Abstract
Method of density measurement using an X-ray CT scanner was investigated particularly forpowder compacts. Since X-ray absorption characteristics are different in various materials, densities are able to be known from CT values, which are functions of X-ray absorption coefficients of the materials. High energy X-rays around 200-300keV realized high correlation between the CT values and material densities. The values, however, were influenced by the size of samples and varied within the same sample even that is uniform in density. These phenomena were caused by beam hardening characteristics in white X-ray of the CT scanner and by the problem of accuracy in CT computation. In spite of the condition, very high correlation was obtained between densities and CT values in aluminum powder compacts. A density distribution in the compact, which was converted from the measured CT value distribution, exhibited a typical distribution in powder compact. Because of the beam hardening and the problem in computation accuracy, CT values in a wrought aluminum sample distributed within about 2.5% of the mean density. Almost the same error should be considered in CT value distributions in powder compacts.
