Three-dimensional digital representation of granular material microstructure from x-ray tomography imaging

This paper presents the use of x-ray tomography imaging to reconstruct a three-dimensional (3D) digital representation of individual particles in a granular system. The granular system is represented by the mass center coordinates and the morphology representation of each particle. An automated procedure using pattern recognition to identify related particle cross sections in adjacent serial images was developed. Procedures to calculate quantities needed for subsequent simulation of particle behavior including the volume and the momentum of inertia of each particle are also presented. The developments described in the paper enable modeling and simulation of the behavior, and experimental observations of the particle kinematics of real microstructures of granular materials in a true 3D platform.