Issue 22, 2014

Cold neutron diffraction contrast tomography of polycrystalline material

Abstract

Traditional neutron imaging is based on the attenuation of a neutron beam through scattering and absorption upon traversing a sample of interest. It offers insight into the sample's material distribution at high spatial resolution in a non-destructive way. In this work, it is expanded to include the diffracted neutrons that were ignored so far and obtain a crystallographic distribution (grain mapping). Samples are rotated in a cold neutron beam of limited wavelength band. Projections of the crystallites formed by the neutrons they diffract are captured on a two dimensional imaging detector. Their positions on the detector reveal their orientation whereas the projections themselves are used to reconstruct the shape of the grains. Indebted to established synchrotron diffraction contrast tomography, this ‘cold neutron diffraction contrast tomography’ is performed on recrystallized aluminium for experimental comparison between both. Differences between set-up and method are discussed, followed by the application range in terms of sample properties (crystallite size and number, mosaicity and typical materials). Neutron diffraction contrast tomography allows to study large grains in bulky metallic structures.

Graphical abstract: Cold neutron diffraction contrast tomography of polycrystalline material

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Aug 2014
Accepted
22 Sep 2014
First published
02 Oct 2014

Analyst, 2014,139, 5765-5771

Cold neutron diffraction contrast tomography of polycrystalline material

S. Peetermans, A. King, W. Ludwig, P. Reischig and E. H. Lehmann, Analyst, 2014, 139, 5765 DOI: 10.1039/C4AN01490A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements