Experimental X-ray Microtomography Facility

Our X-ray CT instrument was designed and built in-house to enable non-destructive 3D analysis of natural and engineered materials and for 4D experimental applications. This facility supports undergraduate and master's level teaching, in-house research as well as external and collaborative research.

Image of x-ray computed microtomography
From left to right, X-ray Computed Microtomography acquires a series of X-ray images of an object though a rotation of 360 degrees. The X-ray projections are then reconstructed into a vertical stack of image slices cut through the object. The image stack can be visualised (far right) to show the internal structure of the scanned object. It is the second fastest way to find out what’s inside a Kinder egg.

The instrument comprises an X-ray Worx XWT-160-XC 10-160 keV dual transmission and reflection X-ray source, a Micos UPR-160 ultra-high precision air-bearing rotary sample table and two X-ray cameras; a Perkin Elmer XRD0822 20 x 20 cm 1 megapixel amorphous silicon flat panel camera with a terbium doped gadolinium oxysulfide scintillator and a 10 x 10 cm, 4 megapixel Rad-Icon CMOS flat panel camera with the same scintillator. Data acquisition software was written in-house, and data reconstruction is by filtered back projection using Octopus software. Scan durations typically range from 10 minutes to 3 hours and scan resolutions are 1/1000 or 1/2000 of the sample diameter.

The instrument is underpinned by a suite of high-powered image processing workstations which support dedicated image analysis software such as Avizo, Dragonfly 3D and ImageJ, as well as specialist software such as SPAM (Software for Practical Analysis of Materials).

In addition to the instrument itself, our laboratory has developed and is continuing to develop X-ray transparent experimental environments to enable experimental studies of at elevated pressure and temperature. These are operated as part of the Experimental Geoscience Facility, and the microtomography facility and instrument is managed as a subunit of the Experimental Geoscience Facility.

For access to the instrument please contact Dr Ian Butler.

Location

Address: Grant Institute, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FE

Please note that parking on campus is strictly by permit only, and parking spaces are subject to availability. Commercial and external users should contact our staff about parking arrangements.

Small Research Facility (SRF)

This facility is operated as a Small Research Facility (SRF).

A Small Research Facility (SRF) is a facility or service provided by the School and used for research and teaching. They are also available for use by the wider community such as external academic or commercial use. Our SRF's are available for hire or on a consultancy basis. These charges are recognised by grant funders and can therefore form part of a grant submission.


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