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Material Identification Approach Based on the Counting Technique and Beam Hardening Correction Under Industrial X-Ray Computed Tomography: a Simulation Study

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Abstract

The qualitative material analysis approach was developed to identify the material under computed tomography scanning. The approach is based on analyzing the polychromatic X-ray spectrum by considering the counting of photons and beam hardening correction. In this work, the GEANT4 Monte Carlo code was used to simulate the spectra before and after the imaging object. The incident energy spectrum was divided into four regions, and its corresponding effective attenuations were calculated for each region. The errors in attenuations due to beam hardening were separately corrected. Then, the normalization of corrected attenuations was tested into a reference database that explains the relationship between the normalization and the atomic number Z. The obtained results positively agreed with the reference value, which qualitatively identified the materials. The approach was experimentally verified using monochromatic spectrums coming from the 137Cs gamma-ray source that measured using the Compton scattering spectrometry system, which was used to test objects made of Mg alloy, polyethylene, PVC, Teflon, and Mylar materials. The positive agreement indicates that the model can be effective for qualitative material investigation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge support from the College of Nuclear Science and Technology of Harbin Engineering University and China Scholarship Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Harbin Engineering University, 145 Nantong Street, Harbin, 150001, China

    Osama Mhmood Hamed Ahmed, YuShou Song & Zhaoyang Xie

  2. Chemistry and Nuclear Physics Institute, Sudan Atomic Energy Commission, Gamma Street, P.O. Box 3001, Khartoum, Sudan

    Osama Mhmood Hamed Ahmed

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  1. Osama Mhmood Hamed Ahmed
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Correspondence to YuShou Song.

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Ahmed, O.M.H., Song, Y. & Xie, Z. Material Identification Approach Based on the Counting Technique and Beam Hardening Correction Under Industrial X-Ray Computed Tomography: a Simulation Study. Braz J Phys 52, 26 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13538-021-01012-4

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