Untitled Document

NPSS GENERAL BUSINESS

NEW PUBLICATION BY NPSS MEMBER
Handbook on Radiation Probing, Gauging,
Imaging and Analysis
Volume I: Basics and Techniques
(464 pp, ISBN 1-4020-1294-2)
Volume II: Applications and Design
(526 pp, ISBN 1-4020-1295-0)
(Set: ISBN 1-4020-1296-9)
by Esam M. A. Hussein
Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht

This is a four-part handbook that covers all aspects of non-destructive evaluation (NDE) with charged-particles, photons and neutrons. The book is written by an IEEE NPSS member: Esam Hussein, a nuclear engineer and professor and chair of Mechanical Engineering at the University of New Brunswick, Canada. As described in the Foreword to the book, written by Dr. John Hubbell (National Institute of Standards and Technology), this is a "two-volume "how-to" desk reference on virtually all aspects of the use of photon and corpuscular radiations in the interrogation of materials and structures, I found the presentation format to be unique and useful. Although the variety and comprehensiveness is akin to a topical encyclopedia, the presentation reminded me of a thesaurus, in which the subtopics are not sequenced alphabetically, but, similar to in a thesaurus, are sequenced in a logical progression. Then, going "Roget" one better, at the end of the book are found not one, but two alphabetized indexes, first an "application index" and finally a conventional index alphabetically listing key words and their page numbers from throughout the text."

The book starts with an introductory chapter that makes the case for using radiation-based methods in NDE, by comparing them to conventional techniques.

Part I of the book covers radiation sources, modifying (interaction) physics and detectors. Radiation sources and detectors are identified and their properties presented. The physics of radiation interactions are discussed in terms of their relevance to NDE. The safety aspects of dealing with radiation are addressed in the fourth chapter of Part I.

In Part II, the examination techniques of transmission, scattering, emission and absorption are presented, each in a separate chapter. The conventional transmission techniques of radiography and tomography are discussed, along with special variations such as dual-energy methods, resonance imaging and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The chapter on scattering methods covers techniques used to probe a point in an object, provide an overall bulk indication, or produce an image; in addition to methods that employ neutron diffraction and charged-particle scattering. Methods that rely on induced (secondary) radiation emission, as well as those employing internal sources (e.g. radiotracers), are covered in the chapter dealing with emission methods. Indications provided internally by the absorption of different types of radiation are examined in a separate chapter, including the neutron die-away indication.

The second volume focuses on applications and design. Part III begins by presenting applications involving probing a particular location in an object, inspecting products, and monitoring processes systems. Applications that give bulk quantified indications are presented in a separate chapter. The usefulness of elemental analysis, with neutrons and x-rays, is demonstrated by a wide variety of industrial, environmental and geological applications, along with others. The chapter devoted to imaging applications discusses, not only the industrial uses of familiar transmission-based radiography and tomography methods, but also applications utilizing scattering and emission.

Part IV addresses design aspects, in five chapters. It starts with a list of the arguments a designer can use to overcome the reluctance of some industries to adopt radiation-based methods. The first chapter in this Part identifies performance and design parameters, and addresses the issues of choosing the proper radiation source, detector and technique. A chapter is devoted to the processes of modifying the energy, direction, and intensity of commercially available radiation sources. Design and shielding calculation methods are outlined. Experimental design, including the licensing process and laboratory practices, are examined. The last chapter deals with the issues associated with commercializing a developed device, in particular, prototyping and patents.

In addiction to the above described 18 chapters, the book includes 7 appendices, provided for convenience at the end of each volume. They include: basic units and constants, an alphabetical list of elements and natural isotopes, the basics of relativistic mechanics, the quantum-mechanics concept for cross-sections, methods for calculating nuclear/atomic parameters for compounds and mixtures, approaches to evaluating the effective-energy of multienergetic sources, and radiation counting statistics.

This book is designed to provide students and experts with an inclusive source of streamlined information. Researchers and instrument developers will find a list of 1373 references. The application index will enable practicing engineers and industrial physicists to easily identify techniques suited for a particular application, along with their previous uses.

Esam Hussein can be reached at the University of New Brunswick, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3 Canada, Phone: +1 506 447-3105; E-mail: hussein@unb.ca. For more information about the Esam see: http://www.unb.ca/web/ME/faculty/hussein.html

Esam Hussein

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