Correct block artifacts by differential projection for a dynamic computed tomography system

Abstract

In the aero-engine industry, it is important to carry out regular and effective tests on engines in service. However, current detection methods often have problems such as a limitation on materials characteristics or geometry structures. Recently, a novel dynamic computed tomography (CT) system was proposed to provide highly efficient CT inspection for rotating parts, in particular the blades of aero-engines in operation. However, one problem exists in the proposed system in that some components remain static when the engine is in operation. These static parts will appear as strip artifacts in projection and ultimately as ring artifacts in the reconstructed image, which are called block artifacts. In this paper, we put forward a differential projection correction method to correct block artifacts and reconstruct the blades of the aero-engine. The method makes use of the distribution of the blades and the static parts to remove the artifacts. The experiment results show that the proposed method can effectively remove the block artifacts while maintaining the grayscale and geometry structure of the blades, furthermore, we also verify its ability to detect defects using numerical experiments. The differential projection correction method makes the system more practicable for in situ inspection of aero-engines.