Seminars Archive

X ray tomography for the characterisation of structural materials

Abstract
Synchrotron X ray micro-tomography is a characterisation technique increasingly used to obtain images of the interior of optically opaque materials with a spatial resolution in the micrometer range. Being a non destructive technique, it enables to monitor microstructure evolution during in situ experiments. The 3D data provided by such experiments can then be used to efficiently test existing models and/or to develop new ones. In this presentation, examples from different fields of metals research have been selected to illustrate the contribution of 3D data to modelling: characterisation of topologically complex microstructures, deformation of cellular materials, damage development in ductile metals, and fatigue crack growth. The extension of the tomography technique to attain better spatial resolution (nanotomography) and to obtain the local crystallography in the bulk of materials (diffraction contrast tomography), are also illustrated.