forward and adjoint transport in a hybrid application of 3-D deterministic (PENTRAN) and Monte Carlo (MCNP5) codes to model a series of neutron detector blocks. These blocks, or “channels,” contain a unique set of moderators with 4 atm He-3 detectors tuned to detect and profile a gross energy spectrum of a passing neutron (SNM) source. Ganging the units together as a large area system enables one to apply time gating the source-detector response to maximize signal to noise responses from a passing source with minimal background; multiple units may be positioned as a collective synthetic aperture detector array to be used as a way of performing real time neutron spectroscopy for detecting special nuclear materials in moving vehicles.

SUBJECT:	M.S. Thesis Presentation

BY:	Matthew Molinar

TIME:	Wednesday, May 15, 2013, 2:00 p.m.

PLACE:	Boggs, 3-47

TITLE:	SNM Neutron Detection Using a Time-Gated Synthetic Aperture Hybrid Approach

COMMITTEE:	Dr. Glenn Sjoden, Chair (NRE) Dr, Ce Yi (NRE) Dr. C.-K. Chris Wang (NRE) Dr. Chaitanya Deo (NRE)

SUMMARY This work focuses on using forward and adjoint transport in a hybrid application of 3-D deterministic (PENTRAN) and Monte Carlo (MCNP5) codes to model a series of neutron detector blocks. These blocks, or “channels,” contain a unique set of moderators with 4 atm He-3 detectors tuned to detect and profile a gross energy spectrum of a passing neutron (SNM) source. Ganging the units together as a large area system enables one to apply time gating the source-detector response to maximize signal to noise responses from a passing source with minimal background; multiple units may be positioned as a collective synthetic aperture detector array to be used as a way of performing real time neutron spectroscopy for detecting special nuclear materials in moving vehicles.