An image analysis method to determine crystal size distributions of olivine in kimberlite

Crystal size distributions (CSDs) are a standard method of describing populations of crystals within magmatic rocks. Olivine is the dominant phase in kimberlite (∼40–50% by volume) and features a diverse range of sizes, shapes and origins. CSDs of olivine provide a logical means of semi-quantitatively characterising kimberlite. The CSDs can then be used to distinguish or correlate between kimberlite bodies or to investigate processes related to ascent, emplacement and eruption. In this paper, we present an automatic image analysis technique that provides efficient quantification of olivine CSDs within digital images of polished slabs of kimberlite. This technique relies on a combination of algorithms for detecting regions of interest (ROI) and for segmentation of ROIs in order to identify individual olivine crystals that are used for size distribution datasets. The detection process identifies regions expected to be olivine using a model-based colour detection technique using Mahalanobis distance combined with texture analysis based on local standard deviation and greyscale foreground enhancement techniques. The segmentation process separates adjacent domains to identify individual crystals using an iterative marker-based watershed algorithm to separate adjoined structures of varying sizes. We demonstrate the utility of automatic image analysis by comparing CSDs for olivine derived from this method versus results from manual digitisation of olivine grains. The automatic detection system correctly identified ∼86% of the manually detected olivine domains; ∼88% of the automatically detected regions correctly correlate to manually defined olivine grains. Discrepancies between the two methods are mostly the result of oversimplification of crystal margins (i.e. rounding) by manual tracing whereas automatic boundary recognition shows clear advantages in identifying irregularities in crystal edges. Closer examination of the results shows that both methods suffer from under-representation of smaller crystals due to: (1) human subjectivity and error in manual tracing and (2) noise removal processes in automatic detection. Automatic detection of olivine grains is much more efficient than conventional manual tracing; manual detection requires ∼6 h per sample versus ∼1 min for automatic analysis of the same sample.     

源区距离对黄土粒度多组分分布特征的影响

利用高分辨率激光粒度仪MS2000对陕西渭南、北京灵山、河南邙山等地大量黄土样品的粒度多组分分布特征进行了系统研究,总结了其多组分粒度分布及组分间差异特征并讨论了源区距离对黄土粒度多组分分布特征的影响。取得了以下认识：（1）黄土粉尘粒径以〈70μm的悬浮组分为主,其粒度由细、中、粗3个组分（中值粒径范围分别为〈1μm、1～10μm、10～70μm）构成,表现为多组分粒度特征。粗粒组分含量最高,峰形最明显。粗粒与中粒组分粒径与百分含量变化很大程度受控于源区距离变化。（2）不同地区黄土粉尘粒度差异明显,粗粒组分中值粒径随源区距离增加而减小,二者负相关;中粒组分百分含量随源区距离增加而增加,二者正相关。（3）粒度组分分离方法能够反映同一源区粒度的细微差异,显示其粒度组分分离的优越性。（4）理论推导了黄土粗粒组分的中值粒径与源区距离的关系并用实际拟合函数验证了其正确性。     

Grain size analysis and depositional pattern of upper Gondwana sediments (Early Cretaceous) of Salbardi area,districts Amravati,Maharashtra and Betul,Madhya Pradesh

A detailed grain-size analysis of twenty-two sandstone samples from the uppermost Gondwana succession of Salbardi area has been carried out to interpret the depositional pattern. The sandstones are mainly medium to coarse grained, moderately sorted, near-symmetrical to fine-skewed and mesokurtic in nature. Inter-relationship of various parameters shows bimodal nature of sediments having dominance of medium sand. Based on the granulometric analysis, a fluvial environment of deposition is interpreted for the succession.     

A new approach to the three-dimensional quantification of angularity using image analysis of the size and form of coarse aggregates

This paper describes a system for the acquisition and analysis of 3D data from the surfaces of coarse aggregate particles. The technique uses laser triangulation to acquire data from the upper hemispheres of particles passing along a conveyor belt. Methods of determining particle size and form in three dimensions are described and a new approach to the quantification of angularity is presented. The algorithm uses mathematical morphology to provide a geometrically meaningful interpretation of particle shape. The relative advantages of 2D and 3D analysis of aggregate particles are discussed, and results are presented which demonstrate the validity of this approach.     

图们江河口沼泽沉积物的粒度特征及碎屑源分析

经对图们江河口沼泽沉积物的粒度分析,其粒度特征:①分选差,粒径φ值为5.66~8.74(0.020 mm~0.002 mm),平均φ值为7.57(0.005 mm);②粒级构成为:粉砂74.21%,黏土25.79%;③频率曲线以双峰态为主,主要为负偏态。热释光测年结果表明该套样品沉积时间为晚更新世末期至今。根据沉积物粒度分布特征推断该区沼泽沉积物主要为图们江碎屑物由上游搬运到河口地区,堆积在河床和河漫滩上,在旱季由风搬运到沼泽中并堆积下来。雨季的面流也将少量细粒碎屑搬运到沼泽中并沉积下来。     

Soil porosity resulting from the assemblage of silt grains with a clay phase: New perspectives related to utilization of X-ray synchrotron computed microtomography

Understanding the assemblage of basic grains is essential for predicting many soil properties. X-ray synchrotron microtomography with a high resolution was used for visualisation and quantification of the assemblage of silt grains with a clay phase containing 20% of clays. The 3D computed image was analysed after appropriate segmentation by using: (i) autocorrelation functions which enables anisotropy discussion of the assemblage; (ii) chord distribution which gives information on the size distribution of the void and solid phases; and (iii) the Hoshen-Kopelman algorithm (6-connectivity) in order to label each void with a unique number and thus enabling discussion of the connectivity. Our results show that X-ray synchrotron microtomography enables a more accurate analysis of the assemblage of silt grains with a clay phase than with conventional methods. Thus, it showed the isotropy of the silt-clay assemblage in the studied soil material. The void and solid phase volumes were smaller than 80 and 120 μm in all directions, respectively. The mean distance between two interfaces was 6.9 and 13.4 μm for the void and solid phase, respectively. X-ray synchrotron microtomography of the soil material studied also showed that the voids resulting from the assemblage of the silt grains with the clay phase can be considered as fully connected in the studied dried materials.     

北极黄河站秋季气团传输影响下大气气溶胶数谱分布特征

2013 年9月在北极黄河站开展了气溶胶数谱（10~400nm）的短期观测实验。数浓度小时平均值主要出现在300~400cm^-3,平均值为350cm^-3,高于新奥尔松Zeppelin 全球大气本底站及环北极海洋大气7-9月航测报道的浓度。大气气溶胶的三个模态（核模态、爱根核模态和积聚模态）数浓度平均分别为35、122和193cm^-3。观测期间没有发生新粒子生成事件,平均数谱分布呈现双模态的分布特征,模态峰值分别出现在30nm和115nm,由积聚模态主导。平均数谱分布的几何中值粒径出现在约100~110nm。从单颗粒分析结果来看,观测期间黄河站地区大气气溶胶主要以海盐气溶胶为主,但是在来自挪威海域和北欧大陆的气团影响下,也观测到煤烟颗粒、富硫颗粒物和含碳颗粒物等人为气溶胶。     

粒度分布的端元建模分析及检验:以“吉兰泰—河套”盆地西部DK-12钻孔晚第四纪沉积物为例*

端元建模分析能够从复杂的多峰分布特征的沉积物中提取出具有不同沉积动力过程的端元,但是,由于沉积物的粒度分布还受到沉积环境等多种因素的影响,该方法的有效性及获得的端元组分的地质意义有待其他环境代用指标的进一步检验。以位于“吉兰泰—河套”盆地西部磴口次级隆起区的DK-12钻孔晚第四纪沉积物为例,采用BEMMA算法对该钻孔沉积物的粒度资料进行了端元建模分析,并以黏土矿物组合和前人的孢粉组合数据作为检验指标,结合该地区的区域地质背景,对获得的4个端元进行了综合检验分析,认为获得的沉积物粒度端元具有明确的地质意义,其中EM 1为远源粉尘、EM 2为近源的风成沙、EM 3和EM 4为河流冲积沙。     

Influence of waves and horseshoe crab spawning on beach morphology and sediment grain-size characteristics on a sandy estuarine beach

The effects of wave action and horseshoe crab spawning on the topography and grain-size characteristics on the foreshore of an estuarine sand beach in Delaware Bay, New Jersey, USA were evaluated using data collected over six consecutive high tides. Data were gathered inside and outside a 25 m long exclosure constructed to create a control area free of disturbance by crabs. The density of crabs in the swash zone outside the exclosure was 8·1 organisms m⁻². The maximum depth of sediment activation on the upper foreshore where spawning occurred was 0·103 m during periods characterized by low significant wave heights: < 0·08 m. This depth is greater than the depth of activation by waves alone during moderate significant wave heights of 0·16–0·18 m but less than the maximum depth (0·127 m) recorded when spawning occurred during periods of moderate wave heights. Spawning, combined with moderate wave heights, creates a concave upper foreshore that is similar to the type of profile change that occurs during storms, thus lowering the wave-energy threshold for morphological response. Spawning during low wave heights increases the mean grain size and sorting of surface sediments caused by the addition of gravel to the swash. Sedimentological differences are most pronounced on the upper foreshore, and data from this location may be most useful when using grain-size characteristics to interpret the effect of spawning in the sedimentary record. Depths of sediment reworking by horseshoe crabs can be greater than those by subsequent storm waves, so evidence of spawning can be preserved on non-eroding beaches. Greater depth of activation by horseshoe crab spawning than by waves alone, even during moderate-energy conditions, reveals the importance of crab burrowing in releasing eggs to the water column and making them available for shore birds.     

颗粒级配及初始干密度对路基翻浆冒泥特性的影响

重载铁路路基翻浆冒泥病害广泛存在且危害性极大,严重影响了轨道的稳定性和列车运行的安全性。铁路路基土体性质,如颗粒级配、孔隙比等对列车荷载作用下路基翻浆冒泥特性有显著的影响。利用自主研发的试验模型对粉质黏土与不同含量高岭土重塑试样进行翻浆冒泥试验,研究了不同颗粒级配（高岭土含量）、不同初始干密度（孔隙比）对循环荷载作用下试样的轴向应变、超孔隙水压力以及细颗粒迁移特性的影响。研究结果表明：随着高岭土含量以及初始干密度的增加,动荷载作用下试样产生的轴向应变、超孔隙水压力均减小,细颗粒迁移的平均高度降低,路基翻浆冒泥的程度减轻。通过试验发现,动荷载作用下试样内部的超孔隙水压力梯度是驱动路基土体细颗粒迁移的主导因素,试样产生的夹层对路基翻浆冒泥病害的发展具有一定的促进作用。     

岩体强度对牙轮单齿作用下破碎坑的体积及形态影响研究

借助连续-非连续单元法(CDEM),对牙轮钻单齿压入破岩的机制进行了探讨,研究了加载过程中破碎体积及破碎坑的演化规律,分析了岩体凝聚力和内摩擦角对单齿破岩体积及破碎坑形态的影响。数值计算结果表明,破碎坑基本上呈半椭球体,其宽深比仅受内摩擦角控制,随着内摩擦角的增加,破碎坑的宽深比减小。破碎坑的宽度、深度及单齿破岩体积可用齿压F、钻齿半径r、凝聚力c及内摩擦角? 表征,基于数值计算结果给出了破碎坑的宽度、深度及单齿破岩体积定量表述的公式;基于相关理论公式,考虑各个同时与岩石接触的几个齿轮对岩石的损伤是相互影响的,引入单齿破岩体积的修正系数,建立了牙轮钻的工作参数（轴压、转速、进尺速度等）与岩体凝聚力及内摩擦角的函数关系。在鞍千矿南采区进行了牙轮钻随钻测试的现场试验,获得了不同岩性下的单齿破岩体积,并就近取样测试了岩体的凝聚力及内摩擦角。当修正系数取0.363时,现场测试结果与基于数值计算得到的单齿破岩体积基本一致,从而证明了数值计算及相关理论推导的正确性。研究成果可以为岩体强度的动态测试提供依据。     

不同倾角节理组和锚固效应对岩体特性的影响

首先采用DDARF(discontinuous deformation analysis for rock failure)分析方法对双裂隙岩块进行单轴和双轴压缩模拟试验,研究了裂隙角度和侧向应力大小对岩块特性的影响,得到了裂隙岩块在这两种加载试验中的破坏过程、应力-应变曲线以及岩块中裂隙的起裂应力和岩块的峰值强度。在双轴压缩模拟试验中绘制了裂隙角度为45°的岩块在不同侧向压力下的强度包络线。其次,采用DDARF分析方法模拟劈裂试验中含裂隙试块的锚固效果,得到了4种不同锚固角度试块的轴向荷载–位移变化曲线和裂隙扩展规律。模拟结果与前人的类似条件下的试验结果相符良好。随后又将双裂隙试块双轴压缩模拟试验中得到的参数运用到一个地下洞室的工程实例中,用等效力学特性的方法分析对比了完整岩体和节理岩体洞室开挖完成后的破损状态的差异。最后运用DDARF分析方法研究了随机生成4组节理岩体的地下洞室的稳定性,得到了洞室节理围岩的裂隙扩展过程。同时通过对关键点位移的监测分析了锚杆的锚固效应。     

基于可靠度的边坡稳定性影响因素

基于可靠度理论,用Janbu Simplified法、Ordinary法、Spencer法、Morgenstern-Price法和BishopSimplified法5种极限平衡方法对集安市某金矿矿区设计尾矿坝边坡可靠性做了分析,综合考虑影响计算边坡可靠性的各个因素,设计了蒙特卡洛法模拟次数分别为500、1 000、2 500、5 000、10 000和20 000等6种计算工况,岩土参数的概率分布函数为对数正态分布、正态分布、贝塔分布、三角形分布、均匀分布和指数分布6种情况,岩土参数的相关系数为-1.0～1.0按0.1等幅变化的21种情况,水平地震加速度为0～0.1 g按0.02 g等幅递增加载的5种情况,降雨量从10 mm/d到50 mm/d,5 mm/d等幅变化的9种情况。研究发现:参数服从不同概率分布函数下,在各个计算方法下得到的安全系数和破坏概率均具有显著的差异;岩土参数间的相关性对安全系数的影响较小,但对破坏概率的计算会产生较大的误差;地震加速度对计算结果的影响较大;随着降雨量的增大,安全系数曲线迅速降低,呈近线性递减,而破坏概率曲线先平缓后陡升,呈非线性关系。     

Influence of damage on pore size distribution and permeability of rocks

The model proposed in this article relates permeability to porosity measurements that can easily be performed in the laboratory. The pore size distribution (PSD) curve is updated with strains and damage. The updated volumetric fractions of natural pores and cracks are introduced in the expression of permeability. Contrary to classical permeability models based on PSD integrations, the model proposed in this article accounts for possible changes in the porosity modes: one mode for undamaged samples and two modes for cracked samples. The proposed approach also accounts for varying states of damage, as opposed to classical fracture network models, in which the cracks pattern is fixed. The only material parameters that are required to describe the microstructure are the lower and upper bounds of the pores size for both natural pores and cracks. All the other PSD parameters involved in the model are related to macroscopic parameters that can easily be determined in the laboratory, such as the initial void ratio. The framework proposed in this article can be used in any damage constitutive model to determine the permeability of a brittle porous medium. Drained triaxial compression tests have been simulated. Before cracks initiation, permeability decreases while the larger natural pores are getting squeezed. After the occurrence of damage, permeability grows due to the increase of cracks density. The model performs well to represent the influence of the confining pressure on damage evolution and permeability variations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of sieving time on the efficiency and accuracy of grain‐size analysis of beach and dune sands

Grain size is a fundamental property of sediments and is commonly used to describe sedimentary facies and classify sedimentary environments. Among the various conventional techniques utilized to determine grain‐size frequency distributions, sieving is the most widely applied procedure. The accuracy of such analyses is, among other factors, strongly dependent on the sieving time. However, despite a substantial amount of research in this field, optimal sieving times for different types of sediments have, to date, not been established. In this article, the influence of sieving time on grain‐size analyses of medium‐grained microtidal and mesotidal beach and dune sands has been determined. To assess the precision of important textural parameters, such as median grain size, sorting, skewness and kurtosis, an error analysis was carried out for different sieving times (2, 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes). After calibrating the analytical and sampling methodologies, significant deviations were registered when sieving time was less than 10 minutes. However, such deviations were very small and grain‐size distributions remained almost identical for sieving times of 10 minutes and longer, relative errors being as low as 0% in some cases.     

Constraining sediment provenance for tsunami deposits using distributions of grain size and foraminifera from the Kujukuri coastline and shelf,Japan

Tsunami deposits preserved in the geological record provide a more comprehensive understanding of their patterns of frequency and intensity over longer timescales; but recognizing tsunami deposits can prove challenging due to post-depositional changes, lack of contrast between the deposits and surrounding sedimentary layers, and differentiating between tsunami and storm deposition. Modern baseline studies address these challenges by providing insight into modern spatial distributions that can be compared with palaeotsunami deposits. This study documents the spatial fingerprint of grain size and foraminifera from Hasunuma Beach and the Kujukuri shelf to provide a basis from which tsunami deposits can be interpreted. At Hasunuma Beach, approximately 50 km east of Tokyo, the spatial distribution of three common proxies (foraminiferal taxonomy, foraminiferal taphonomy and sediment grain size) for tsunami identification were mapped and clustered using Partitioning Around Medoids cluster analysis. Partitioning Around Medoids cluster analysis objectively discriminated two coastal zones corresponding to onshore and offshore sample locations. Results show that onshore samples are characterized by coarser grain sizes (medium to coarse sand) and higher abundances of Pararotalia nipponica (27 to 63%) than offshore samples, which are characterized by finer grain sizes (fine to medium sand), lower abundances of Pararotalia nipponica (2 to 19%) and Ammonia parkinsoniana (0 to 10%), higher abundances of planktonics (15 to 58%) and species with fragile tests including Uvigerinella glabra. When compared to grain-size and foraminiferal taxonomy, foraminiferal taphonomy; i.e. surface condition of foraminifera, a proxy not commonly used to identify tsunami deposits, was most effective in discriminating modern coastal zones (identified supratidal, intertidal and offshore environments) and determining sediment provenance for tsunami deposits at Kujukuri. This modern baseline study assists the interpretation of tsunami deposits in the geological record because it provides a basis for sediment provenance to be determined.     

The influence of grain-size analysis methods and sediment mixing on curve shapes and textural parameters: Implications for sediment trend analysis

To this day, deterministic physical models capable of explaining the evolution of grain-size distributions in the course of transport are still lacking. For this reason, various attributes of particle frequency distributions, in particular curve shapes and textural parameters, have for many decades been investigated for potential information about transport behaviour and size-sorting processes of sediments in numerous environments. Such approaches are essentially conceptual and hence rely heavily on the validity of the assumptions on which they are based. A factor which has to date been largely ignored in this context, is the fact that different methods of grain-size analysis (e. g. sieving, laser absorption and diffraction, settling velocity measurements), when applied to the same sample material, produce variable curve shapes, and hence incongruous textural data. This is illustrated by selected examples showing the differences between sieving and settling results, conversion of settling velocities into equivalent settling diameters (psi-phi-transformations), and the influences of particle shape, particle density, and water temperature. It is demonstrated that particle-size distributions are not only method-dependent but also dependent on the adopted post-processing procedure. As a result, only frequency curves generated by the same method and subsequently processed by identical computational procedures can be meaningfully compared. Furthermore, the computation of textural parameters from bi- or multimodal size distributions produces spurious results which are unrelated to the processes leading to the mixing of different size populations frequently observed in nature. In such cases, only the decomposition of such distributions into individual populations and the spatial comparison of such populations makes any sense. Because a physical explanation for the generation of size distributions is lacking, a particular curve shape of a grain-size population has no meaning on its own. Only a systematic comparison of progressively changing curve shapes (and associated textural parameters) of sediments collected on a closely spaced grid can yield data suitable for sediment trend analysis.     

颗粒级配和结构对粉砂力学性质的影响

分析了几组原状、重塑和配制土样的静三轴试验结果,认为颗粒级配和结构性是影响粉砂应力-应变关系和强度特性的两个主要因素。当颗粒级配不同时,结构性原状粉砂土样和不具有结构性的配制土的强度均不同。相同颗粒级配的原状和重塑粉砂的强度也不同。而颗粒级配稍有不同的一种配制粉砂与原状粉砂在应力-应变关系和强度特性方面相接近。此种配制粉砂可替代原状粉砂做为模型试验用土。     

经验参数m,s对岩体强度的影响

在研究Hoek-Brown经验强度准则过程中,不难发现,该准则将工程岩体在荷载作用下表现出来的复杂破坏,归结为拉伸和剪切破坏两种机制;将影响岩体强度的复杂因素,集中包含在准则引用的两个经验参数m(岩石软硬程度)、s(岩体破坏程度)之中。因而研究m,s两参数对岩体强度的影响,有较大的工程实用价值。本着从工程应用精度要求出发,侧重其m,s对岩体强度值计算精度的影响和规律进行了探讨和研究,指出了精确确定m,s值对岩体强度的应用与理论规律研究的重要性,同时也对工程正确应用该准则给予了启迪和帮助。