MOSCOW, July 22. The software developed at TPU will allow you to study rock samples in detail at the Siberian Ring Photon Source (SKIF). According to the authors, it will make it possible to conduct research in a wide range of resolutions — from nano to meso and increase the speed of scanning samples by more than 300 times using a synchrotron, and the data obtained will be useful in organizing mining and analyzing climate change, the press reported. university service.
As reported at Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU), computer tomographs are currently used to study rocks, which allow obtaining layer-by-layer images of samples. The capabilities of this fluoroscopy method are limited and do not allow you to see everything. Therefore, for a more thorough study of materials, synchrotron radiation is used, which is also X-ray in nature, only tens of times “brighter”.
Synchrotron radiation is produced when electrons rotate along circular trajectory 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.
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.
Determining the characteristics of samples is important for better understanding the structure and properties of rocks. The data obtained are used in organizing drilling operations, extracting oil, gas and other minerals, and analyzing climate change.
«»Synchrotron sources, such as SKIF, allow you 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 that you can abandon laboratory tomographs. On the contrary, the joint use of laboratory and megascience installations allows to increase the efficiency and productivity of research severalfold,” said TPU Vice-Rector for Science and Strategic Projects Alexey Gogolev.
He added that this approach will reduce the cost of core research, as well as increase the scanning speed by more than 300 times.
Gogolev explained that developed at the university the software product also makes it possible to integrate it with modeling modules for auxiliary instruments for interactive analysis and calibration of equipment.
«When using laboratory tomographs and the SKIF synchrotron together, it will be possible to process 25 samples per day. Creation of a comprehensive digital twin on laboratory tomographs usually lasts 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 that allows not only to design and run any object scanning protocols, but also to create your own modules and implement third-party ones.