Materials, instrumentation and techniques for the detection of Special Nuclear Material and Radioactive Sources: EU project MODES SNM

MODES SNM project is part of the European Union effort to promote research and innovation in strategic topics; it includes seven participants from five different countries. The project aimed to carry out technical research in order to develop a prototype for a mobile, modular detection system for radioactive sources and Special Nuclear Materials (SNM). The project’s main goal was to deliver a tested prototype of a modular mobile system capable of passively detecting weak or shielded radioactive sources with accuracy higher than that of currently available systems. The R&D involved in the project aimed at designing, constructing and testing robust, safe, and lightweight high pressure cells with an advanced read-out system, to be used as basic components of the modular mobile system. These innovative cells use 4He and Xe as scintillation materials, exploiting the potential of noble gases in the field of radiation detection. Furthermore, a patented technology enabled the simultaneous detection of fast and thermal neutrons in the same detector, providing additional information on the possible presence of shielding around neutron sources. The final detector configuration for MODES SNM prototype includes 8 4He fast neutron tubes, 2 4He thermal neutron tubes, 1 xenon gamma ray tube and 1 NaI(Tl) gamma ray crystal. A suitable Information System has been developed at Universita degli Studi di Padova to manage the detectors, integrate and analyze the data, and provide to the user simple informations about the results of the inspections. The prototype was commissioned under laboratory conditions at NCBJ, a renowned European research establishment, then the detectors and the front-end electronics were mounted inside a van. Finally, a series of demonstrations took place in an on-field campaign driven by the end-user group established in the project. Project MODES SNM concluded with full success on June 30th, 2014. Not only all the project milestones were achieved, but the prototype was completed on time and showed good performances. The technical requirements defined at the beginning of the project have been fulfilled, and during the demonstration tour the end users showed great appreciation to the final result of the work, to the satisfaction of all the Consortium partners. The project has been positively evaluated by EU officials, from the point of view of both the organization and the results. The prototype is now being developed at an industrial level by one of the project participants; an agreement has been signed with Universit`a di Padova for licensing the software written within the project.