Industrial applications of dual X-ray energy computed tomography (2X-CT)

The Fraunhofer Development Center X-ray Technology (EZRT) developed an industrial dual-energy X-ray Computed Tomography (2X-CT) system in order to obtain quantitative 3-D information on the material inside arbitrary samples. The goal was to develop an easy-to-use dual-energy solution that can be handled by the average industrial CT operator without the need for a specialist. First, an introduction is given of the physical background of the method that was realized. Also, the strengths and weaknesses thereof are discussed. Next, the results of 2X-CT measurements from different fields of investigations are presented: measurements with vegetables, e.g. potatoes or bananas, quantitative assessments of bore cores in geological applications, and studies of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). In summary, it is shown that 2X-CT can provide accurate information about the composition of a wide range of materials and objects. On the other side, there is still the need for furt her optimization of X-ray parameters in order to increase quantitative accuracy, and for extending the range of materials which can be assessed by industrial 2X-CT.