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An attenuation-based muon computed tomography algorithm has been developed to enable imaging of large infrastructure using measurements from a single muon tracking module. The performance of the algorithm depends on the choice of reconstruction technique that is incorporated, and is evaluated for seven different reconstruction techniques from the computed tomography literature. The L1-Norm reconstruction technique proposed by Kudo et al. is found to provide the best overall performance. The least-squares conjugate gradient (LSCG) technique and the Simultaneous Iterative Reconstruction Technique (SIRT) are also capable of identifying special nuclear materials, but typically display higher levels of reconstruction artifacts in comparison with L1-Norm. A muon-tomography reconstruction of a simplified simulated reactor core using the L1-Norm algorithm is able to accurately reproduce the geometry, including the identification of missing fuel channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, an experimental assessment is made of the performance of an integrated system for the detection of shielded nuclear material that features muon tomography and polyvinyl toluene bi-panel detector systems. Experimental setups consisting of a barrel of sand containing a lead flask and/or depleted uranium were defined, and were measured in turn by each detection system. For each system, detection parameters for the presence of depleted uranium were put forward that can be used to integrate the two detection systems in a quantitative manner. In the integrated system, the detectability of differences between setups using a given detection parameter is quantitatively assessed through the use of relative operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Furthermore, in an effort to enhance detection sensitivity, pairs of parameters were combined, through sorting on either maximum or average values, to produce "data fusion" ROC curves. The efficacy of this approach and the complementarity of the detection techniques employed are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]