Time-resolved in-situ and operando microtomography is increasingly moving into the focus of materials research. Recent improvements in temporal and spatial resolution allow for detailed image analyses of fast phenomena and processes in 4D. We show how such approach can be combined with simultaneous energy-dispersive diffraction, which is of special interest in cases where structural or morphological changes are correlated with chemical reactions or phase transformations. The work was performed at our own facility at the EDDI beamline, Bessy II, Berlin, Germany as well as at the TOMCAT beamline, Swiss Light Source, Villigen, Switzerland. The setup and sample environment are composed of a fast and precise rotating stage and contactless IR heating of X-ray transparent crucibles made, e.g., of boron nitride, into which samples are placed. We applied X-ray tomoscopy with acquisition rates up to 1000 tomograms per second and spatial resolutions in the micrometer range [1-3].

Some recent results and case studies will be presented, including solidification of casting alloys, the combustion process and the evolution of a burning sparkler and process phenomena and interaction between laser beam and metal during laser welding and additive manufacturing. Further, the analyses of the evolution of the structure and density of liquid metal foams, where knowledge about the mechanisms of bubble formation, growth and ageing over a long period of time are gained and quantitative analyses of bubble parameters with millisecond temporal resolution can be derived.

References:

[1] F. García-Moreno, P. H. Kamm, T. R. Neu, J. Banhart, Journal of Synchrotron Radiation. 25 (2018) p. 1505. doi: 10.1107/S1600577518008949

[2] F. García-Moreno, P.H. Kamm, T.R. Neu, F. Bülk, R. Mokso, C.M. Schlepütz, M. Stampanoni, J. Banhart, Nature Communications 10 (2019) p. 3762. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-11521-1

[3] F. García-Moreno, P.H. Kamm, T.R. Neu, F. Bülk, M.A. Noack, M. Wegener, N. von der Eltz, C.M. Schlepütz, M. Stampanoni, J. Banhart, Advanced Materials 33 (2021) p. 2104659. doi:10.1002/adma.202104659