Development of a time-resolving X-ray tomography system and its application to multi-phase flows

The proposed time resolving X-ray tomography system is aimed to reduce the scanning time by two orders of magnitude compared with conventional ones for measurement of interface geometry in various forms of multiphase flow. To reduce the scanning time, all mechanically moving parts were eliminated from the system. Instead, multiple X-ray sources and detector elements were installed around the region of interest to complete the scanning operation in 3.6 msec. Scanning time of this order is necessary to resolve transient shape of bubble interface in flowing liquids, which is one of our primary application of interest. Maximum sampling frequency is 263 Hz for scanning over the 50 turn diameter region. In this paper, we will explain the design concept and development of key components of the system and present some of the recent results of interface measurements in multiphase flow.