According to the developers, their software will make it possible to conduct research at a wide range of resolutions - from nanoscale to mesoscale, and increase the speed of scanning samples using a synchrotron by more than 300 times. The data obtained will be useful for organizing mining and analyzing climate change, the university's press office reported.
As the researchers said, computed tomography is used to study rocks, which makes it possible to obtain layer-by-layer images of samples. The capabilities of this fluoroscopy method are limited and do not allow scientists to see everything.
Therefore, for a more thorough study of materials, synchrotron radiation is used, which is the same as X-rays, only ten times “brighter.”
Software interface for core tomography of Tomsk Polytechnic University scientists
© Photo Tomsk Polytechnic University
Synchrotron radiation is produced when electrons rotate in a circular path at a speed close to the speed of light (almost 300,000 km per second). To “extract” this radiation, special installations are created - synchrotrons. One of them, SKIF, is currently being built in the Novosibirsk region of Russia.
Scientists from Tomsk Polytechnic University have developed a software product for one of the synchrotron stations - “Microfocus.” The software is built on a modular principle, which will allow pre- and post-processing of primary projection data using basic and specialized filters, reconstruction of the tomographic volume using different methods, and also, based on tomography results, calculations of the quantitative characteristics of the sample under study.
“Synchrotron sources like SKIF allow us to push the boundaries of digital core technology [a mathematical model of a real cylindrical rock sample] and see much more. This does not mean at all that you can abandon laboratory tomographs. On the contrary, the joint use of laboratory and megascience installations allows us to significantly increase the efficiency and productivity of research,” Vice-Rector for Science and Strategic Projects at Tomsk Polytechnic University, Alexey Gogolev, said.
He added that this approach will reduce the cost of core research and increase the scanning speed by more than 300 times.
Gogolev explained that the software product developed at the university also makes it possible to integrate it with auxiliary tool modeling modules for interactive analysis and equipment calibration.
“When using laboratory tomographs and the SKIF synchrotron together, it will be possible to process 25 samples per day. Creating a comprehensive digital twin using laboratory tomographs usually takes at least seven days and costs about a million rubles. The new software will make it possible to carry out a full range of studies of core samples at the SKIF synchrotron in 7–14 days, during which time more than 300 samples can be scanned,” said the vice-rector of Tomsk Polytechnic University.
He added that the software product is adapted to the interests of geologists and has a platform architecture. The platform architecture allows you to not only design and run any object scanning protocols but also to create your own modules and implement third-party ones.