Portable X-ray diffractometer "RIKOR-5" - RIKOR X-Ray Measuring Facility

Portable X-ray Diffractometers RIKOR-5(5a) of x-ray measuring complex RIKOR

The X-ray diffractometer "RIKOR-5" is designed for controlling residual and effective stresses at the stage of manufacture and operation of parts and structures made of fine-grain and coarse-grain steels and alloys with the curvature radius of >150 mm

The X-ray diffractometer "RIKOR-5" RU.C.38.002.A number in Federal agency of the Russian Federation on Technical Regulating and Metrology (certified as a measuring instrument).

31025-06 number in State Register for Measuring Instruments.

The x-ray diffractometer RIKOR-5(5a) is a representative of a new generation of portable x-ray diffractometers developed by IRO specialists.

The X-ray diffractometer "RIKOR-5" allows performing non-destructive direct stress condition control of parts and structures made of usual and macrocrystalline steels and allows, unavailable earlier for XRD analysis.

Comparison of residual stresses in samples made of usual steel, which values were received using x-ray diffractometers "RIKOR-5" and DRP-3 (divergent beam) has shown high correlation between the results.

X-Ray diffractometry is the only technique for direct and non-destructive lattice elastic strain control with subsequent determination of elastic stresses. The technique does not require any preliminary data on material state (stress/strain, phase and chemical composition, etc.). It allows determining residual and working stresses in wide range of parts and constructions during their manufacture, work and repair.

Application in this x-ray diffractometer a collimation system representing a polycapillary half-lens with outer diameter of 15 mm allows creating a wide spatially-collimated beam of practically parallel x-rays (with divergence of ~10^-3 rad.), which, compared to the x-ray diffractometer RIKOR-4, features higher information density (larger quantity of x-ray reflexes in diffraction peak formation). Therefore, x-ray diffractometer «RIKOR-5» provides determining residual and effective stresses in parts with grain size of the order of several millimeters, which cannot be achieved with the help of РRIKOR-4 or other portable x-ray diffractometers.

Wide parallel beam is accompanied with laser targeting beam thus enabling fast and precise positioning of the sample. Since a wide parallel beam analyzes large surface area, this drastically improves the time and accuracy of analysis.

Thanks to optics the power of the x-ray source is significantly decreased.

This also leads to drastic decrease in dimensions and weight of the whole device. The apparatuses of x-ray diffractometers RIKOR series are the most miniature stress-analyzers in the world. These are manual portable instruments. Thanks to low power of the x-ray source, there are no problems as regards radiation safety, neither is there a necessity in the x-ray tube cooling. Because of this, the working life of the x-ray diffractometer "RIKOR-5" becomes much longer.

The goniometer of the x-ray diffractometer "RIKOR-5" consists of the arc [4], onto which one (RIKOR-5) or two (RIKOR-5a) detectors [3] are mounted, as well as the irradiator with the x-ray tube [1] and a polycapillary half-lens [2], a mechanisms tilting the arc by angle Ψ (implementation of the «Sin²y» method), a laser system determining the focal distance, and support.

The implemented x-ray scheme and contemporary interface provide high-precision determination of stresses in material both in terms of value and in terms of directions.

Application of X-ray diffractometer "RIKOR-5" series provides the following advantages, compared to other instruments, as regards analysis of materials that have earlier been unavailable for XRD analysis without their destruction:

1. Cast Materials

Cast Iron: beds of high-precision metal-working machines, crankcases and basic blocks of automobile, locomotive, and ship engines, cast iron separators in chemical and nuclear industry
Aluminum Alloys: pistons and connecting rods of combustion engines
Steel Casting Items: underframe and wheel trucks of locomotives and cars

2. Cermet

Special purpose items

3. Composite Materials

Aluminum multi-layer construction structures
Composite materials on the basis of polymer matrices reinforced with high-strength fibers (carbon, glass, aramide, boric, silicon-carbide)

F1 Bolide monocoque and head cowlings of carrier rockets of new generation. Introduction into the composite fiber material of crystalline witness phases allows performing x-ray diffractometry studies on real products using the parallel beam method.

BASIC TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

General

Type of detector

Gas-filled, position-sensitive,

Number of detectors

RIKOR-5 – one

RIKOR-5а – two

Power consumption

220V, 50-60Hz,125W

X-ray Tube