Material Thickness Reconstructions with X-ray and Neutron Radiography

Radiography is a powerful tool to determine the interior structure of objects. X-ray radiography is widely used and provides high-resolution images, though X-rays have limited transmission through materials of high atomic number (Z) and density. In contrast, neutron radiography can penetrate many materials that are heavily attenuating to X-rays, such as metals, providing contrast in the inner layers of highly attenuating items. Past work has shown the value in using both X-ray and neutron radiography for estimating material thicknesses, though this work was limited to simulated data. Here, we demonstrate material thickness reconstructions using experimental X-ray and neutron radiography data from lab-based systems, estimating material slab thicknesses to within 10%.