Robust Zeff-Mapping in Composites via Joint Beam-Hardening and Detector- Response Correction

Robust Zeff-Mapping in Composites via Joint Beam-Hardening and Detector- Response Correction | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Robust Z eff -Mapping in Composites via Joint Beam-Hardening and Detector- Response Correction Yuetong Zhao, Jie Zhang, Xin Yan, Yiheng Liu, Gang Wang, Kai He, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9222359/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The quantitative analysis of the effective atomic number in X-ray projection imaging is constrained by beam hardening effects and nonlinear spectral distortion induced by detector response. To address these limitations, this paper proposes a composite correction method for thickness-decoupled effective atomic number inversion. The method establishes a folded energy spectrum model integrating the attenuation characteristics of a composite X-ray source with detector response matrices, and a response-corrected spectral database for materials with different atomic numbers is established through Monte Carlo simulation. The Spectral Mass-Attenuation Linearisation (SMAL) method is employed to map nonlinear attenuation curves onto a unified linear domain, followed by weighted least-squares spectral matching to perform effective atomic number ( ) inversion. Experimental results obtained using standard materials demonstrate that the proposed method achieves high quantitative accuracy in effective atomic number estimation, with the inversion error controlled within ± 0.2. In defect detection applications for carbon fibre composites, the method clearly distinguishes samples with similar grey levels but different compositions, highlighting its practical value in non-destructive testing. Physical sciences/Engineering Physical sciences/Materials science Physical sciences/Optics and photonics Physical sciences/Physics X-ray spectral imaging Z-mapping beam hardening detector response composite materials Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 13 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 12 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 06 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 15 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 30 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 26 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 26 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 25 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9222359","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":625895687,"identity":"faed2ed5-c344-4a8f-923f-24899cb5e148","order_by":0,"name":"Yuetong Zhao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Key Laboratory of Ultra-fast Photoelectric Diagnostics Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yuetong","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhao","suffix":""},{"id":625895688,"identity":"feeeaa2c-fa52-4432-80be-bd9031c22627","order_by":1,"name":"Jie Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Key Laboratory of Ultra-fast 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To address these limitations, this paper proposes a composite correction method for thickness-decoupled effective atomic number inversion. The method establishes a folded energy spectrum model integrating the attenuation characteristics of a composite X-ray source with detector response matrices, and a response-corrected spectral database for materials with different atomic numbers is established through Monte Carlo simulation. The Spectral Mass-Attenuation Linearisation (SMAL) method is employed to map nonlinear attenuation curves onto a unified linear domain, followed by weighted least-squares spectral matching to perform effective atomic number (\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e) inversion. Experimental results obtained using standard materials demonstrate that the proposed method achieves high quantitative accuracy in effective atomic number estimation, with the inversion error controlled within \u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2. In defect detection applications for carbon fibre composites, the method clearly distinguishes samples with similar grey levels but different compositions, highlighting its practical value in non-destructive testing.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Robust Zeff-Mapping in Composites via Joint Beam-Hardening and Detector- Response Correction","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-23 13:52:56","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9222359/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-05-13T08:54:44+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-12T13:11:05+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-06T09:01:10+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"22944829144222258758467568360793917495","date":"2026-04-17T01:14:25+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"338330908178392084363898339784072250776","date":"2026-04-16T13:20:38+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-16T02:38:49+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-03-31T03:46:18+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-03-26T12:13:43+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-03-26T12:12:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2026-03-25T11:14:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"93f400ff-12f7-42e5-99a8-35473744b3ee","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 23rd, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-05-13T08:54:44+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-12T13:11:05+00:00","index":78,"fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-06T09:01:10+00:00","index":73,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"in-revision","subjectAreas":[{"id":66887065,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering"},{"id":66887066,"name":"Physical sciences/Materials science"},{"id":66887067,"name":"Physical sciences/Optics and photonics"},{"id":66887068,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-13T09:11:55+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-23 13:52:56","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9222359","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9222359","identity":"rs-9222359","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}