A system for the detection of concealed nuclear weapons and fissile material aboard cargo cotainerships
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, 2005.
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2006
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34451 |
| _version_ | 1826200631613849600 |
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| author | Gallagher, Shawn P., S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| author2 | Richard C. Lanza. |
| author_facet | Richard C. Lanza. Gallagher, Shawn P., S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| author_sort | Gallagher, Shawn P., S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, 2005. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:39:26Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/34451 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:39:26Z |
| publishDate | 2006 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/344512022-01-26T16:18:45Z A system for the detection of concealed nuclear weapons and fissile material aboard cargo cotainerships Gallagher, Shawn P., S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Richard C. Lanza. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Nuclear Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering Nuclear Engineering. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, 2005. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 195-200). A new approach to the detection of concealed nuclear weapons and fissile material aboard cargo containerships is proposed. The ship-based approach removes the constraints of current thinking by addressing the threat of containerized nuclear terror in a novel way. Critical tactical misjudgments exist in currently deployed detection systems, which expose U.S. cities to an act of nuclear terrorism. Current port-based systems position defenses within the perimeter of each coastal city and the assumption that terrorists would not remotely detonate the weapon while taxiing past urban areas en route to the port is irrational. The new approach protects this hole in national security by moving defenses outside the perimeter and onto the containership. A networked system of radiation detectors, aboard all inbound containerships, does not allow a concealed nuclear weapon to ever approach the U.S. homeland. This thesis describes the ship-based system in detail, outlines its capabilities and suggests possible deployment scenarios. The basic concept of the ship-based system is to hide detectors in empty standard 40-foot shipping containers and send them back and forth across the ocean alongside normal cargo. Containerized arrays of gamma and neutron detectors are linked to small data processing and transmitting devices. (cont.) Data is transmitted to a central U.S. location for collection, assessment, and possible dissemination to responders in the event of threat identification. Upon positive detection, an alarm condition is signaled and interception of the containership occurs while still at sea. Monte Carlo based simulations suggest that due to long count times during typical two week voyages, radiation transport is significant enough such that containerized units will detect weapons grade uranium and plutonium in implosion-type configurations with three-sigma confidence from distances averaging 22.0 and 23.5 meters of cargo respectively. The vast majority of containerships require between 3 and 15 units deployed on each ship depending on its capacity and degree of control over container placement. Given the low number of units required for each ship, deployment of a containerized detector network is practical and an initial limited deployment increases the level of deterrence by, denial against containerized nuclear terror. by Shawn P. Gallagher. S.M. 2006-11-07T12:12:26Z 2006-11-07T12:12:26Z 2005 2005 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34451 70691755 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 200 leaves 11714373 bytes 11722805 bytes application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Nuclear Engineering. Gallagher, Shawn P., S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology A system for the detection of concealed nuclear weapons and fissile material aboard cargo cotainerships |
| title | A system for the detection of concealed nuclear weapons and fissile material aboard cargo cotainerships |
| title_full | A system for the detection of concealed nuclear weapons and fissile material aboard cargo cotainerships |
| title_fullStr | A system for the detection of concealed nuclear weapons and fissile material aboard cargo cotainerships |
| title_full_unstemmed | A system for the detection of concealed nuclear weapons and fissile material aboard cargo cotainerships |
| title_short | A system for the detection of concealed nuclear weapons and fissile material aboard cargo cotainerships |
| title_sort | system for the detection of concealed nuclear weapons and fissile material aboard cargo cotainerships |
| topic | Nuclear Engineering. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34451 |
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