Comparison of X-ray and neutron tomography investigations of geological materials

This paper describes X-ray and neutron computer tomography (CT) experiments made on selected samples from geology. It gives a preliminary assessment of the utility of neutron tomography as a nondestructive means of examining geological materials, particularly as it complements X-ray tomography. Both methods show some advantages compared to the traditional two-dimensional analysis based on thin-sections of geologic samples. It is possible to obtain complete three-dimensional information with a resolution magnitude of tenths of a millimeter on the size and distribution of individual crystals within rock samples several centimeters in dimension. Due to basic differences of neutron and X-ray interaction with material the contrast variation between both imaging modalities highlights different structural information about the object.