An Inexpensive, Universal CT System for Automatic High-Speed Inspection of Munitions

We propose a real-time radiography (RTR)-based universal computed tomography (UCT) system that requires no new hardware development. UCT utilizes existing hardware components that are available from a multiplicity of manufacturers and can easily be assembled into a CT system, by employing techniques and applying software that we have already developed. The RTR system is based on deep-well charge coupled devices (CCDS) that are optically coupled to a scintillating x-ray screen. Such screens are very inexpensive, and they can easily and quickly be interchanged, allowing usage of the system over the 50 keV-5OMeV x-ray energy range. UCT can be used with our existing cone-beam reconstruction algorithm. This approach allows for much higher spatial resolution in the axial direction of the munition and a much higher throughput, because many slices worth of data are obtained simultaneously. Coded anomaly detection and measurement algorithms have already been successfully tested on a substantial database of munitions/ rocket motor data. The team of Skiametrics, Perceptics/ Northrop, and Alliant has a strong record of CT implementation over the last 15 years, including the first production usage of CT as a primary inspection mode on a military program. BENEFITS: Universal CT presents a high-throughput, high resolution NDT/NDE tool. UCT is sufficiently inexpensive and versatile that it is well within the fiscal constraints of typical large manufacturing organizations. UCT is especially applicable for industrial research laboratories for in-process examinations and understanding.