The muon radiography technique is part of the straight-ray scanning imaging methods and it is usually employed to produce two-dimensional images of the integrated density in the radial direction from ...the detector position. However, in the literature there are already some examples of muon tomographies made by combining several measurements from different observation points. The work presented in this article fits into this line of research: a tomography of a target composed of lead blocks arranged in a non-trivial geometry was carried out by means of muon absorption radiography measurements. To solve the inversion problem, an iterative algorithm called SART was employed, obtaining better results than using a Chi-squared minimization.
Volcanoes in Italy and the role of muon radiography D'Alessandro, Raffaello; Ambrosino, F; Baccani, G ...
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences,
12/2018, Letnik:
377, Številka:
2137
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Cosmic-ray muon radiography (muography), an imaging technique that can provide measurements of rock densities within the top few 100 m of a volcanic cone, has now achieved a spatial resolution of the ...order of 10 m in optimal detection conditions. Muography provides images of the top region of a volcano edifice with a resolution that is considerably better than that typically achieved with other conventional methods (i.e. gravimetric). We expect such precise measurements, to provide us with information on anomalies in the rock density distribution, which can be affected by dense lava conduits, low-density magma supply paths or the compression with the depth of the overlying soil. The MUon RAdiography of VESuvius (MURAVES) project is now in its final phase of construction and deployment. Up to four muon hodoscopes, each with a surface of roughly 1 m
, will be installed on the slope of Vesuvius and take data for at least 12 months. We will use the muographic profiles, combined with data from gravimetric and seismic measurement campaigns, to determine the stratigraphy of the lava plug at the bottom of the Vesuvius crater, in order to infer potential eruption pathways. While the MURAVES project unfolds, others are using emulsion detectors on Stromboli to study the lava conduits at the top of the volcano. These measurements are ongoing: they have completed two measurement campaigns and are now performing the first data analysis.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Cosmic-ray muography'.
The Muon Imaging for Mining and Archaeology (MIMA) project aims at the development of a non-invasive technique for imaging dense structures or cavities, hidden in the underground or anyway surrounded ...by huge volumes of matter, based on Muon Absorption Radiography. Given its natural multidisciplinary, the final purpose is the validation of this methodology for applications in different fields, like Archaeology, Geology, mining, Civil Engineering and Civil Protection, in close cooperation with team in these fields. In this paper we report on the design, construction and performance of a compact and lightweight muon telescope designed mainly for archaeological investigation and geophysical prospections in general. The MIMA detector is also used currently as a test instrument to study different hardware solutions to optimize the global performance in these types of applications.
Muon radiography is a technique based on the measurement of absorption profiles of muons as they pass through matter. This measurement allows to obtain an image of the inner structure of large volume ...objects and is suitable to be applied in several fields, such as volcanology, archaeology and civil engeneering. One of the main applications concerns the study of volcanic structures; indeed it is possible to use this technique to measure the mass distribution inside the edifice of a volcano providing useful information to better understand the possible eruption mechanisms. The MURAVES (MUon RAdiography of VESuvius) project aims to the study of the summital cone of Mt. Vesuvius near Naples in Italy, one of the most dangerous active volcanoes in the world. The MURAVES apparatus is a modular, robust muon hodoscope system with a low power consumption, optimized to be used in inhospitable environments like the surroundings of volcanoes. The complete detection system is an array of identical tracking modules, each with an area of 1 m2, based on the use of plasic scintillators. The technologies, the status and the data analysis strategy of the experiment will be presented in this paper.
Muon Radiography or muography is based on the measurement of the absorption or scattering of cosmic muons, as they pass through the interior of large scale bodies, In particular, absorption muography ...has been applied to investigate the presence of hidden cavities inside the pyramids or underground, as well as the interior of volcanoes’ edifices. The MURAVES project has the challenging aim of investigating the density distribution inside the summit of Mt. Vesuvius. The information, together with that coming from gravimetric measurements, is useful as input to models, to predict how an eruption may develop. The MURAVES apparatus is a robust and low power consumption muon telescope consisting of an array of three identical and independent muon trackers, which provide in a modular way a total sensitive area of three square meters. Each tracker consists of four doublets of planes of plastic scintillator bars with orthogonal orientation, optically coupled to Silicon photomultipliers for the readout of the signal. The muon telescope has been installed on the slope of the volcano and has collected a first set of data, which are being analyzed.
A novel algorithm developed within muon radiography to localize objects or cavities hidden inside large material volumes was recently proposed by some of the authors (Bonechi
2015
, P02003 ...(doi:10.1088/1748-0221/10/02/P02003)). The algorithm, based on muon back projection, helps to estimate the three-dimensional position and the transverse extension of detected objects without the need for measurements from different points of view, which would be required to make a triangulation. This algorithm can now be tested owing to the availability of real data collected both in laboratory tests and from real-world measurements. The methodology and some test results are presented in this paper.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Cosmic-ray muography'.
The MIMA muon tracker, developed by the INFN Unit of Florence and the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Florence, has been designed to test the application of muon radiography ...(or muography) to multidisciplinary case studies, to demonstrate its validity as an imaging tool in different fields and to develop dedicated data analysis strategies. The MIMA detector is a scaled-down version of the muon trackers developed for the “Mu-Ray” INFN R&D project and the MURAVES (MUon RAdiography of VESuvius) “Progetto Premiale”, financed by the Italian government. Thanks to its compactness, MIMA allowed the use of slightly different technical solutions with respect to the other detectors. Its construction was completed in the first half of 2017 and since then it has been used for several different measurements. In the second half of 2017 the detector was installed in the Bourbon Gallery inside Mount Echia, a hill in the center of Naples containing a complicated system of tunnels and cavities that have been dug over many centuries. The installation of the MIMA tracker was required to validate with an independent detector the results obtained in two previous measurements by the Mu-Ray tracker. After this measurement, the detector has been used in the Tuscany region, mainly for investigating two possible fields of application: geo-hydrological risk assessment and mining activity. The preliminary results of these tests and the future perspectives are shortly presented in this paper.
Animal burrows in a river's earthen levee leads to water piping phenomena causing structural damage and eventual collapse during floods. Currently, the state of the art comprises case studies that ...deal with management and maintenance, while very few documents attempt at assessing possible animal-induced failure mechanisms. For the latter, detection and characterisation of the animal burrows is crucial and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and Ground Penetrating Radar are the most employed geophysical techniques. Between 2017 and 2018 a team of physicists, engineering geologists, and geophysicists has for the first time probed the possibility of exploiting the Muon Transmission Radiography (MTR) to verify the internal conservation status of levees that were visibly damaged by animal activities. The technique is a non-invasive method, currently under development, based on the detection of muons, a highly penetrating component of atmospheric cosmic rays. MTR is capable of providing angular maps of the average density of the material present in front of the detector. A test site measurement campaign was carried out with a prototype instrument placed at the side of the levee. This new survey methodology was compared to a more traditional ERT measurement, performed with a pole-dipole and dipole-dipole configuration. Moreover, the actual burrows' distribution was mapped during the demolition works using Terrestrial Laser Scanner measurements to validate and constrain results. The comparison between ERT and MTR maps shows that, in spite of some limitations, the latter is a suitable and promising technique that could successfully complement a program of geological risk assessment.
•Exploiting Muon Transmission Radiography to verify the levees conservation status•Validation of Muon Transmission Radiography by means of geoelectrical measurements•Animal burrows reconstruction by means of Muon Radiography, ERT, and TLS
A novel algorithm developed within muon radiography to localize objects or cavities hidden inside large material volumes was recently proposed by some of the authors (Bonechi et al. 2015 J. Instrum. ...10, P02003 (doi:10.1088/1748-0221/10/02/P02003)). The algorithm, based on muon back projection, helps to estimate the three-dimensional position and the transverse extension of detected objects without the need for measurements from different points of view, which would be required to make a triangulation. This algorithm can now be tested owing to the availability of real data collected both in laboratory tests and from real-world measurements. The methodology and some test results are presented in this paper.
This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Cosmic-ray muography’.
Volcanoes in Italy and the role of muon radiography D’Alessandro, Raffaello; Ambrosino, F.; Baccani, G. ...
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences,
01/2019, Letnik:
377, Številka:
2137
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Cosmic-ray muon radiography (muography), an imaging technique that can provide measurements of rock densities within the top few 100 m of a volcanic cone, has now achieved a spatial resolution of the ...order of 10 m in optimal detection conditions. Muography provides images of the top region of a volcano edifice with a resolution that is considerably better than that typically achieved with other conventional methods (i.e. gravimetric). We expect such precise measurements, to provide us with information on anomalies in the rock density distribution, which can be affected by dense lava conduits, low-density magma supply paths or the compression with the depth of the overlying soil. The MUon RAdiography of VESuvius (MURAVES) project is now in its final phase of construction and deployment. Up to four muon hodoscopes, each with a surface of roughly 1 m², will be installed on the slope of Vesuvius and take data for at least 12 months. We will use the muographic profiles, combined with data from gravimetric and seismic measurement campaigns, to determine the stratigraphy of the lava plug at the bottom of the Vesuvius crater, in order to infer potential eruption pathways. While the MURAVES project unfolds, others are using emulsion detectors on Stromboli to study the lava conduits at the top of the volcano. These measurements are ongoing: they have completed two measurement campaigns and are now performing the first data analysis.
This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Cosmic-ray muography’.