Can a Medical Imaging X-ray Tube Be Used for Radial Aviation Tire Inspection?

Radial aviation tires are commonly retreaded to enhance economic efficiency and environmental sustainability. To determine retreadability, a thorough inspection is warranted before the retreading process to assess structural integrity. We aim to develop a dedicated C-arm scanner for inspecting large radial aviation tires. In this work, we investigate the feasibility of using a medicalgrade X-ray tube for this application. Computer simulations with a realistic tire phantom and practical scanning parameters demonstrate that a medical-grade X-ray tube could achieve satisfactory contrast and spatial resolution for nylon and aramid cord detection, but with increased scan time.