DE-FOA-00001941 Topic 4. Alternate Radiation Sources Subtopic: Compact Cyclotrons for Nuclear Security Final Scientific/Technical Report (DOE F 241.3)

Technical Report · Mon Jan 27 00:00:00 EST 2020

OSTI ID:1600513

Antaya, Timothy A

Executive Summary - 18-20 MeV Transportable High Field Superconducting Cyclotron for Security Applications, Antaya Science and Technology In 2017, while beginning the development of a compact high field superconducting 12 MeV proton cyclotron, for PET isotope production in the developing world, we were approached by the team at a security company [Andiscern], to evaluate how our existing technology could be adapted to multimonoenergetic gamma ray based scanning, to greatly improve and limit the threat of nuclear terrorism in the United States, as a part of their proposed commercial feasible solution. The detection of WMD, strategic nuclear materials, contraband and organic/inorganic discrimination, in Seaports, Ports of Entry, air freight shipping centers, and clandestine operations, require fast, high discrimination radiation scanning systems that are compact, easily fielded, and operate low overall radiation levels. To date there is no commercial system deployed that meets to the above requirements, though it has been congressional mandate for over a decade for the United States to employ such a system. For such a gamma ray based WMD detection security system, a compact proton cyclotron at 18 MeV was required. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the scaling of that compact 12 MeV superconducting medical cyclotron to a higher energy (18 MeV) suitable for strategic nuclear material (SNM) detection, but in the same small footprint as the transportable low power 12MeV PET isotope cyclotron. The research methodology employed is to use well-established quantitative superconducting cyclotron design and analysis tools, to create a new cyclotron design at 18 MeV, in the same overall footprint, and apply three isochronous cyclotron design requirements to demonstrate the fundamental feasibility of this higher energy design. The research results, as will be presented here, demonstrate that these three requirements can be met simultaneously. That is, a transportable 18 MeV proton cyclotron suitable for SNM detection, with a mass of less 3 tonnes, and an operating power less that 20 kW, using the same technology basis as what is now being demonstrated in the 12 MeV medical cyclotron, is feasible. The practical importance of having such a set of results in hand is that, using normal engineering practice, a working prototype cyclotron based on this design basis has a very high likelihood of operating successfully. Potential Applications of this research include SNM and contraband detection at borders and ports. This proton reaction based SNM detection system has significant advantages over alternative platforms. In addition to smaller size, lower mass and lower power, the cyclotron operates CW, meaning that the radiation output is available continuously, which can help with optimized detector designs and their efficiency. And using a proton beams substantially reduces the generation of undesirable neutrons from the proton beam interacting with the beam target due to the small or entirely absent cross sections for fast neutron production, which reduces or even eliminates the need for radiation shielding material and lowers the potential radiation dose to scanned cargo or people. Accidental exposure to the operating radiation level from a full minute of inspection time in this system is anticipated to be fall between spending two weeks in Denver and getting a chest X-ray. Given that protection systems would limit such accidental exposures to fractions of seconds, the occupational radiation hazard would be negligible, which is not the case for any conventional high energy gamma ray bremsstrahlung based detection systems. There is high interest among security companies polled in the Z discrimination capability for contraband and organic/inorganic discrimination. Broad application of such compact SNM and contraband detection systems based on a compact high field superconducting cyclotrons is therefore anticipated for many important overt and covert detection missions.

• Research Organization: T Antaya, LLC
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• Contributing Organization: Andiscern Inc.
• DOE Contract Number: SC0019915
• OSTI ID: 1600513
• Type / Phase: SBIR (Phase I)
• Report Number(s): DOE-Antaya-19915
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English