Citation:
R. Coogan, “A Strategic Analysis of Stationary Radiation Portal Monitors and Mobile Detection Systems in Border Monitoring”, M.S. Thesis, Nuclear Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (2019).
Abstract:
The challenge of an adequately detailed smuggling network problem is that the number of variables required to adequately capture the problem also makes the problem computationally exhaustive. A well bounded problem, although simple, can provide meaningful information to a decision-maker. Limiting the problem to a comparison of two technologies, a decision-maker can prioritize how to best allocate resources, by reinforcing the border with stationary Radiation Portal Monitors (RPMs) which can be perceived, or by investing in Mobile Radiation Detection Systems (MRDS) which are harder for an adversary to detect but may have other weaknesses. An abstract, symmetric network is studied to understand the impact of initial conditions on the network, and the most conservative choices are made in an asymmetric network loosely modeled on the state of Texas transportation system. This asymmetric network is then examined for the technology that will maximally suppress the adversary’s success rate at minimal cost.