Design of a high-energy tomograph for non-destructive characterisation of massive objects

As part of its research and development activities on non-destructive characterisation, CEA utilizes a high-energy photonic imaging system. This instrument, unique in France, allows radiographic and tomographic analyses on large objects (e.g., nuclear waste drums). The 'Laboratoire de Mesures Nucleaires', responsible for running research projects in the facility, has launched a major upgrade of the system by providing a new higher energy X-ray source and a new mechanical bench possessing a 5 t load, which allows the characterisation of thick objects (up to 140 cm concrete thickness). This PhD thesis concerns the characterisation and commissioning of the new computed tomography (CT) system and introduces new examination modalities, such as dual-energy CT.The first part of the thesis is a comprehensive study of the performance of the upgraded CT system, specifically regarding penetration capacity and spatial resolution and concerning both the X-ray source and the detection system. The X-ray source is a linear accelerator called Saturne, which has been repackaged to reach energies between 15 and 20 MeV with dose rates greater than 100 Gy/min. Simulation is used to assess the expected features of this source: spectra, focal spots and dose rates. Parallel comparison among three detectors -a series of non-abutting CdTe semiconductor sensors, a linear camera with segmented CdWO₄ scintillators and horizontal screens of CsI filmed by low noise cameras - assessed the most suitable detection system. All three detection systems are studied using a quantum accounting analysis that highlights potentials and limitations of each system and enables measurement of complementary indicators of their performance: detector quantum efficiency, signal to noise ratio, spatial resolution and dynamic range. This theoretical study is completed, corrected and validated by experimental measurement campaigns. This extensive study predicts the expected performance when combined with the Saturne accelerator, allowing selection of the most appropriate detector for the imaging of large objects.The second part of the thesis concerns the development of a new method for the characterisation of materials by dual-energy CT, allowing a better assessment of the effective atomic number and the density of the material. The state of the art of current techniques highlights the potential interesting method for the characterising nuclear waste: the double effect decomposition. Initially developed for lower energy X-ray imaging, it has been adapted to match the energy range of the CT system by adapting the photon/matter interactions taken into account in the process. The method has been tested and validated on tomographic simulations obtained with the simulation code MODHERATO.This PhD work has shown that the new CT system of the CEA Cadarache has the potential to characterise massive objects with a satisfactory image quality and milli-scale spatial resolution. It also opens opportunities for the execution of dual-energy CT evaluations allowing the assessment of the atomic number and density of materials composing the examined objects. (author)