Fred N. Peebles Professor and IAMM Chair of Excellence Dayakar Penumadu was recently selected to help inaugurate the Versatile Neutron Imaging Instrument (VENUS), the newest imaging tool at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Spallation Neutron Source (SNS).
In addition to his samples, Penumadu also brought several of his students to help with the experiment and learn from the experts at the SNS.
“For me, the real goal is ensuring the next generation is aware that these nondestructive tools exist—so that when they encounter problems in their research, they can call on experts here to help and make meaningful progress,” Penumadu said.
The SNS a Department of Energy Office of Science user facility containing 19 instruments that enable high-fidelity, non-destructive material analysis. Construction on VENUS began in 2019 and was completed late last year.
The new instrument’s core mission is to deliver state-of-the-art atomic-scale 3D imaging using the world’s most intense pulsed neutron beams using time-of-flight imaging. The unprecedented resolution and enhanced contrast of the 3D images make VENUS an incredible asset for studying crystalline and amorphous samples at the atomic scale without damaging them.
VENUS is also equipped with advanced computational methods and artificial intelligence (AI) that will help experimenters process raw data into 3D models in significantly less time than was previously possible.
Penumadu and his longtime collaborator Stuart Miller, the principal scientist at the Nevada National Security Sites’ Los Alamos Operations office, were the first external investigators to run an experiment on the state-of-the-art instrument.
Penumadu brought additively manufactured metals and traditionally cast materials containing elements like tungsten that make them difficult to image using X-rays. All these materials had been subjected to various kinds of stress, including controlled residual stresses and thermo-mechanical strain.
Studying these materials with VENUS also allowed the team to test Miller’s new patent-pending technique, which uses multiple cameras to reduce blurring in neutron images.
“This technique ensures that we can determine where any neutron interacts within a 50-micron range, which is extraordinarily precise,” Miller said. “VENUS was the key to testing and verifying this system.”
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Izzie Gall ([email protected])