Do-It-Yourself Geiger Mueller Smart...

Do-It-Yourself Geiger Mueller Smart DetectorJeffery Xiao, Kai Schiefer, James Seekamp, Issa El-Amir, Weronika Myslak, Kimberlee Kearfott

Radiological Health Engineering LaboratoryDepartment of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

AbstractBoththeHealthPhysicsSocietyandAmericanNuclearSocietyhavelongstandingprogramsprovidingcontinuingeducationalworkshops,lessonplans,posters,newsletters,andothereducationalmaterialsforK-12scienceteachers.Thesematerialsaredesignedtopromotescienceliteracyrelatingtoradiation,butalsoservethepurposeofinterestingstudentsinscience,technology,engineeringandmath(STEM)careers.Experimentalkitswithradiationdetectorsareavailableforloantoteachers,butexpenseprecludesthesebecomingpermanentpartofthecurriculum.Anotherprofessionaloutreachprogramtostudentsinvolvesthefunctionalrestorationof1960s-1970serafalloutshelterdetectors,typicallythroughthereplacementofacapacitorwithashelflifelimitedtoonlyacoupledecades.Thedistributionofsuchdetectors,whilebothfunctionalandofnostalgicinterest,doeslittletopromotecareersintheradiationsciencesasexcitingonesinvolvingimpressivestate-of-the-artequipmentandcuttingedgetechnology.Studentexperiencewithmeasuringambientradiationwithsuchantiquedetectorsisalsotypicallyalimitedonerestrictedtoasingledeviceavailableduringtheclassperiod.Toovercometheseshortcomings,anaffordabledo-it-yourselfradiationdetectorwasdesignedthatstudentswouldconstructforthemselvesandbeabletokeepafterwards.ThesystemisbuiltaroundGeiger-Mullertubessalvagedfromsurplusfalloutshelterdetectors,thusavoidingtheexpenseofthebasicdetectorcomponent.Basiccircuitelementswillbeprovidedtothestudentswhosolderthemtoasuppliedprintedcircuitboard.TheradiationdetectionsystemiscontrolledbyaRaspberryPicomputerwhilevoltageisincreasedtothenecessarylevelswithanArduinomicro-controller.Asmartphone,communicatingusingBluetoothtotheRaspberryPi,willeventuallyserveasthedisplay.AnappropriateapplicationwillbecreatedtoallowcollectionofbothGPSdataandradiationmeasurementsforcreatingradiationmaps.Acase,incorporatingthedetector,cellphoneandelectronics,willbe3Dprintedbythestudents.Attheendoftheexercise,studentswillhavetheirownworkingradiationdetection,andwillhaveaccumulatedexperiencewithpracticalradiationmeasurements,RaspberryPicomputers,Arduinomicro-controllers,circuitdesign,3Dprinting,andmapping.

CurrentCircuitPartsList

PurchasedPrototypeDesign

CurrentDesign

CurrentCircuitDiagram CurrentPBCBoardDesign

IntermediateDesignFirstPrototype

FutureAssemblyDesignFutureMaterialTesting

FutureWork• Completeandtestcircuitboard• Designand3Dprintanergonomicbox• Preparematerialsforhighschoolstudents• Createsoftwareforwirelesscellphone

communicationanddatastorage• Designamobilesurveillancerobotic

platform• Exploreuseofadrone(flying)platform• Extenddesigntospectroscopicscintillators

Quantity Item Details1 Rapberry Pi3 With32GB SDcard18 wires NotneededwithPCBboard3 Breadboards TobereplacedwithPCBboard1 GeigerMeuller Tube Victoreen CDV7001 Capacitor 330pF2 Capacitor 10nF1 HighSpeedDiode UF40072 Inductor 15mH1 Transistor STX05601 Transistor 2N44013 Resistor 1.5K1 HighVoltageRegulator 5VRegulator1 BatteryPack 9V1 BatteryTerminal 9V1 Microcontroller MiniArduinoPro9 Batteries AA

Acknowledgement:ThisworkwasfundedinpartbytheConsortiumforVerificationTechnologyundertheDepartmentofEnergyNationalNuclearSecurityAdministration,awardnumberDE-NA0002534.