Experimental results and Monte Carlo simulations of a landmine localization device using the neutron backscattering method

Experiments were carried out to investigate the possible use of neutron backscattering for the detection of landmines buried in the soil. Several landmines, buried in a sand-pit, were positively identified. A series of Monte Carlo simulations were performed to study the complexity of the neutron backscattering process and to optimize the geometry of a future prototype. The results of these simulations indicate that this method shows great potential for the detection of non-metallic landmines (with a plastic casing), for which so far no reliable method has been found.