title: Application of the angle measure technique as image texture analysis method for the identification of uranium ore concentrate samples: New perspective in nuclear forensics.
abstract: The identification of interdicted nuclear or radioactive materials requires the application of dedicated techniques. In this work, a new approach for characterizing powder of uranium ore concentrates (UOCs) is presented. It is based on image texture analysis and multivariate data modelling. 26 different UOCs samples were evaluated applying the Angle Measure Technique (AMT) algorithm to extract textural features on samples images acquired at 250× and 1000× magnification by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). At both magnifications, this method proved effective to classify the different types of UOC powder based on the surface characteristics that depend on particle size, homogeneity, and graininess and are related to the composition and processes used in the production facilities. Using the outcome data from the application of the AMT algorithm, the total explained variance was higher than 90% with Principal Component Analysis (PCA), while partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) applied only on the 14 black colour UOCs powder samples, allowed their classification only on the basis of their surface texture features (sensitivity>0.6; specificity>0.6). This preliminary study shows that this method was able to distinguish samples with similar composition, but obtained from different facilities. The mean angle spectral data obtained by the image texture analysis using the AMT algorithm can be considered as a specific fingerprint or signature of UOCs and could be used for nuclear forensic investigation.
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU), P.O. Box 2340, 76125 Karlsruhe, Germany. Electronic address: lorenzo.fongaro@ec.europa.eu.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fongaro
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU), P.O. Box 2340, 76125 Karlsruhe, Germany; DSO National Laboratories, 20 Science Park Drive, 118230 Singapore.
authors.forename: Doris Mer Lin
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematical Sciences and Technology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003 NO-1432 Aas, Norway.
authors.forename: Knut
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kvaal
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU), P.O. Box 2340, 76125 Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU), P.O. Box 2340, 76125 Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors.forename: Vincenzo V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Rondinella
keywords: Angle Measure Technique; Image texture analysis; Multivariate data analysis; Nuclear forensics; PCA/PLS-DA analysis; Uranium ore concentrates