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The neutron imaging instrument CONRAD was operated as a part of the user program of the research reactor BER‐II at Helmholtz‐Zentrum Berlin (HZB) from 2005 to 2020. The Instrument was designed to use the neutron flux from the cold source of the reactor, transported by a curved neutron guide. The pure cold neutron spectrum provided a great advantage in the use of different neutron optical components such as focusing lenses and guides, solid‐state polarizers, Monochromators and phase gratings. The flexible setup of the instrument allowed for implementation of new methods including wavelength‐selective, dark‐field, phase‐contrast and imaging with polarized neutrons. In summary, these developments helped to attract a large number of scientists and industrial customers, who were introduced to neutron imaging and subsequently contributed to the Expansion of the neutron imaging community.
Neutron cameras allow visualizing hydrogen distributions with radiographic or tomographic imaging methods in iron and steel. The necessary contrast between hydrogen and iron stems from the high difference in the total neutron cross section of both elements. This allows e.g. the in situ measurement of hydrogen mass flow inside cm thick steel samples with a temporal resolution of 20 s using neutron radiography as well as the quantitative measurement of hydrogen accumulations at the crack’s inner surfaces in hydrogen embrittled iron samples with neutron tomography. We could detect directly gaseous hydrogen in the crack cavities and we measured the gas pressure. This new quality of the information on a micrometer scale allows new insights for the analysis of hydrogen-induced damage mechanisms. Further, this method is non-destructive and provides local information in situ and in three dimensions with a spatial resolution of 20-30 µm. In this contribution, we show examples that demonstrate the spatial and temporal resolution of the neutron radiography and tomography methods in order to visualize and quantify hydrogen accumulations at cracks. The measurements were performed at the research reactor BER II of the HZB in Berlin and at the FRM II reactor of the neutron source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz in Garching.
Neutron imaging has become a valuable tool for measuring hydrogen distributions qualitatively and quantitatively in metals. Hydrogen mass flow can be measured inside cm thick Steel samples with 10 s temporal resolution. Hydrogen accumulations around craclcs in embrittled iron samples can be visualized three-dimensionally. The gas pressure of hydrogen in crack cavities has been measured to be in the ränge of 5 MPa to 15 MPa. This quality of information allows new insights for the analysis of damage mechanisms on a micrometer scale, e.g., of hydrogen blistering. Further, this method is nondestructive and provides local information in situ and in three dimensions with a spatial resolution of 20 µm - 30 µm.
This study was carried out to investigate the neutron transmission signal as a function of sample temperature during a welding process. A theoretical description that includes the Debye-Waller factor was used to describe the temperature influence on the neutron crosssections. Neutron imaging using a monochromatic beam helps to observe transmission variations related to the material temperature. In-situ neutron imaging of welding experiments show the distribution of the temperature in bulk steel samples. The performed finite element modelling of expected temperature distributions shows good agreement with the obtained experimental data.
A systematic, nature-inspired chemical engineering approach is employed to solve the issue of flooding in electrochemical devices. The mechanism of passive water transport utilized by lizards living in arid environments is leveraged to design flow-fields with a microchannel structure on their surface, through which capillary pressure rapidly removes the water generated in the electrochemical device. This water management strategy is implemented in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) with a lunginspired flow-field, which ensures uniform distribution of reactants across the catalyst layer. Jointly, this nature-inspired approach results in flood-free, stable operation at 100% RH and a B60% increase in current (B1.9 A cm-2) and peak power density (B650 mW cm−2) compared to current PEMFCs with a flood-prone, serpentine flow-field (B0.8 A cm-2 and 280 mW cm-2, respectively). This significant advance allows for PEMFC operation at fully humidified conditions.