Quantifying Motion Blur by Imaging Shock Front Propagation with Broadband and Narrowband X-ray Sources

Time-integrated radiography using MeV Bremsstrahlung X-ray sources is the norm for imaging during system-level testing of components and structures under dynamic condition. One source of error in the analysis of the dynamic radiography data sets stems from motion blur, which smears out sharp interfaces at a greater degree with longer exposure times, which become necessary to provide sufficient X-ray penetration of objects of interest. To investigate and quantify motion blur, a 1D shock wave through PMMA was investigated experimentally at The Dynamic Compression Sector at The Advanced Photon Source with tapered broadband and 25.46 ± 1.056 keV narrowband X-rays to test our state-of-the-art hydrodynamic and radiography simulation tools and compare the effect of the X-ray source type and exposure time on the radiography image. Four cameras with different exposure times were used for each experiment to compare the effect that exposure time has on motion blur, signal-to-noise ratio, and contrast level. There is a high level of agreement between the experimental and simulation results across the range of data sets investigated in this study.