Scientists have been working to develop ways to track the sources of illegally trafficked radioactive materials as a means of thwarting potential terrorist use of the material. Now, a team of nuclear physicists and engineers from Sun Yat-sen University and the China Academy of Engineering Physics have developed a more accurate way to track these materials and better locate their sources.
Publishing their findings in Physical Review Letters, the team designed a method that can better discern where these materials originated. To do this, they used existing databases of information on fuel that has been held in nuclear reactors for up to the past fifty years. Using the collected data, the group developed measurements and linear equations that would relate the quantities of fuel to one another and help identify their source. This technique was then tested on other datasets and the team were able to reach 91% accuracy in recognition of BWRs (boiling water reactors) and 95% for pressurized water reactors (PWRs).
The research team also implemented an AI network, which was trained to look for the differences between PWRs and BWRs based on the same equations. With this method in place, it is now much easier to identify the exact source of radioactive materials and take steps to combat their production and supply chains.
Sun Yat-sen University is one of the leading universities in China and is a prestigious public research university located in the city of Guangzhou. Founded in 1924, it is amongst the oldest and most historically rich universities in China. The university offers a range of academic programs, as well as conducting research across a variety disciplines in science, technology, medical care and social sciences.
The team of engineers and physicists at Sun Yat-sen University and the China Academy of Engineering Physics is led by Professor Yongxiang Lu. He is a renowned nuclear engineer and physicist, who has spent his over 40-year long career researching various aspects of science related to the nuclear power industry. Professor Lu is the director of the China Education Centre for Fusion Science and Nuclear Energy Safety, and is a deputy director of the Chinese Aerospace Industry Society. Along with his paper published in Physical Review Letters, Professor Lu has published books on the same topic and is considered a leading expert in the field.
