Performance of a Remotely Located Muon Radiography System to Identify the Inner Structure of a Nuclear Plant

TL;DR

This study evaluates a remote muon radiography system's ability to image and detect internal structures of a nuclear plant from 64 meters away, demonstrating its effectiveness in identifying fuel and water level changes.

Contribution

First demonstration of a remote muon radiography system successfully imaging a nuclear plant's internal structures from 64 meters distance.

Findings

Confirmed absence of fuel in the pressure vessel during measurement

Successfully profiled fuel in storage pool

System sensitive to water level changes

Abstract

The performance of a muon radiography system designed to image the inner structure of a nuclear plant located at a distance of 64 m was evaluated. We concluded absence of the fuel in the pressure vessel during the measurement period and succeeded in profiling the fuel material placed in the storage pool. The obtained data also demonstrated the sensitivity of the system to water level changes in the reactor well and the dryer-separator pool. It is expected that the system could reconstruct a 2 m cubic fuel object easily. By operating multiple systems, typically four identical systems, viewing the reactor from different directions simultaneously, detection of a 1 m cubic object should also be achievable within a few month period.