| NSF Org: |
EAR Division Of Earth Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 24, 2012 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 24, 2012 |
| Award Number: | 1160721 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Jonathan G Wynn
jwynn@nsf.gov (703)292-4725 EAR Division Of Earth Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | August 15, 2012 |
| End Date: | July 31, 2014 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $310,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $310,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
110 INNER CAMPUS DR AUSTIN TX US 78712-1139 (512)471-6424 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
Austin TX US 78713-7726 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | CZO-Critical Zone Obsrvatories |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): | |
| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
This grant provides for the first of two stages that will refurbish the principal instrument at the University of Texas High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography Facility (UTCT). It will replace the 9-inch image intensifier area detector and 1024x1024 CCD camera currently used for up to 225 keV microfocal scanning with a 16-inch 2048x2048 pixel amorphous silica flat panel enabling distortion-free imagery over the full range of X-ray energies available from our sources (~50-450 keV). It will also include a new high-speed, high-capacity turntable gantry and computer system, which together will allow rapid data acquisition and cone-beam reconstruction, in addition to superior data resolution. These enhancements will lead to lower scanning costs and expanded research possibilities, including ?4D? imaging in which volumes are imaged in time series. The grant will also help fund the engineering design work required to complete the transformation of our instrument into a cutting-edge CT scanner matching or exceeding the capabilities of other mass-produced scanners sold today.
X-ray computed tomography is a completely nondestructive means of examining the interiors of opaque solid objects. X-ray CT produces sets of two-dimensional images ('slices') that reveal features in the interior of a specimen as if it had been sliced open along the image plane for viewing. CT technology was originally developed for medical diagnosis, and subsequently adapted to industrial and scientific applications by employing X-ray sources of greater energy and/or superior focus, and by increasing the spatial resolution of the X-ray detectors. Since 1999, UTCT has operated as an NSF multi-user facility, making this technology, and the expertise necessary to exploit it, easily accessible to the national geoscientific community. UTCT has also been utilized by a wide range of other disciplines, including biology, anthropology, and civil, mechanical, and chemical engineering, in both academia and industry. The improvements begun in this project will fully modernize our principal scanner, while also placing UTCT on much firmer ground in terms of serviceability and future upgrades, enabling it to continue in its national mission.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
With the support of NSF, the principal scanner at the University of Texas High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography Facility (UTCT) was fully refurbished, replacing outdated and out-of-support instrumentation with fully modern technology.
X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning is a non-destructive and non-invasive technique that allows visualization of features in the interiors of opaque objects, and the acquisition of digital data on their 3D geometries and properties. Industrial high-resolution CT is based on the same principles as medical CAT scanners, but optimized for analyzing non-living objects. They utilize higher-energy X-ray sources with smaller focal spots, finer-resolution detectors, and longer acquisition times than their medical counterparts to achieve orders-of-magnitude better-resolution data. These scanners can also accommodate higher-density materials, including rocks, fossils, ores, and industrial parts.
UTCT has been a National Science Foundation shared multi-user facility funded by the earth sciences directorate since 1999, with a mission of making advanced X-ray computed tomography capabilities and expertise available to the national and global scientific community. UTCT provides analyses for dozens of investigators each year, and data from UTCT have been used in over 530 peer-reviewed publications. UTCT features three X-ray scanning systems that can accommodate a wide range of specimen sizes ranging from millimeter scale up to objects 40 cm diameter and 75 cm in length, with spatial resolutions down to less than a micron for the smallest samples.
With the support of the NSF, the two higher-energy scanners at the UTCT were retrofitted with new 40 cm flat-panel detector, a 24” linear detector array, as well as new gantries, computer workstations, and control software. Costs were minimized by using our existing lead radiation-safe enclosure, and our existing X-ray sources, which had been replaced relatively recently. The remade system allows more rapid production of much higher-quality data than was possible on our older system; scanning times are improved by a factor of 2-10. The improvements in quality and resolution of data facilitate projects that would not have been feasible or even possible with our previous system, and at lower cost to our users. These new systems have already been utilized in more than 50 scanning projects, including a major NSF earth science project that includes more than 250 datasets to date.
Last Modified: 10/30/2014
Modified by: Richard A Ketcham
