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Title: A novel muon detector for borehole density tomography

Journal Article · · Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
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  1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  2. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  3. Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)
  4. Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Muons can be used to image the density of materials through which they pass, including geological structures. Subsurface applications of the technology include tracking fluid migration during injection or production, with increasing concern regarding such timely issues as induced seismicity or chemical leakage into aquifers. Current density monitoring options include gravimetric data collection and active or passive seismic surveys. One alternative, or complement, to these methods is the development of a muon detector that is sufficiently compact and robust for deployment in a borehole. Such a muon detector can enable imaging of density structure to monitor small changes in density – a proxy for fluid migration – at depths up to 1500 m. Such a detector has been developed, and Monte Carlo modeling methods applied to simulate the anticipated detector response. Testing and measurements using a prototype detector in the laboratory and shallow underground laboratory demonstrated robust response. A satisfactory comparison with a large drift tube-based muon detector is also presented.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE); USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76-RL01830; AC52-06NA25396; SC0010504
OSTI ID:
1379951
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1344364; OSTI ID: 1397837; OSTI ID: 1598605
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-120937; PNNL-SA-120973; LA-UR-16-27062; PII: S0168900217300232
Journal Information:
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 851, Issue C; ISSN 0168-9002
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 8 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (10)

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journal May 2011
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Cited By (4)

Joint inversion of gravity with cosmic ray muon data at a well-characterized site for shallow subsurface density prediction journal March 2019
Borehole muography of subsurface reservoirs
  • Bonneville, Alain; Kouzes, Richard; Yamaoka, Jared
  • Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 377, Issue 2137 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2018.0060
journal December 2018
3D Cosmic Ray Muon Tomography from an Underground Tunnel journal March 2017
3D Cosmic Ray Muon Tomography from an Underground Tunnel text January 2018

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Related Subjects

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Muon detection
Subsurface fluid injection
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GEANT4
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muon detection
subsurface fluid injection
carbon storage
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density tomography