Neutron imaging of fiber-reinforced materials

Glass-fiber-reinforced plastic laminates used for the insulation of Toroidal Field (TF) magnet-coils and fiber-reinforced silicon carbide ceramic composites used as structural material for the self-cooled Pb-17Li blanket module are attractive candidate materials for fusion reactors because of their high performance under extreme conditions. Porosity, which depends on the manufacturing process, and swelling of fiber-reinforced materials due to the high flux of radiation are the main problems. The aim of this study is to describe the experimental procedures of different imaging methods, and also to decide the most efficient imaging method for the investigations of the complex microstructure of fiber-reinforced materials. In this work, the fiber-reinforced composites were inspected with neutron and X-ray radiographies at ATI-Vienna and also at PSI-Villigen. A contrast enhancement at the edges can be achieved by means of phase contrast neutron radiography (NR), which is based on the wave properties of neutrons and arises from the neutron refraction (rather than attenuation). Elements having different refractive index within a sample cause a phase shift between coherent neutron waves. The degree of coherence can be determined by means of the coherence pattern caused by the sample, when a point source (pinhole) is used and the distance between source and sample is varied.