Rapid Characterization of Fresh Nuclear Fallout using Full-Spectrum Inverse Transport Methods

Problem Statement

Rapid determination of weapon characteristics is essential following a nuclear burst.  This work will facilitate understanding of the fissile materials in the weapon using post-detonation measurements.

Technical Approach

•Estimate pre-detonation fissile material composition using post-detonation gamma spectroscopic analysis. •Evaluate fallout field using field-deployable instruments •Employ Inverse radiation transport—selecting optimal computational models by regression of model outputs with gamma spectroscopic measurements, including effects of: −Burnup and decay of fission products −Gamma source terms and transport −Detector response functions •Build on previous work to apply inverse radiation transport to fresh, bulk SNM

Benefit

•Extend current techniques to account for burnup and decay •Assess prototypical field-deployable instruments