Geometric Features and Fractal Nature of Soil Analyzed by X-Ray Microtomography Image Processing
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 19, Issue 8
Abstract
One of the most basic topics in soil mechanics is the geometrical features of the particles and the soil arrangement. Although these features are of high relevance, many definitions and processes used to evaluate them are not as precise as they could be. The conventional laboratory tests can require a certain amount of effort and lack objectivity. Also, the geometrical properties are important to understand the physical phenomena that occur in the medium and characterize the soil. Thus, this study presents several image processing algorithms and mathematical formulations to analyze sandy material through microtomography. These algorithms are capable of generating supervised information about the characterization process of soil morphology by using mathematical definitions. The algorithms are capable of generating the grain-size distribution, the soil tortuosity, the void ratio, and the sphericity of grains. Moreover, this work considers the fractal nature of the soil using non-Euclidean approaches for a broader comprehension of the soil geometric properties.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the support provided by the following institutions: the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq Grant 304721/2017-4 and 151123/2018-7), the Support Research of the Federal District Foundation (FAP-DF Grants 0193.001563/2017 and 0193.002014/2017-68), the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Level Personnel (CAPES), the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), and the University of Brasilia (UnB) for funding this research.
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 19 • Issue 8 • August 2019
Copyright
© 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 28, 2017
Accepted: Feb 14, 2019
Published online: May 20, 2019
Published in print: Aug 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Oct 20, 2019
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