Quantitative uranium elemental reconstruction using spectral x-ray radiography

X-ray radiography offers the ability to noninvasively inspect the internal structure and material composition of objects. Dual-energy radiography allows material discrimination but is limited in quantitative material measurements due to the broad nature of the interrogating x-ray spectrum. Spectral radiography detectors provide an observation of not just the number of x rays that are transmitted through a sample but also the spectrum. Here, experimental validations of a method to use spectral x-ray radiography to accurately quantify the uranium mass in a powder are presented. An accurate system response model was developed, which includes a model of the incident x-ray source spectrum and a pixel-wise detector response that describes how the transmitted x rays were observed. Further, a calibration to account for the effect of partial x-ray attenuation was developed. The method is demonstrated to be capable of estimating the uranium mass in a variety of uranium oxide powders to a bias of -0.01+/- 0.62%.

Automated summary

X-ray radiography provides non-invasive inspection of internal structure and material composition. Dual-energy radiography allows material discrimination but has limitations in quantitative measurements. Spectral radiography detectors provide not only the number of transmitted x-rays, but also the spectrum. This study presents experimental validations of a method using spectral x-ray radiography to accurately quantify uranium mass in powder.