Backscatter Radiation Backscatter radiation can have a significant effect on the quality of a radiograph.

Backscatter radiation is radiation that is scattered from an object on the film side of the specimen. This exercise can be used to develop an appreciation for just how significantly backscatter radiation can affect radiograph quality. 1. Load a film cassette that does not have lead foil screens built-in with a piece of film. 2. Place a lead letter "B" on the back side of the cassette. 3. Locate a piece of aluminum plate or similar material of uniform thickness and place it on the film for the exposure. 4. Place a piece of corrugated cardboard on the backside of the film. 5. Expose the film to produce a density of 2.0 to 3.0. 6. Process the film 7. Evaluate the film to determine if the letter "B" and features of the cardboard are visible. Film Handling Artifacts Film Crimps Film Artifacts, such as crimps, can appear as cracks or other defects on the film. To better understand how they look on the film perform the following exercise. 1. When loading a piece of film, make a pronounced bend or crimp in the film. 2. Produce a radiograph with a density between 2.0 and 3.0 of a sample part. 3. When removing the exposed film from the cassette for developing, make a second bend or crimp in the film some distance from the first. Make sure that you can distinguish between the before exposure artifact and the after exposure artifact. 4. Develop the film and examine the radiograph. 5. Note the differences in the two crimps. Which of the crimps appear more like a crack? Film Exposure From Safelight Given enough time, film can be exposed by the safelight in the darkroom. In this example use a class 2 film, as it will more readily demonstrate the effects. 1. After the safelights have warmed up for at least ten minutes place a opaque covering over one-half of the film. On the exposed half place lead letters, or

other opaque objects. Allow the film to be exposed under the safelight for a period of fifteen minutes. 2. Remove the opaque covering from the film while leaving the opaque letters or objects in place on the other half of the film. Allow the film to remain in the light for another fifteen minutes. 3. Process the film and evaluate. 4. Note the effects of the safelight on the two halves of the film. Measuring the Focal Spot Size To develop an understanding of the effective focal spot size of the X-ray generator , have students determine its size. The measurement can be made from a radiograph produced using a flat piece of lead with a small pinhole in it. The image is produce in a mode similar to that of an old box camera. The following is a general procedure for making the measurement, and a more detailed procedure can be found in ASTM E1165. 1. Put a small pinhole in a lead sheet of sufficiently thickness to stop all of the radiation. The smaller the pinhole, the sharper the image. 2. Position the lead sheet directly perpendicular to X-ray beam and exactly half way between the X-ray tube target and the film. Center the pinhole in X-ray beam. This step is very important so use a string, level, plumb bob or other tools to make sure the sheet and hole are properly aligned. 3. Set the X-ray generator amperage (mA) relatively high and the energy (kV) relatively low to produce an exposure where few make it past the lead sheet except through the hole. Try not to saturate the radiograph in the region of the hole. 4. Expose and develop the film. 5. Measure the diameter of the focal spot image on the film.

Lead Foil Screens Lead foil screens are often used to enhance the radiograph when using X-rays in the range of 150 to 400 kV. The screens increase the exposure of the film largely due to electrons emitted by the screens during an exposure. The following are a few experiments that can be performed to investigate the effects of lead foil screens. Experiment #1 - Using Lead Foil Screens 1. Locate a plate of steel approximately inch thick and 4 inches wide by 5 inches long. Drill a number of holes in the plate. 2. Load a film cassette with a type 1 film. 3. Load a second film cassette with a second piece of film and place a 0.005 inch thick lead screen on the source side and a 0.010 inch thick lead screen on the backside. 4. Place the steel plate of the film cassette and expose the film at 150 kV to create a radiograph with a density of 2.0 to 3.0. 5. Radiograph the plate a second time using the film pack with screens. Expose the material at similar kV / mA settings but the exposure time will need to be increased since the lead will absorb a portion of the long wavelength radiation. 6. Process the films and compare on the viewer to determine if the lead produced a sharper, higher contrast radiograph. More contrast and definition should be seen in the image produce with the screens. Experiment #2 - The need for intimate contact between the film and the screen. To produce the desired effect, the screens must remain in contact with the film. The following experiment can be used to demonstrate the effect of an air gap on the performance of lead foil screens

1. Load a film cassette with a piece of type 1 film and a lead foil screen on the source side. 2. Cover the half of the film with a thick lead sheet to prevent it from being exposed. 3. Place a hacksaw blade or other object with fine detail on the source side of the cassette in the area not covered by the thick lead sheet. 4. Expose this half of the film to produce a density of 2.0 to 3.0. 5. Return to the dark room and place a couple of pencil in the cassette to separate the screen from the section of unexposed film. Put one of the pencils near the center and the other near one edge of the film so that the hacksaw blade can be imaged between them. 6. Cover the previously exposed half of the film with a thick lead sheet to prevent it from being exposed a second time. 7. Place a hacksaw blade or other object with fine detail on the source side of the cassette in the area not covered by the thick lead sheet. 8. Make a second exposure using the same equipment settings used to produce the first. 9. Process and compare the two exposures. More contrast and definition should be seen in the image produce with the screen in contact with the film. Experiment #3 - Effects of Scratches and Other Artifacts on Lead Foil Screens. 1. Use a sharp object to scratch a line or pattern into an old lead screen. 2. In another area of the screen place a dime-sized spot of glue and let dry 3. Load a piece of film and the screen into a cassette. Place the lead source side to the film and place a small shred of tissue paper or sewing thread between the film and the lead. 4. Exposure the film to produce a density of between 2.0 and 3.0. 5. Develop the film and determine the results of the scratch, foreign material, and glue on the exposed film Radiographic Setup - Source/Part Orientation The orientation of the material or component being radiographed with respect to the radiation source can have a significant effect on the interpretation of the image. This experiment illustrates that with one exposure, it is sometimes difficult to accurately identify or size a defect. Student will make two exposures of the same components at slightly different orientations and evaluate the differences in the radiographic images. Procedure:

1. Load a film cassette with a 10 by 12 inch piece of film (type 1 film is recommended). 2. Cover one-half of the film cassette with a lead sheet so that only half of the film will be exposed during each of the two exposures. 3. Place two coins about one-half inch apart on the side of the film cassette not covered by the lead sheet.. 4. Place the film/lead/coins assembly so that it will be in the center of the radiation source and perpendicular to the beam. 5. Expose the film to produce a density of two or three. 6. For the second exposure, move the lead sheet so that it covers the now exposed half of the film and reposition the coins on the unexposed side of the film. Be sure to keep the distance between the coins at about onehalf inch. 7. Reposition the film/lead/coin assembly back to the center for the radiation beam. This time, tilt the assembly so it is about 20 degree from being normal to the beam and so that the two coins are aligned with this angle. In other words, one coin should be closer to the source than the other. 8. Expose the film using the same conditions as the first exposure. 9. Develop the film and compare and contrast the two images. The results should show that the change in relationship between the source and two nickels can have a significant effect on the image produced. Since radiography produces a shadow graph image, it is possible for two features to appear as one in the image. This is very important when attempting to interpret a radiograph. Two small defects can appear as one bigger defect, which would affect defect sizing results. Also, one defect could go completely undetected if it were hidden by the shadow of another defect or feature of the component being radiographed.