Exploring spatial resolution enhancements on IMAT for steel corrosion studies

Neutron imaging offers benefits over X-rays for steel corrosion studies including deep penetration and high sensitivity to some light elements such as hydrogen. However, the resolution is frequently at or below the thickness of the corroded layer. This work demonstrates two approaches to enhance the spatial resolution on IMAT at the ISIS neutron source. The first approach shows that a fiber optics taper attached to an optical camera box for white beam imaging can achieve a spatial resolution down to 15 μm. The second approach uses event centroiding with a Timepix3-based detector for diffraction contrast imaging achieving a spatial resolution of 30 μm. These results support advances in corrosion and degradation studies of steel using neutron imaging.