ASSESSMENT OF MATERIALS IN SOLID ROCKET MOTORS BY REAL-TIME CT

IMATRON HAS DEVELOPED AN ELECTRON-BEAM CT SCANNER CAPABLE OF IMAGING OBJECTS AT AN ACQUISITION RATE OF 17 IMAGES PER SECOND AT A RESOLUTION OF 4 LINE PAIRS PER CM., AND AT AN ACQUISITION RATE OF 9 IMAGES PER SECOND A 7 LINE PAIRS PER CM. RESOLUTION CAN BE ACHIEVED. THE SCANNING TIMES IN THESE TWO MODES ARE 50 AND 100 MS, RESPECTIVELY. THE TECHNOLOGY EMBODIED IN THIS ELECTRON-BEAM SCANNER MAY BE ADOPTED TO EVALUATE PROPERTY CHANGES IN MATERIALS USED IN SOLID ROCKET MOTORS. NOT ONLY CAN THIS SCANNER EVALUATE MATERIALS IN THE CONVENTIONAL CT SCAN MODES, BUT IT WILL SCAN WHILE MATERIALS ARE BEING SUBJECTED TO REAL-WORLD CONDITIONS SUCH AS EXTREMES IN TEMPERATURE AND/OR STRESS, IN REAL-TIME.