A new £5 million Scottish facility aims to combat the adverse effects of climate change through high-speed imaging technology.

The project, developed with input from more than 100 academics and led by the University of Strathclyde, will use X-ray computed tomography (XCT) to help revolutionise the understanding of material behaviours.

The high-resolution technology will support research, from new ways of combating the effects of climate change, to reducing the carbon footprint of manufacturing, and from new battery technology to personalised medicines.

The IM3AGES Facility at Strathclyde will be a national centre of excellence for 3D and 4D imaging, and its technical capabilities can have far-reaching implications for research and industry.

It 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 innovations.

Although powerful, XCT itself remains underexploited because of a nationwide gap in technical capability. IM3AGES is set to bridge 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 [sic] 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.”

Recommended reading

• Shetland Spaceport Edging Closer to First Launch
• Scottish SpaceTech Lands £320K Investment
• Craft Prospect | Navigating Growth in the Scottish Space Sector

The techniques aim to help researchers reduce their future CO2 footprint through 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 viewpoint in Argyll, which has been plagued by landslides for decades.

It also aims to repair environmental 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 (EPSRC).