APPLICATIONS
Due2lab has developed X-RAY MULTIENERGY technology in recent years to put it at service of industries that want to invest in innovation
X-RAY MULTIENERGY technique developed by Due2lab is a new paradigm for non-destructive in-line analysis of industrial production lines
Our X-RAY MULTIENERGY modules are capable to measure the absolute density and the elemental composition of different materials
X-RAY MULTIENERGY technique enriches common non-destructive X-ray analysis technique with new extraordinary features thanks to the use of a special class of X-ray sensors with spectroscopic capabilities.
The alterations of the number and energy of the X photons (also called X-ray spectrum), incident to an unknown material, depend on the density and elemental composition of the material traversed. By making a direct comparison between the X-ray spectrum of a beam in absence (STEP 0) and in presence ( STEP 1) of the material to be analysed, it is possible to extrapolate important properties of that material.
With the sensor technology currently used, only density and thickness informations are available in a standard X-ray inspection. The result is a grayscale map in which the contrast is directly proportional to the density or thickness of the material crossed by X-rays. The standard X-ray inspection loses the information regarding the chemical composition of the material, thus the instrument is not able to distinguish two materials similar in density and thickness, but different in composition.
Due2lab’s X-RAY MULTIENERGY technology exploits a new class of sensors, defined as “spectroscopic”, capable of gathering all the useful information contained in the X-ray spectrum and thus returning all the characteristics of the material. This new technology is like inserting colors into X-ray images, different colors corresponding to different chemical composition.
Step 0 – The X-ray spectrum is measured in the absence of material.
Step 1 – The X-ray spectrum is measured once the material under examination is crossed by the incident beam. The shape of the spectrum is modified due to the absorption of specific photons by the object traversed.
The difference between the unaltered X-ray spectrum (I0) and the material-modified X-ray spectrum (I1) is expressed as the logarithm of the ratio of their intensity, point by point as a function of energy E.
The logarithm of the ratio is a decreasing function of Energy and depends on 3 fundamental parameters: density, thickness and elemental composition.
For a given thickness, the shape of this curve (bending) depends exclusively on the elemental composition of the material, while the translation of the curve in the plane (offset) depends on the density and thickness of the material, as we show in the two following graphs.
Effect of density – For a fixed elemental composition, the position of the characteristic curve translates rigidly as the density of the material changes.
Effect of composition – Considering three different materials having the same density and same thickness, the shape of the characteristic curve changes as the elemental composition changes.
With this technique it is possible to measure the density and elemental composition of different materials: Wood, Plastic, Graphite, Paper, Ceramic Materials, Liquids
Some examples of X-ray multienergy measurements
