Neutron Based Imaging and Element-mapping at the Budapest Neutron Centre

Abstract

The Budapest Neutron Centre (BNC) is a consortium of institutes to co-ordinate research activities carried out at the Budapest Research Reactor. It hosts two neutron imaging facilities (RAD and NORMA) operated by the Centre for Energy Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences and offers access to this scientific infrastructure for the domestic and international users.The radiography station (RAD) at the thermal neutron beamline of the reactor gives a possibility to study relatively large objects by thermal neutron-, gamma- and X-ray radiography, and to benefit from the complementary features of the different radiations. RAD is being extended in 2014 with digital imaging and tomographic capabilities. The image detection is based on suitable converter screens. The static radiography and tomography images are acquired by a new, large area sCMOS camera, whereas the dynamic radiography is accomplished by a low-light-level TV camera and a frame grabber card.The NORMA facility is designed to perform neutron radiography and tomography on small samples using guided cold neutrons. Here two non-destructive techniques are coupled to determine the chemical composition and to visualize the internal structure of heterogeneous objects. The position-sensitive element analysis with prompt-gamma activation analysis (PGAA) and the imaging with neutron radiography/tomography (NR/NT) are integrated into a unique facility called NIPS-NORMA. The goal of such a combination of these methods is to save substantial beam time in the so-called NR/NT-driven PGAI (Prompt Gamma Activation Imaging) mode, in which the interesting regions are first visualized and located, and subsequently the time-consuming prompt-gamma measurements are made only where it is really needed.The paper will give an overview about the technical details of the facilities, and the latest results of selected applications from the fields of archaeometry, engineering and material science.