Multi-Modal X-Ray Inspection System for Hard Armor Plate Quality Control

To address the USMC need for effective armor plate inspection, Albireo Technologies LLC (ATC) proposes to develop a Multi-Modal X-ray Inspection (MAXIS) System with a novel image acquisition approach, intended to provide optimized detection of cracks, delaminations, and other types of defects typically occurring in ESAPI and LWP armor plates. The MAXIS system will be implemented as a compact and portable portal-type inspection tool, capable of detecting armor plate delaminations ~0.125" in diameter and ~0.004" in width, as well as cracks ~0.2" in length and ~0.004" in widths, with scan rates up to 100 mm/s. In Phase I, ATC plans to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed MAXIS technology via a combination of analysis, modeling, and TRL-5 prototype assembly and testing, with the emphasis on optimizing and characterizing the system performance in terms of the defect detection capabilities. During Phase II, ATC envisions focusing on further optimization and maturing of the MAXIS user-friendliness and functionality. By the end of Phase II, ATC will deliver one TRL-7 MAXIS system to the USMC for testing and develop a plan for small-scale production (12 units) in Phase III. The anticipated MAXIS Technology Readiness Level (TRL) are: TRL-5 at the end of Phase I, TRL-7 at the end of Phase II.