An x-ray tomography facility for quantitative prediction of mechanical and transport properties in geological, biological and synthetic systems

Abstract

A fully integrated X-ray tomography facility with the ability to generate tomograms with 20483 voxels at 2 micron spatial resolution was built to satisfy the requirements of a virtual materials testing laboratory. The instrument comprises of a continuously pumped micro-focus X-ray gun, a milli-degree rotation stage and a high resolution and large field X-ray camera, configured in a cone beam geometry with a circular trajectory. The purpose of this facility is to routinely analyse and investigate real world biological, geological and synthetic materials at a scale in which the traditional domains of physics, chemistry, biology and geology merge. During the first 2 years of operation, approximately 4 Terabytes of data have been collected, processed and analysed, both as static and in some cases as composite dynamic data sets. This incorporates over 300 tomograms with 10243 voxels and 50 tomograms with 20483 voxels for a wide range of research fields. Specimens analysed include sedimentary rocks, soils, bone, soft tissue, ceramics, fibre-reinforced composites, foams, wood, paper, fossils, sphere packs, bio-morphs and small animals. In this paper, the flexibility of the facility is highlighted with some prime examples.