Monte Carlo simulations of the underwater detection of illicit war remnants with neutron-based sensors

• Published in: European physical journal plus Vol. 138; no. 8; p. 751
• Main Authors: Silarski, Michał, Sibczyński, Paweł, Bezshyyko, Oleg, Kapłon, Łukasz, Kumar, Vinod, Niedźwiecki, Szymon, Nowakowski, Marek, Moskal, Paweł, Sharma, Sushil, Sobczuk, Franciszek
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 25-08-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Applied and Technical Physics; Aquatic environment; Atomic; Chemical agents; Chlorine; Complex Systems; Condensed Matter Physics; Environmental protection; Explosives detection; Hazardous materials; Hydrogen; Mathematical and Computational Physics; Molecular; Monte Carlo simulation; Mustard gas; Neutrons; Optical and Plasma Physics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Regular Article; Remote sensors; Sensors; Signal to noise ratio; Simulation; Stoichiometry; Theoretical; Unexploded ordnance; Baltic Sea
• ISSN: 2190-5444; 2190-5444
• DOI: 10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-04377-4

In recent years, the demand for accurate detection and identification of hazardous substances in an aquatic environment, especially in the Baltic Sea, has seen a significant rise, with a specific focus on unexploded ordnance (UXO) containing conventional explosives and various chemical agents, including, but not limited to, mustard gas, Clark I and II and other lethal compounds. These substances pose a significant threat to human health and the environment, and their identification is crucial for effective demining and environmental protection efforts. In this article, a novel approach for fast, remote, and non-destructive recognition of dangerous substances based on a SABAT sensor installed on an ROV is described. The performance of the proposed neutron-based sensor in an aquatic environment was verified based on a series of Monte Carlo simulations for mustard gas, Clark I and II, and TNT, as they are the most common chemical threats at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The sensor’s ability to accurately discriminate hazardous and non-hazardous materials is described in the paper in terms of the ratio of chlorine to hydrogen (Cl/H), carbon to oxygen (C/O), and nitrogen to hydrogen (N/H) activation lines integrals. The authors also discussed the future directions of work to validate SABAT (Stoichiometry Analysis By Activation Techniques) sensors in the operational environment.