NS21B-1923
Applications of Cosmic Ray Muon Radiography

Tuesday, 15 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Elena Guardincerri1, J. Matthew Durham1, Christopher L. Morris2, Charlotte A Rowe3, Daniel C. Poulson2, Jeffrey D. Bacon2, Kenie Plaud-Ramos2 and Deborah J. Morley2, (1)Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, United States, (2)Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States, (3)Los Alamos National Laboratory, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Los Alamos, NM, United States
Abstract:
The Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence Cathedral, was built between 1420 and 1436 by architect Filippo Brunelleschi and it is now cracking under its own weight.

Engineering efforts are underway to model the dome’s structure and reinforce it against further deterioration. According to some scholars, Brunelleschi might have built reinforcement structures into the dome itself; however, the only confirmed known subsurface reinforcement is a chain of iron and stone around the dome’s base.

Tomography with cosmic ray muons is a non-destructive imaging method that can be used to image the interior of the wall and therefore ascertain the layout and status of any iron substructure in the dome. We will show the results from a muon tomography measurement of iron hidden in a mockup of the dome’s wall performed at Los Alamos National Lab in 2015.

The sensitivity of this technique, and the status of this project will be also discussed.

At last, we will show results on muon attenuation radiography of larger shallow targets.

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