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DTRA’s advancements in nuclear and radiological detection
A new, more complex nuclear age has begun. Echoing the tensions of the Cold War amid rapidly evolving nuclear and radiological threats, preparedness in the modern age is a contest of scientific innovation. The Research and Development Directorate (RD) at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is charged with winning this contest.
S. A. Eddinger, H. Huang, M. E. Schoff
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 55 | Number 4 | May 2009 | Pages 411-416
Technical Paper | Eighteenth Target Fabrication Specialists' Meeting | doi.org/10.13182/FST55-411
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The inertial confinement fusion program requires the uniformity of multilayered samples to be measured to high accuracy. We currently use a reflection spectroscopy tool to measure optically transparent shells with no more than two layers. The method cannot measure opaque samples such as beryllium shells, low-reflection samples such as foam shells, or any shells with more than two layers such as National Ignition Facility specification Ge-CH shells. We also use a white-light interferometer to measure transparent samples with multiple layers, but only at the North/South Poles for a given orientation. To complement these existing tools, we developed an X-ray technique based on a commercial X-ray microscope (Xradia MicroXCT). MicroXCT is capable of providing high-contrast, high-resolution images and allows the samples to be precision aligned and angular indexed. Dimension accuracy is achieved through the calibration of the projection magnification and the lens distortion. From each X-ray image, a wall thickness trace along the great circle is obtained by converting Cartesian coordinates into cylindrical coordinates, and edge-finding algorithms are developed for a contact radiography project. Three-dimensional reconstruction and wall thickness display allow the visualization of the sample nonuniformity. The method has a 0.3 m measurement precision and, through phase contrast calibration, can achieve 0.3 m accuracy.