Fabrício Borges de Oliveira

The interest in using computer simulations of dimensional x-ray computed tomography (dXCT) for various metrological purposes—such as measurement planning, performance prediction, performance optimisation and, finally, measurement uncertainty estimation—is increasing along with the ever-growing demand for more reliable measurements with dXCT. However, before a piece of simulation software can be used for tasks related to coordinate metrology, it has to be ensured that it is able to simulate physical laws, characteristic effects and basic CT system functionalities correctly and with sufficient accuracy. In short, the software must be qualified for dimensional metrology tasks. As one part of such a qualification process, a method is presented here for determining conformity intervals of 2D tests (projection-based tests) based on 3D tests (testing based on dimensional evaluations in a reconstructed volume) for the assessment of dXCT simulation software. The method consists of varying relevant parameter values in order to verify their influence on 3D measurement results. The results of the 3D tests with varied parameter values are then transferred to the quantities tested in the 2D tests and used as the basis for determining conformity intervals. Two approaches are applied for determining whether or not a variation of a parameter value is significant: (a) statistical and (b) heuristic. Two examples are presented, each based on simulated images, which show the application of the two different approaches for determining conformity intervals for the results of the 2D tests.

The ability of industrial X-ray computed tomography (CT) to scan an object with several internal and external features at once causes increasing adoption in dimensional metrology. In order to evaluate the quality of a measurement value, the task-specific measurement uncertainty has to be determined. Currently, VDI/VDE 2630 part 2.1 gives a guideline to determine the uncertainty of CT measurements experimentally by conducting repeated measurements. This is costly and time-consuming. Thus, the aim is to determine the task-specific measurement uncertainty numerically by simulations (e. g. according to the guide to expression of uncertainty in measurement (GUM) Supplement 1). To achieve that, a digital twin is necessary. This contribution presents a simple first approach how a digital twin can be built. In order to evaluate this approach, a study comparing measurements and simulations of different real CT systems was carried out by determining the differences between the measurement results of the digital twin and of the measurement results of the real-world CT systems. The results have shown a moderate agreement between real and simulated data. To improve on this aspect, a standardized method to characterize CT systems and methods to implement CT parameters into the simulation with sufficient accuracy will be developed.