In-line NDT with X-Ray CT combining sample rotation and translation. (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: De Schryver, Thomas; Dhaene, Jelle; Dierick, Manuel; Boone, Matthieu N.; Janssens, Eline; Sijbers, Jan; van Dael, Mattias; Verboven, Pieter; Nicolai, Bart; Van Hoorebeke, Luc
• Is Part Of: NDT & E international. Volume 84(2016)
• Page Start: 89
• Page End: 98
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: X-ray tomography -- In-line -- Inspection systems -- Iterative reconstruction; Nondestructive testing -- Periodicals; Contrôle non destructif -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 620.1127
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ndteint.2016.09.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0963-8695

Abstract

Abstract: An alternative acquisition geometry for X-ray computed tomography (CT) is investigated as a solution to in-line non-destructive quality inspection in a high throughput production environment. The sample movement during acquisition combines a translation, typically horizontal, along one axis and a rotation about a second axis perpendicular to the first, and is shown to produce theoretically exact CT reconstructions. A methodology is presented to evaluate the design of a conveyor belt implementation for this acquisition scheme, investigating the trade-off between reconstruction quality and throughput. The methodology was applied in both a simulated version and an experimental mock-up of the conveyor belt implementation for a specific food sample, but can be extrapolated to any type of sample. Throughput, for the food sample, is predicted to be in a practically usable range of up to 5 samples per second. As a general conclusion, higher throughput can be reached with larger inspection stations while maintaining image quality. Abstract : Highlights: In-line conveyor belt X-ray CT combining the translation and rotation of a sample. Conditions for theoretically exact reconstructions of conveyor belt CT data are met. Parametric design methodology to evaluate reconstruction quality and throughput. Simulation and mock-up implementation of a conveyor belt CT inspection station. Larger CT inspection stations achieve higher throughputs while conserving image quality.