Estimation of the effective mass thickness and effective atomic number of the test object material by the dual energy method

One of the approaches to define the “effective atomic number” concept is applied to the main implementations of the dual energy method. The approach is based on the preliminary radiography of special test objects formed from fragments of simple chemical substances and differing in mass thickness and atomic number. The algorithm is easily adapted for inspection systems and X-ray computed tomography using the dual energy method to recognize the materials of test objects or its structural fragments. An example of calculation of the effective mass thickness and the effective atomic number for two-layer objects from carbon and aluminum is given. •Dual energy method is realized on base the two-layer specially formed test objects.•Method estimate the mass thickness and effective atomic number simultaneously.•Effective atomic number and mass thickness of minerals and explosives are estimated.•Formation with two-layer equivalents of hazardous and rare materials is proposed.