High Energy Fast X-ray Tomography

Ultrafast X-ray computed tomography with ROFEX scanners has become a common tool for investigations of multiphase phenomena in science and industrial application within recent years. Though being very successful in giving unprecedented insights into dynamic processes, ROFEX scanners yet have some limitations in terms of permissible sizes and density of the investigated objects. Due to the limited penetration capability of X-rays at photon energy of up to 150 keV experimental mock-ups need to be made out of light construction materials and many experimental setups had to be scaled down from their real size to fit into the scanner. Often this limits the transferability of results to larger industrial facilities.
This contribution introduces the new High-Energy Computed Tomography scanner of Rossendorf (HECToR) as the next step towards improved industrial applicability. The facility utilizes a 1 MeV electron accelerator with a continuous beam power of up to 100 kW. The functional principle has been adapted from the ROFEX scanners. HECToR is able to scan objects with a maximum diameter of 400 mm at a temporal resolution of up to 5000 frames per second and with a spatial resolution of 3 mm at best conditions. The paper introduces the scanner concept, its components and presents first dynamic studies on generic two-phase flows in steel vessels. Furthermore, the imaging characteristics are discussed in detail.