| 摘要 |
Systems and methods are disclosed to analyze sediment and sedimentary rock properties. Example systems and methods transform data representing physical particles and burial histories into a three-dimensional representation of solids and pores in sediments and sedimentary rocks by analyzing effects of deposition, grain rearrangement, compaction, and chemical reactions. Resulting output may include three-dimensional representations which may be the basis of physical objects or media for laboratory tests. In an example, output may provide a basis for evaluating present-day properties for areas where sample material is unavailable, reconstructing properties for times in the geologic past, and forecasting the effects of engineering and industrial activities on properties. |
| 主权项 |
1. A computer-implemented method for determining the three-dimensional microstructure of a sediment, comprising:
receiving data representing physical particles with complex three-dimensional shapes via an input device; analyzing by a computer analyzer connected to the input device, settling of the particles based on contacts between and collisions among the particles in addition to forces associated with gravity and at least one of: inertia, collision elasticity, friction, adhesion, intermolecular repulsion, capillarity associated with fluids in the sediment, fluid-flow, magnetism, and Brownian motion; transforming by the computer analyzer, the geometrical arrangement of the particles by at least one of: shaking of a container holding the particles, dropping a comparatively large object on top of the particles after settling, bioturbation, modifying shape or volume of the container, and changing stress directions or magnitudes applied to an outer bound of the sediment; and outputting by an output device, a representation of the transformed topology of the particles as the three-dimensional microstructure of the sediment. |
