The Urban Deployment Model: A Toolset for the Simulation and Performance Characterization of Radiation Detector Deployments in Urban Environments

Journal Article · Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Sensors

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/s24154987· OSTI ID:2440656

Abgrall, Nicolas ^[1]; Ayyad, Yassid ^[2]; Chow, Chun Ho ^[1]; Cooper, Reynold ^[1]; Hellfeld, Daniel ^[1]; Rofors, Emil ^[1]

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1. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
2. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (Spain)

Static and mobile radiation detectors can be deployed in urban environments for a range of nuclear security applications, including radiological source search-and-tracking scenarios. Modeling detector performance for such applications is challenging, as it does not depend solely on the detector capabilities themselves. Many factors must be taken into consideration, including specific source and background signatures, the topology and constraints of the deployment environment, the presence of nuisance sources, and whether detectors are mobile or static. When considering the simultaneous deployment of multiple, heterogeneous detectors, assessment of the system-wide performance requires the simulation of the individual detectors, and a system-level analysis of the detection performance. In radiological source search-and-tracking scenarios, performance is mostly dominated by the probability of encounter, which depends on the specifics of a given deployment, e.g., static vs. mobile detectors or a combination of both modalities, the number of detectors deployed, the dynamic vs. static setting of false alarm rates, and individual vs. networked operation. The Urban Deployment Model (UDM) toolset was specifically developed to cover the gap in the available generic frameworks for the simulation of radiation detector deployments at city scales. UDM provides a unified and modular framework to support the simulation and performance characterization of heterogeneous detector deployments in urban environments. This paper presents the key components along the UDM workflow.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation; USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 2440656
• Journal Information: Sensors, Journal Name: Sensors Journal Issue: 15 Vol. 24; ISSN 1424-8220
• Publisher: MDPI AG
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
detector array
national security
network
nuclear threat
urban environment