The W-MON project goal is to establish an automatic control mechanism of the presence of radioactive material in conventional waste containers at CERN using a distributed network of interconnected ...low-power radiation sensors. This network facilitates continuous data recording, transfer and storage in a database while allowing online and offline data analysis, in addition to alarm triggering. Data transmission, processing and evaluation is achieved by a centralized IoT end-to-end data architecture that has been developed for real-time monitoring and visualization of the radiation levels in waste containers. In this paper the results of field tests of the W-MON system described in two previous papers are presented for three different types of sensors. Estimation of failure detection probability, long-term stability tests and sensitivity studies carried out using radioactive samples of various activities placed in standard waste containers are described. A comparison between the manual monitoring procedure currently used at CERN and the W-MON system is discussed in detail.
•W-MON system is a network of low-power radiation sensors.•Automatic control of radioactive material in waste containers at CERN.•Centralized IoT architecture enables continuous data transmission.•Real-time monitoring and visualization of radiation levels.•Long-term stability tests using radioactive samples in standard containers.•W-MON system can efficiently replace existing manual monitoring procedures.
The W-MON project aims to improve and automatize the control of the presence of radioactive material in conventional waste containers at CERN using a distributed network of interconnected low-power ...radiation sensors. The key development is the integration of a lightweight but sensitive radiation sensor in a powerful network that allows continuous data recording, transfer and storage in a database for alarm triggering and subsequent data analysis. The Chiyoda D-shuttle personal dosimeter was used as proof-of-concept. Extensive tests performed with the commercial version of the D-shuttle showed that its robustness, stability under variable thermal conditions, high sensitivity and hourly dose logging capabilities make it a strong candidate for the project. To comply with the requirements of remote operation and wireless data transmission to a central server, a customized version of the D-shuttle has been developed. Two additional radiation sensors are also currently being considered. The sensors have been coupled to a custom-made communication board allowing for long-range low-power LoRa wireless data transmission. A centralized IoT (Internet of Things) end-to-end data architecture has been developed for real-time monitoring and visualization of the radiation level in waste containers before the final integration into REMUS, the overall CERN Radiation and Environment Monitoring Unified Supervision service.
•Environmental radiological monitoring for conventional waste.•Lightweight and smart radiation sensors for real-time monitoring of the radiation level in waste containers.•Distributed network of interconnected low-power radiation sensors with LoRa wireless data transmission.
Abstract
In this paper we present irradiation measurements performed to select a transparent anode substrate that best meets the requirements of an optical readout for a novel detector, the LaGEMPix. ...The modification of the optical properties of the material due to proton irradiation were studied in soda-lime, fused quartz and fused silica glasses coated with an Indium Tin Oxide layer. The irradiations were performed using the research Beam Transfer Line (BTL) of the IBA Cyclone 18 MeV cyclotron of the Bern University Hospital (Inselspital). We recorded visible scintillation light generated by proton irradiation in the soda-lime and fused quartz samples. We also investigated the darkening of these three glasses and observed radiation-induced colour centres in the soda-lime glass sample. The optical transmission spectra of the samples were measured before and after irradiation. Reductions of 45%, 1% and 0.4% were observed for soda-lime glass, fused quartz and fused silica, respectively (with an associated error of 0.25%). We conclude that the best option for our specific application is the fused silica substrate, which will be the transparent anode for the next generation of the LaGEMPix detector.
With the aim of controlling the risk of releasing radioactive material together with ordinary waste, the Radiation Protection (RP) group at CERN is developing a fully automated network of wireless ...radiation sensors to provide remote and real- time monitoring of the radiation level of hundreds of waste containers located on the CERN sites. The system, based on the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm, will be included in the existing CERN RP supervisory system, allowing online monitoring and continuous supervision. As proof of concept, a complete IoT architecture was successfully developed. A fully operational monitoring system was installed in a waste container equipped with eight wireless radiation sensors, which record and transmit the radiation measurements every hour to a dedicated custom server.
A reliable and highly scalable Internet of Things (IoT) end-to-end data infrastructure has been developed for environmental radiation monitoring at the European Organization for Nuclear Research ...(CERN) based on a low-power wide-area network (LPWAN). The proposed system, called Waste radiation MONitoring (W-MON), consists of an interconnected network of thousands of highly sensitive and ultralow-power gamma radiation sensors acting as long range (LoRa) transceivers. The aim of the system is to improve and automatize the radiological controls of conventional waste containers. The end devices measure the radiation levels in the waste containers on a continuous basis and send the data periodically to the LoRaWAN network server. The network has been deployed in an outdoor environment covering hundreds of hectares. A set of web-based user applications for real-time monitoring, data visualization, and status control of the devices have been designed based on open-source tools. The data pipeline infrastructure has been designed to allow an easy integration into the overall CERN Radiation and Environment Monitoring Unified Supervision service (REMUS).
In this paper we present irradiation measurements performed to select a transparent anode substrate that best meets the requirements of an optical readout for a novel detector, the LaGEMPix. The ...modification of the optical properties of the material due to proton irradiation were studied in soda-lime, fused quartz and fused silica glasses coated with an Indium Tin Oxide layer. The irradiations were performed using the research Beam Transfer Line (BTL) of the IBA Cyclone 18 MeV cyclotron of the Bern University Hospital (Inselspital). We recorded visible scintillation light generated by proton irradiation in the soda-lime and fused quartz samples. We also investigated the darkening of these three glasses and observed radiation-induced colour centres in the soda-lime glass sample. The optical transmission spectra of the samples were measured before and after irradiation. Reductions of 45%, 1% and 0.4% were observed for soda-lime glass, fused quartz and fused silica, respectively (with an associated error of 0.25%). We conclude that the best option for our specific application is the fused silica substrate, which will be the transparent anode for the next generation of the LaGEMPix detector.
A group of Early-Career Researchers (ECRs) has been given a mandate from the European Committee for Future Accelerators (ECFA) to debate the topics of the current European Strategy Update (ESU) for ...Particle Physics and to summarise the outcome in a brief document 1. A full-day debate with 180 delegates was held at CERN, followed by a survey collecting quantitative input. During the debate, the ECRs discussed future colliders in terms of the physics prospects, their implications for accelerator and detector technology as well as computing and software. The discussion was organised into several topic areas. From these areas two common themes were particularly highlighted by the ECRs: sociological and human aspects; and issues of the environmental impact and sustainability of our research.
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