A new X-ray imager will track damage and repair inside engineering materials in 3D, over hours, at sub-micron resolution—without needing a synchrotron. The problem is a gap in scale. Cracks in metals, ceramics, and composites start at the micron level, but samples must be millimetre-sized to behave like real components. Existing lab scanners cannot see both at once. This equipment fills that gap, letting researchers watch microstructure evolution in samples large enough to be engineering-relevant. If successful, the imager could accelerate development of self-repairing ceramics and composites, tougher bio-inspired structures, longer-lasting battery electrodes, and more durable coatings for high-temperature engines. These advances matter for lighter vehicles, more efficient power generation, and the shift to a lower-carbon electrical economy. The equipment will also be available to UK academics for 40% of its time—over 240 days across three years—opening the technique to fields from civil engineering to food science and biomedical scaffolds. The research is applied, not fundamental: it directly targets the spatial and temporal regime where real-world material failure begins.
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It has long been true that our ability to 'see' has progressed hand in hand with our understanding of the world, from our understanding of the very distant (first telescopes to Hubble and the array telescopes) to the very minute (first microscopes to the high performance electron microscopes). X-ray tomography opens up not just 3D imaging but temporal changes too. While X-ray imaging is advancing towards 10nm resolution at synchrotrons and we can image at 50nm in the lab., for engineering materials resolution is not an end in itself. We need to be able to image at the scales that control damage nucleation while at the same time having samples large enough to be of engineering relevance. For example, in many cases samples need to be of millimetre, or larger dimensions, for crack behaviour to be representative of practical behaviours (e.g. R-curve response), but the toughening mechanisms operate at the micron scale. This capital equipment project focuses precisely on this spatial regime, enabling us to follow sub-micron microstructure evolution processes in 3D at timescales of tens of minutes in the lab. The new 3D x-ray imager will enable us to achieve a step jump in our ability to follow degradation and repair processes over time (4D), including: - Self-repairing ceramics and polymer composites - Crack growth in tough hierarchical biomaterials and bio-inspired structures - Coating evolution and sub-surface failure - Charging and discharging of batteries and fuel cells. These applications are important for lighter weight transport, producing energy more efficiently through higher enginer operating temperatures, and the move towards a more electric (lower CO2) economy. Besides these specific studies the equipment will be made available to Uk academics 40% time (>240 days over 3 years). This will allow the improved imaging capability relative to what is already available in the Uk to be applied to a vefy wide range of appplications, from civil engineering through to food science, from device materials through to new bio-scafolds.
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