Stochastic reconstruction on of Gosford sandstone from surface image

Peijie Yin, Gao-Feng Zhao

Most rocks have complex microstructures, which are regardedas the most important factor in determining their mechanicalproperties and transport behaviors [1,2]. Moreover, to obtain themicrostructure of material is one of the intrinsic interests ofscientists. For instance, two Nobel Prizes were awarded for theinventions of X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) and ScanningElectron Microscope (SEM). In geosciences and geomechanics,these devices have been used to obtain the microstructure ofgeomaterials for different purposes, e.g. the study of fracturing ingranite by Ichikawa et al. [3], the investigation of thermallyinduced microcracks in concrete by Wang et al. [4], the characterization of shale rock properties by Josh et al. [5], and the analysis ofenergy dissipation in Gosford sandstone by Sufian and Russell [6].However, the SEM and X-ray CT are not perfect, besides beingexpensive and time consuming, there are limitations. The SEM canonly get the surface image, and the X-ray CT is usually onlyapplicable to small-size specimens when the resolution is high.