Recent advances in 3D X-ray computed tomography (XCT) hardware have enabled applying the principles of Talbot–Lau grating interferometry (TLGI) in the first commercially available laboratory XCT scanning devices for industrial applications. One of the first devices of this new category has been installed at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria – Campus Wels (FHW) in January 2015. Grating interferometry methods possess a great potential in non-destructive testing of materials as they provide three complementary modalities in one scan (see Figure 1): attenuation contrast (AC) resulting from attenuation of X-rays through a specimen, differential phase contrast (DPC) containing information about refraction of X-rays, dark-field contrast (DFC) providing information about X-ray scattering.
Especially for the design of new fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) materials and components, detailed investigations and characterizations of FRP materials are vital due to rising application demands regarding efficiency, safety, environment, and comfort.