An alternative method for tracking a radioactive particle inside a fluid.
The proposed tracking method describes the trajectory of a radioactive particle moving in a fluid as a sequence of small cubic cells occupied by successive particle positions. In addition, the EM reconstruction algorithm was applied to get the image of the unique cell which had the greatest probability to contain the particle at a given time of a test. Next, this information was useful to calculate the coordinates and velocities of the particle at that time. The method was tested in laboratory using a gamma radiation detection system, the radioisotope (198)Au and a mixer. According to the results, the maximum deviation found between theoretical and experimental values of the average rotating period was less than 8% and the particle's reconstructed trajectories are representative of its real movement. Thus, a paradigm shift permitted us to begin the development of an alternative method to solve the complex problem of tracking the movement of a radioactive particle inside an opaque unit.
Nuclear Engineering Institute, Nuclear Engineering Service, Hélio de Almeida Street, 75 Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, P.O. Box 68550, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-972, RJ, Brazil. Electronic address: wilson@ien.gov.br.
Wilson S
WS
Vieira
Nuclear Engineering Institute, Radioactive Tracer Laboratory, Hélio de Almeida Street, 75 Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Luís Eduardo B
LE
Brandão
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Nuclear Instrumentation Laboratory, Horácio Macedo Avenue, 2030-Sector I, Room 133 Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Delson
D
Braz
CARPT; Detection of gamma radiation; EM algorithm; Image reconstruction; Radioactive tracer