High-speed imaging technology in Glasgow could help combat climate change 

A £5 million high-speed imaging technology project in Glasgow could help combat the effects of climate change.

Academics at Strathclyde University hope to use X-ray computed tomography (XCT) to mitigate the adverse effects of environmental damage in a range of applications.

Researchers believe the technology could aid industry to reduce the carbon footprint of manufacturing, and develop new battery technology and personalised medicines.

The new IM3AGES Facility will be at the forefront of the project to design new materials and will become a national centre of excellence for 3D and 4D imaging.

The project involves experts from the universities of Edinburgh, Heriot Watt, Nottingham, Durham and Teesside, and researchers and users will be supported to maximise the impact of their work, fostering new skill sets and driving innovation.

Although a powerful tool, XCT remains under exploited because of a nationwide gap in technical capability. IM3AGES bridges this gap by providing two tomography scanning systems not available elsewhere in the UK.

The scanners can produce a 3D image in as little as a minute and see features less than 100th the width of a human hair, allowing delicate artefacts to be scanned without damage and with unprecedented accuracy.

Dr Katherine Dobson, principal investigator from the University of Strathclyde’s Civil & Environmental Engineering and Chemical & Process Engineering departments, said: “Our vision is to provide an infrastructure that enables research and industry users to generate innovative and world leading research.

“The new imaging facility allow us to see inside materials like rock, concrete, human bone or a museum artefact, with high resolution, without having to cut them up.

“XCT produces three-dimensional (3-D) digital images of the internal structure of a sample with unparalleled detail, and while 3D data can be extremely useful, working in 4D (3D + time) is often even better.

“As the technique is non-destructive, it can provide a deeper understanding of how materials interact with their environments over time and capture how these interactions affect material properties and performance. The project allows 4D imaging of the sample as it changes over the course of the experiment, and analysis of the fluids, gases, or biological matter the sample is interacting with.

“This is invaluable in many real-world scenarios, especially in designing ways to prevent or mitigate the impact of climate change.”

The techniques aim to help researchers reduce their future CO₂ footprint through innovative new materials and recycling technologies, so things can be manufactured and built more sustainably. This includes reclaiming materials from landfill, low carbon replacements for plastics and decarbonising manufacturing, as well as expanding the capability for CO₂ storage and use of waste heat and geothermal energy.

It will also find ways to make materials last longer and cope better with our changing climate, including low carbon ways to repair RAAC concrete in buildings, improving flood defences and finding ways to prevent future landslides in areas like the A83 Rest and Be Thankful in Argyll, Scotland, which has been plagued by landslides for decades.

It also aims to repair environmental and damage, including working with farmers to improve soil health and fertility across the world.

Dr Dobson added: “The conditions that samples have experienced in the past controls how they behave in the future. Although the final destination – what the material becomes – is important, the ‘how’ and ‘why’ it gets there is often even more important and is where IM3AGES can make a big difference.”

The project is funded by the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Professor Charlotte Deane, EPSRC Executive Chair, said: “When we need to know how materials and their performance change over time, IM3AGES will allow us to examine this with extraordinary speed and fidelity.

“With applications ranging from designing better drugs to preventing landslides, it underlines the fundamental importance of investment in research and innovation infrastructure to society and the economy.”