3D Digital Analysis of Cracking Behaviors of

Rocks through 3D Reconstruction Model

under Triaxial Compression
Zhi Zhao 1 and Xiao-Ping Zhou 2

Abstract: The cracking behaviors of rocks significantly affect their mechanical properties. In this paper, a digital analysis approach with
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X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) imagery is developed to investigate the cracking and mechanical behaviors of rocks. The damage ratio,
integrity, and porosity of rocks subjected to triaxial compression are firstly defined based on X-ray CT image and the pixel coordinate system.
Then, the evolution process of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) cracks are studied via 2D CT images and reconstructed 3D
fracture models, respectively. Finally, the stress–strain relationship of rocks is simulated by converting the reconstructed models to the finite-
element (FE) models. The results show that the rock damage ratio, integrity, and porosity are good factors to describe the cracking behaviors,
in which the evolution process of cracks is divided into five stages including: (1) the compaction of initial fissures; (2) the initiation and
propagation of microcracks; (3) microcracks coalescence, i.e., the formation and stable propagation of macrocracks; (4) the unstable propa-
gation of macrocracks; and (5) the complete failure of rock samples. The numerical stress–strain curves are in good agreement with the
experiment data. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0001822. © 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Author keywords: Digital rock X-ray computed tomography (CT) image; Damage ratio; 3D reconstruction; 2D and 3D crack evolution
process; Stress–strain relations.

Introduction sizes of pores and throats to create a topologically equivalent repre-

The nonnegligible fissures, cracks, and pore structures play signifi-
cant roles in the failure mechanism of rocks (Fu 2016; Su et al.
2017; Li et al. 2017a; Zhou et al. 2018b; Huang and Zhou
2020). Sandstone is the common building material, storage carriers
of coal seams, and transportation pathways of some oil-gas energy
sources. Thus, the study of cracking behaviors of sandstone is im-
portant and crucial. With the improvement of image technologies,
various studies on the characteristics, evolution process, and damage
mechanism of cracks emerge based on nuclear the magnetic reso-
nance (NMR) technique (Shao et al. 2017; Zhao et al. 2016), scan-
ning electron microscope (SEM) technique (Nie et al. 2015; He et al.
2016), fan tomography technique (Liu et al. 2017), unmanned aerial
vehicle (UAV) and objet-base imaging technique (Rau et al. 2017),
laser scanning survey (Valença et al. 2017), sonar image analysis
(Shi et al. 2017), and X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) technique
(Masaki et al. 2017; Mathews et al. 2017). The X-ray CT scanning
technique is widely used due to its advantages of nondestructive,
dynamic, and stable testing, and the ability to reconstruct the mi-
crostructure of sandstone. Øren and Bakke (2003) presented an
integrated method to evaluate the permeability, conductivity, and
capillary pressure of Berea sandstone based on the three-dimensional
(3D) reconstruction model obtained from two-dimensional (2D)
X-ray CT images. Al-Kharusi and Blunt (2007) proposed a novel
methodology to extract networks, which computes the location and
1
Ph.D. Candidate, School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing Univ.,
Chongqing 400045, China. Email: zzhao@cqu.edu.cn
2
Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing Univ., Chongqing
400045, China (corresponding author). Email: cqxpzhou@hotmail.com
Note. This manuscript was submitted on October 11, 2019; approved on
March 26, 2020; published online on June 11, 2020. Discussion period
open until November 11, 2020; separate discussions must be submitted
for individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Engineering
Mechanics, © ASCE, ISSN 0733-9399.
sentation of void space in sandstone and carbonate using X-ray
CT images. Ebrahimi et al. (2013) proposed a genetic-based pore
network extraction method based on microcomputed tomography
images, and several pore scale variables are used to optimize the ex-
tracted pore network. Sharqawy (2016) developed a nonlinear pro-
graming and optimization technique to construct the pore networks
based on CT images of Berea and Fontainebleau sandstones, which
are applied to conduct fluid transport simulations including single-
and two-phase flow. Li et al. (2017b) analyzed six natural water-wet
sandstone cores of different permeability and porosity visually and
quantitatively with the aid of CT scanning and image processing. Tao
and Zheng (2018) investigated the real-time damage characteristics
of hydrous sandstone by combing the acoustic emission (AE) and
CT imaging techniques. The previous studies indicate that X-ray
CT technique becomes a promising tool to investigate the inner mi-
crostructures of rocks.
In addition, the cracking behaviors significantly affect the me-
chanical properties of rocks. Thus, it is necessary and crucial to
investigate the cracking behaviors of rocks. Wang et al. (2003) de-
fined the crack interval and damage surface area based on the X-ray
CT slices and its 3D reconstructed model. Dyskin et al. (2003)
discussed the effect of shape and location of 3D cracks on their
growth. Elaqra et al. (2007) studied the damage mechanism and
crack failure process through the X-ray tomography. Nasseri et al.
(2011) measured the morphology of cracks and analyzed the frac-
ture damage zone in anisotropic granitic rocks using 3D X-ray CT
scanning techniques. Shiozawa et al. (2014) quantitatively evaluated
the shape of torsion fatigue cracks and investigated the transition of
crack propagation from the shear mode to the tensile mode from
the 3D perspective using X-ray imaging. Yang et al. (2015) explored
the mechanical behavior and internal damage mechanism of sand-
stone using X-ray CT technique and triaxial compression test. Zhou
et al. (2018a) investigated the evolution of fracture networks in coal
during loading using X-ray CT with a uniaxial compression facility.

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 However, these previous works almost focused on the failure pro-
cess of planar cracks, or only referring to the 3D surface cracks. A
few studies have reported the microstructural characteristics of rock
materials with crack and pore microstructures at microscale. Mean-
while, the spatial characteristics of 3D spatial cracks are not well
understood. In other words, the previous works mainly involved in
the single pore network or single fracture network, and few studies
have previously investigated the connected pore-fracture networks
at microscale in rock reservoirs (Jiang et al. 2017; Lai et al. 2018; Li
et al. 2018). In addition, the structural characterization of fracture
networks and their evolutionary behaviors are changed under differ-
ent states (Li et al. 2017c; Zhou et al. 2018a; Brewick et al. 2019).
In this paper, a digital analysis approach is developed based on
X-ray CT imaging and 3D reconstruction technology. On the basis
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of this approach, the characteristics and the evolution process of 2D
and 3D cracks with microstructures are discussed. The 3D micro-
structure model of region of interest (ROI) is converted to the FE
model to simulate the stress–strain relationship under confining
pressure of 10, 20, and 30 MPa.
Fig. 1. Rock stratum distribution of Xujiahe group (xj) in the
Mazongxiang mine region of Chongqing.
Table 1. Average physical parameters of sandstone
Scale (mm) γ (kN=m3 ) ϕ (%) KðmDÞ SSA (m2 =g)
Φ50 × 100 26.27 27.256 0.05 0.421
Note: γ = unit weight; ϕ = porosity; K = average permeability; and
SSA = specific surface area.
Fig. 2. Experiment devices: (a) mechanical loading system; (b) mechanical control system; (c) X-ray CT scanning system; and (d) Dicom image
process system. (Images by Zhi Zhao.)
© ASCE
J. Eng. Mech., 2020, 146(8): 04020084
Material and Methodology
Sample Collection and Description
The experiment materials used in this work are all taken from fine
sandstone stratum in Xujiahe group located in Mazongxiang mine
region of Chongqing, China, as shown in Fig. 1. It is an upper
Triassic sandstone stratum composed of Xishan, Luoguanshan,
and Xindianzi anticlines with a dip angle of 17°. In this work, three
samples with the dimension of Φ50 × 100 mm are polished and
prepared, as suggested by International Society of Rock Mechanics
(Hatheway 2009). According to the result of X-ray diffraction
(XRD), the main minerals are quartz (65.58%), feldspar (17.65%),
calcite (10.84%), and a small quantity of chlorite (4.32%) and
kaolinite (2.7%), respectively. The physical parameters (e.g., poros-
ity and air average permeability) are measured by an AP608 auto-
mated Permeameter-Porosimeter (CORETEST, Dallas, Texas), and
the average results are shown in Table 1.
Experiment Devices and Testing
In this work, a multifunction triaxial rock testing system (Rock
600-50 HT PLUS, GCTS Company, Tempe, Arizona) with a
SIEMENS-SOMATOM scope X-ray CT scanner (Shanghai Sie-
mens Medical Equipment, Shanghai, China) are employed to con-
duct the triaxial compression and X-ray CT scanning test. Figs. 2(a
and b) show the mechanical loading system and mechanical control
system of the Rock 600-50 HT PLUS. The axial loading velocity
is 0.01–10 kN=s, with a confining pressure loading velocity of
0.001–20 MPa=s. Figs. 2(c–d) show the composition architecture
of the X-ray CT scanner with a scanning time of 1,500 ms for a
single slice. The X-ray CT tests are divided into two levels.
One is the X-ray CT test at millimeter scale with a spatial resolution
of 0.35 × 0.35 mm and slice interval thickness of 0.75 mm. The
other is the X-ray CT test at micrometer scale with a spatial reso-
lution of 2 μm. The quality of image is influenced by the scanning
voltage and electricity, which are set as 130 kV and 81 μA in this
work, respectively.
The triaxial compression tests on sandstone samples C2–C4
under the confining stress of 10, 20, and 30 MPa are conducted to
obtain the complete stress-stain curves, respectively. Fig. 3 shows
sandstone samples C2–C4 before and after the triaxial compres-
sion test. In the X-ray CT test, sandstone samples C2–C4 are firstly
scanned before the triaxial compression test. Finally, the damaged
sandstone samples subjected to triaxial compression are scanned.
In this work, 158, 158, 158 slices, and 158, 158, 156 slices for intact
and damaged samples C2–C4 are obtained, respectively. The size of
each X-ray CT image is 512 × 512 pixels, and the ROI with a size of
141 × 141 pixels is cropped from the original image to save
04020084-2 J. Eng. Mech.
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Fig. 3. Intact and damaged sandstone samples C2–C4.

Fig. 4. Sketch maps of obtaining and cropping process of X-ray CT images: (a) sandstone sample; (b) CT slice; (c) 3D region of interest; and
(d) simplified 2D model.

computing time and memory space, which are then applied to study where I f represents the digital image; N = dimension of the re-
the evolution process of 3D cracks and simulate the stress-stain re- sampling scale of image; ∯ represents the resampling function;
lationship, as shown in Fig. 4. fbr ðx; yÞ = gray level before reconstruction; and Π denotes the
quantifying and reconstructing function.
Once all the location and amplitude values of pixels in an image
Digital Analysis Approach are discrete and constrained within a certain range, the original im-
age can be converted to digital image.
Digital X-Ray CT Image Fig. 5 shows the digitalization procedure of image. The most
advantage of digital image is that different objects have different
Usually, the obtained DICOM images from the X-ray CT scanner gray intensities, and can be distinguished from each other. Mean-
cannot be directly used for the image analysis by computers. Thus, while, the objects can be separated by threshold segmentation al-
an image digitalization preprocessing step is first applied to convert gorithm and reproduced by imagesec in image toolboxes.
the DICOM image to the common digital image (bmp) for image
analysis. A digital image is composed of a pixel matrix consisted of
a series of gray intensity values with coordinates. X-ray CT images Digital Image Processing
can be converted to digital images represented by a 2D function Considering an X-ray CT image of rocks while it is digitalized, the
of gray intensity values fðx; yÞ in the pixel coordinate system using expression of the image can be written as
image digitalization procedure. Image digitalization is the pro-
 
cess of resampling, quantifying, and reconstructing the coordinates  fð1; 1Þ fð1; 2Þ · · · fð1; NÞ 
 
and amplitude values of pixels in a DICOM image, which is ex-  
X
N −1 X
N −1  fð2; 1Þ fð2; 2Þ · · · fð2; 1Þ 
pressed as  
  If ¼ fðx; yÞ ¼ .. .. .. ..  ð2Þ
X
N −1 X
N −1  . . . . 
i¼1 j¼1  
If ¼ fðx; yÞ ¼ Π ∯ ½fbr ðx; yÞN×N ð1Þ  
 fðN; 1Þ fðN; 2Þ · · · fðN; NÞ 
i¼1 j¼1

© ASCE 04020084-3 J. Eng. Mech.

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 !
XC Þ
L−χðP
σ2T ðT 2 Þ ¼ arg wi ðui − uÞ ð4Þ
i¼0

where χðPC Þ denotes gray scale subsets of gray intensity values of

crack space.
As the pore space segmentation threshold T 2 is determined, the
gray intensity values of the digital pixels representing pores and
solid objects are, respectively, marked as 0 and 1, and the pore space
PP can be represented by the set of these digital pixels. Finally, the
crack, pores and solids objects can be segmented by the crack seg-
mentation threshold and pore segmentation threshold, which can be
expressed by
8
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> f ðx; yÞ ¼ NaN; fε½0; T 1  for cracks

Fig. 5. Digitalization procedure of image. < b
fb ðx; yÞ ¼ fb ðx; yÞ ¼ 0; fε½T 1 ; T 2  for pores ð5Þ
>
:
fb ðx; yÞ ¼ 1; fε½T 2 ; 255 for solids

where ½x; y = coordinate sets; and fðx; yÞ = gray intensity at loca-

where f b ðx; yÞ = binary value of digital pixel in X-ray CT image.
tion ðx; yÞ. Thus, each pixel has different discrete gray intensities,
Actually, to present the digital image intuitively and conven-
and represents different components of objects.
iently, the value of digital pixel in crack space is also considered
Sandstone is a kind of multiphase porous geo-material. In this
to be 0. Thus, the digital image can be expressed as
paper, the intact sandstone consists of solid objects phase and void
space phase containing crack and pore space. Because the original 8
> f ðx; yÞ ¼ NaN ¼ 0; fεPC
X-ray CT images (in DICOM format) of sandstone samples are X
N−1 X
N−1 < b
converted to the digital images, the digital image is considered If ¼ fðx; yÞ ¼ fb ðx; yÞ ¼ 0; fεPP
>
:
to be the dataset of gray intensity of each pixel in the digital image. i¼1 j¼1
fb ðx; yÞ ¼ 1; fεΩ − PC − PP
As a result, the solid objects and void space of the sandstone sample
are represented by different subsets of gray intensity values. Thus, ð6Þ
the solid objects and void space can be segmented by a given
threshold value. However, the segmentation of crack and pore space where Ω denotes the digital pixels of X-ray CT image.
is challengeable for Ostu’s image segmentation method (Otsu Thus, with the aid of other image-processing functions such
1979), because both cracks and pores are the structural components as the image denoising and image enhancement function, the final
of void space with adjacent but different ranges of gray intensities. image can be reproduced by imagesec in image toolboxes. Fig. 6
Therefore, to obtain the microstructure of pore-fracture networks, shows the whole flowchart of the digital image-processing pro-
a modified Ostu’s image segmentation method is proposed to seg- cedure. Figs. 7(a and d) show the original digital macroimages ob-
ment the crack, pore, and solid objects by calculating segmentation tained from the intact and damaged samples. Figs. 7(b and e) show
threshold value for cracks and pores. The modified segmentation the original digital microimages obtained from the intact and dam-
procedure is firstly conducted to separate the crack from pores and aged samples. Figs. 7(c and f) show the corresponding segmented
solid objects by pore space and crack-pore space image obtained by Eqs. (3)–(6).

!
X
L Definition of Pore Network Variables
σ2T ðT 1 Þ ¼ arg wi ðui − uÞ ð3Þ
i¼0
Once the digital images of rock X-ray CT images are segmented by
Eqs. (3)–(6), the digital pixel sets of crack and pore space for each
image can be obtained. On the basis of the pixel coordinate system,
where σ2T = maximum of the square deviations; L = gray scale sub- the digital pixel set for crack space and pore space can be written as
sets of gray intensity values of digital image; wi and ui = probability
and average grayscale of each grayscale subset divided by the op- PC ¼ fλðx; yÞjλðx; yÞεΩg
timal crack segmentation threshold T 1 , respectively; u = total aver-
PP ¼ fλ̄ðx; yÞjλ̄ðx; yÞεΩg ð7Þ
age grayscale; and arg represents the searching function of the
maximum.
For the determination of the crack segmentation threshold, the where PC , PP , and Ω = digital pixel sets for crack space, pores
P space, and the image, respectively.
probability wi ¼ ðGS < T i Þ=M (GS is the grayscale and M is the
Thus, the whole void space set can be represented by P ¼
level of grayscale) and average grayscale ui ¼ meanðGS < T i Þ for
PP þ PC , as shown in Fig. 7(d). According to the digital image-
the divided section are first computed. Then, the crack the crack
processing principles (phase segmentation) and the definition of
segmentation threshold T 1 is determined by solving Eq. (3). Once
porosity (pore phase ratio), the damage ratio, integrity, and porosity
the crack segmentation threshold T 1 is determined, the gray inten-
based on the digital image-processing technology can be respec-
sity values of the digital pixels representing crack are marked as
tively written as (Fang et al. 2015; Zhao et al. 2020)
NaN, and the crack space PC can be represented by the set of these
digital pixels. Then, after the crack space set PC is excluded, the P P
PC ½ΓðλÞ Γ½λðx; yÞjλðx; yÞεΩ
segmentation procedure is also implemented to segment the pores DS ¼ P ð1 − ηÞ ¼ P ð1 − ηÞ ð8Þ
ΩðΓÞ Γ½ðx; yÞjx; yεΩ
and solid objects by

© ASCE 04020084-4 J. Eng. Mech.

J. Eng. Mech., 2020, 146(8): 04020084

 P P
P1 − P 2 j P1 ½nðλ̄ þ λÞ − P2 ½nðλ̄ þ λÞj
η¼ ¼ P ð11Þ
P1 P1 ½nðλ̄ þ λÞ

where P1 and P2 = digital pixel sets before and after the sandstone
specimen is damaged.
Based on the definition of the void space, the void ratio can be
expressed by
P P
½Γðλ̄ þ λÞ Γ½ðλ̄ðx; yÞ þ λðx; yÞjðλ̄ðx; yÞ þ λðx; yÞεΩ
η¼ P ¼ P
ΩðΓÞ Γ½ðx; yÞjx; yεΩ
ð12Þ
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where DV = void ratio of sandstone. Based on these pore network

variances, the characteristics of 2D crack can be described in detail.

Digital 3D Reconstruction Approach

3D reconstruction technology is a fine tool to represent the micro-
structure of material intuitively. Usually, 3D reconstruction meth-
ods can be simply classified into surface reconstruction methods
and volume reconstruction methods. Surface reconstruction meth-
ods have a small amount of computation and high reconstruction
speed, although they lose some spatial information for microstruc-
tures. A reliable reconstruction model can be obtained by volume
reconstruction methods with complete detail information. However,
it is limited to higher hardware demands and slower reconstruction
speed. The splatting reconstruction method (Westover 1990), be-
longing to volume reconstruction methods, has the advantages of
Fig. 6. Flowchart of digital image processing. high reconstruction speed, fast searching for pixel information,
lower memory requirements, and progressive display of a 3D recon-
struction model, which is modified to reconstruct the 3D models
based on the digital X-ray CT images of sandstone.
P Considering a sandstone specimen, its volumetric data consists
P ½ΓðλÞ
DI ¼ 1 −PC ð1 − ηÞ ~ and D
of a discrete 3D dataset of digital voxels: FðDÞ, ~ i, D
~ j , and D
~k
ΩðΓÞ
P ~
are the coordinate components of digital voxel D in the x, y, z di-
Γ½λðx; yÞjλðx; yÞεΩ
¼1− P ð1 − ηÞ ð9Þ rection, respectively. As the reconstruction procedure is imple-
Γ½ðx; yÞjx; yεΩ
mented, the discrete data set of digital voxels are converted to the
vector dataset, which can be expressed by
P P X
PP ½Γðλ̄Þ Γ½λ̄ðx; yÞjλ̄ðx; yÞεΩ SD~ ðx; y; zÞ ¼ ~ i; y − D
HP ðx − D ~ j; z − D
~ k ÞFðDÞ
~ ð13Þ
DP ¼ P ¼ P ð10Þ
ΩðΓÞ Γ½ðx; yÞjx; yεΩ ~
Dϵpok

where DS , DI , and DP = damage ratio, integrity, and the porosity, where SD~ ðx; y; zÞ = vector data set of digital voxels; and pok =
respectively; Γ = counter of digital pixel; and η = correction factor, set of digital voxels within the nonzero kernel Hp , which is modi-
which is expressed as fied as

Fig. 7. Digital image-processing results: (a) original macroimage for intact image; (b) original microimage for intact sample; (c) segmented image for
intact sample; (d) original macroimage for damaged image; (e) original micromage for damaged sample; and (f) segmented image for damaged
sample.

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 qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi Z
X ~ −1 =2 × Fϑ ðDÞ ~ −1 =2 X
N2 ∞
F1 ðDÞ PRD ¼ ~ nÞ
FðD ~ nx ; y − D
HP ðx − D ~ nz ; z − D
~ nz ÞdR ð17Þ
~ Fϑ ðDÞ
HP ½F1 ðDÞ; ~ ¼ ð14Þ
~ 1=4 ~ 1=4 −∞
ϑ F1 ðDÞ × Fϑ ðDÞ n¼1

where Fϑ ðDÞ ~ denotes the neighbor voxel toward the direction of where PRD denotes the collected discrete data set of 3D digital
ϑ ¼ 0, 45, 90, and 135 in each XOY, XOZ, and YOZ plane. voxel.
While a digital voxel is crossed through by a ray beam (R), and Thus, based on this modified method, the reconstructed 3D mod-
projected to the vector data field, the contribution of the single sam- els with good qualities [compared with the failed sandstone samples
pling voxel D ~ to the ray at point x, y, z can be written as in Figs. 3(b, d, and f), respectively] are obtained, from which the
Z ∞ reliable and accurate 3D data can be extracted by Eq. (17).
~ x; y − D
~ y; z − D
~ z ÞFðDÞdR
~ Figs. 8(a–c) show the 3D real models of samples C2–C4.
Ssingle ðx; y; zÞ ¼ HP ðx − D ð15Þ
−∞ Figs. 8(d–f) show the 3D microstructure models with cracks and
pores. Obviously, the 3D microstructure models with crack and
~ is a constant. Thus, along
Apparently, the integral term FðDÞ pores are almost the same as the real models and the original sam-
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with the z axis direction of the ray, Eq. (13) is modified as ples shown in Fig. 3, and display the intuitive microstructures of
Z ∞ cracks and pores in sandstone. It is easy to find that the failure mode
~
Ssingle ðx; yÞ ¼ FðDÞ ~ x; y − D
HP ðx − D ~ y ; zÞdz ¼ FðDÞ
~  Ssplat of all specimens is shear failure. The failure surfaces have slight
−∞ differences with each other, the sample C2 is failed by the approxi-
ð16Þ mate half cross-shaped cracks, and samples C3–C4 are failed by the
oblique shear crack with different angles. Therefore, the evolution
where Ssplat ðx; yÞ ¼ ∫ ∞
−∞ H P ðx; y; zÞdz = weight value of a single process of 3D cracks in microscale can be investigated by analyz-
pixel contributed to the projection ray; and x, y = given location of ing the microstructures using the ReMESH method (Attene and
sampling pixel from the center of the pixel’s image plane projection Falcidieno 2006). Moreover, this microstructure models are con-
in shadow area. verted to the FE models to simulate the stress–strain relations in
Considering a digital image of X-ray CT image with a size of microscale. Fig. 9 shows the mesh model of first digital image from
N × N, once all the digital voxels are crossed through by the ray, the sample C3. The mesh segmentation threshold is set as 0.7 for
and projected on the digital image plane (Fig. 5), the projection of pore space matrix [Fig. 9(a)], and 0.1 for solid matrix [Fig. 9(b)].
this digital image can be written as The size of each triangular patch and its maximal volume are 5 μm

Fig. 8. Reconstructed failed sandstone samples C2–C4: (a) 3D reconstructed macro-models for C2; (b) 3D reconstructed macro-models for C3;
(c) 3D reconstructed macro-models for C4; (d) 3D reconstructed micro-models for C2; (e) 3D reconstructed micro-models for C3; and
(f) 3D reconstructed micro-models for C4.

Fig. 9. 3D mesh model reconstructed from X-ray CT images of intact sandstone sample C3 with a scale of 2562 × 40 pixels: (a) 3D reconstructed
micromodel for solid objects (2562 × 40); and (b) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore space (2562 × 40).

© ASCE 04020084-6 J. Eng. Mech.

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Fig. 10. Porosity distribution curves of sandstone samples C2–C4 and the histogram of damage ratio-void ratio-porosity of typical X-ray CT slices:
(a) porosity for sample C2; (b) porosity for sample C3; (c) porosity for sample C4; and (d) damage ratio, void ratio, and porosity from typical stage for
sample C2–C4.
and 50 μm3 for pore space and 2 μm and 10 μm3 for solid objects,
respectively.
Results and Discussions
Evolution Process of 2D Cracks
Digital X-ray CT image of rocks is not only applicable to show
the different components, but also to show the microstructures.
Pore network variables have significant effect on the physical and
mechanical characteristics. In this subsection, pore network varia-
bles of damaged sandstone samples C2–C4 are calculated by
Eqs. (8)–(12). In addition, the evolution process of 2D cracks is
discussed based on the integrity of intact X-ray CT images and their
corresponding ROIs.
Fig. 10 shows the distribution curves of porosity obtained from
sandstone samples C2–C4 and the histogram of damage ratio-void
ratio-porosity of typical X-ray CT slices in different damage stages.
Figs. 10(a–c) show the porosity distribution of X-ray CT slices
in the range of 22.018%–31.917% with the average value of
26.548% for the sample C2, 22.018%–31.917% with the average
value of 27.348% for the sample C3, and 21.957%–32.858% with
the average value of 27.032% for the sample C4, respectively.
Fig. 10(d) shows the histogram of damage ratio-void ratio-porosity
of the typical X-ray CT slices during the failure process of sand-
stone samples C2–C4, and the corresponding data is listed in
Table 2. The errors of the porosity before and after the failure
© ASCE
J. Eng. Mech., 2020, 146(8): 04020084
process of rock are in the range of 0.41‰–8.98‰, which is a rea-
sonable error range. Meanwhile, the estimated porosity distributions
of sandstone samples C2–C4 are almost the same, which agrees well
with the experimental value of 27.256 (Table 1). Therefore, it can be
concluded that the proposed digital analysis method is feasible and
reliable to investigate the damage ratio, integrity, and porosity of
porous geo-materials.
Except for the porosity, the distribution of integrity or damage
ratio is also discussed. The statistics of the integrity from samples
C2–C4 subjected to the confining pressure of 10, 20, and 30 MPa
indicate that the failure process of sandstone samples shares ap-
proximately the same characteristics, and the integrity distribution
curves are corresponding with the complete failure process of sand-
stone. Meanwhile, the evolution processes of cracks in the whole
samples and corresponding cropped ROIs are similar to each other.
The complete failure processes of sandstone samples C2–C4 are
classified into five stages based on the integrity (Fig. 11), and are
concluded as follows:
1. The first stage (I) is the compaction of initial fissures (OA). The
initial fissures in sandstone samples are compressed and closed
under axial stress. No apparent damage characteristics are ob-
served. The integrity of sandstone samples almost is 1.
2. The second stage (II) is the initiation and propagation of mi-
crocracks (AB). With the increase of axial stress, microcracks
initiate and propagate. The integrity decreases gradually. The
tendency and descent rate of integrity from RIOs of samples
C2–C4 are nearly the same as those from the whole samples.
However, compared to the whole samples, the tendency and
04020084-7 J. Eng. Mech.
 Table 2. Quantitative parameters for typical X-ray CT images of sandstone samples C2–C4
Categories Phase Sequence number Damage ratio (%) Void ratio (%) Porosity (%) Error (‰) Triangle patch Joint number
C2 I 23 0 23.696 23.648 2.03 80,986 55,057
II 84 6.78 32.040 25.342 3.25 80,806 54,466
III 106 8.21 35.847 27.681 1.59 80,840 88,456
IV 121 4.86 31.432 26.650 2.93 80,972 55,019
V 132 3.13 35.020 31.903 0.41 80,926 56,821
C3 I 23 0 29.694 29.635 1.99 80,234 55,312
II 74 4.80 34.052 29.289 1.25 80,232 54,670
III 90 5.59 36.438 30.903 1.78 80,142 54,506
IV 106 5.73 29.114 23.443 2.52 80,296 54,466
V 122 7.70 34.671 27.050 2.91 80,246 54,977
C4 I 25 0 29.014 28.963 1.76 80,164 55,330
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II 76 8.58 27.679 21.957 5.83 80,376 55,005

III 86 6.71 28.931 22.322 4.54 80,240 53,839
IV 105 6.39 35.127 28.821 8.98 80,130 53,902
V 120 3.04 33.469 30.498 2.26 80,222 54,926

Fig. 11. Integrity distribution and failure process of samples C2–C4: (a) integrity and failure process of intact sample C2; (b) integrity and failure
process of intact sample C3; (c) integrity and failure process of intact sample C4; (d) integrity and failure process of ROI for sample C2; (e) integrity
and failure process of ROI for sample C3; and (f) integrity and failure process of ROI for sample C4.

descent rate of integrity from RIOs show better agreement with
each other.
3. The third stage (II) is microcracks coalescence, i.e., the formation
and stable propagation of macrocracks (BC). As the successive
increase of axial stress and microcracks coalesce, macrocracks
form and propagate in a stable way. The integrities for the whole
samples of C2–C4 almost remain constant, which implies the
stable propagation of macrocracks. However, the integrities for
RIOs fluctuate slightly, which might be caused by the incom-
plete cutting of the cropped RIO. The tendency of integrities
from RIOs is still approximately similar to that from the whole
samples.
4. The fourth stage (IV) is unstable propagation of macrocracks
(CD). At this stage, the macroscopic cracks gradually propagate
in an unstable way. The tendency of the integrities for the whole
samples and RIOs are nearly the same. The integrity decreases
gradually and fluctuates sharply with increasing axial stress.
It might be caused by unstable propagation of macrocracks.
5. The fifth stage (V) is the failure of rocks (DE). At the final stage
of the evolution process of cracks, the integrities for the whole
samples and RIOs fluctuates sharply due to unstable propaga-
tion of macrocracks, leading to the complete failure of rocks.
In total, the RIOs can be applied to replace the whole samples to
discuss the characteristics and evolution process of cracks.

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J. Eng. Mech., 2020, 146(8): 04020084

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by University of Exeter on 06/16/20. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 12. Microstructures with pores and cracks of samples C2–C4 at the typical I-V stages: (a) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore-
fracture (2562 × 40) C2-I; (b) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore-fracture (2562 × 40) C3-I; (c) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore-fracture
(2562 × 40) C4-I; (d) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore-fracture (2562 × 40) C2-II; (e) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore-
fracture (2562 × 40) C3-II; (f) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore-fracture (2562 × 40) C4-II; (g) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore-
fracture (2562 × 40) C2-III; (h) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore-fracture (2562 × 40) C3-III; (i) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore-fracture
(2562 × 40) C4-III; (j) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore-fracture (2562 × 40) C2-IV; (k) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore-
fracture (2562 × 40) C3-IV; (l) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore-fracture (2562 × 40) C4-IV; (m) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore-fracture
(2562 × 40) C2-V; (n) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore-fracture (2562 × 40) C3-V; and (o) 3D reconstructed micromodel for pore-fracture
(2562 × 40) C4-V.

Characterizations of 3D Cracks at Microscale
To investigate the characteristics of 3D cracks in microscale, the
RIOs with a size of 141 × 141 pixels for sandstone samples C2–C4
are cropped. The corresponding microstructures with cracks and
pores are reconstructed using the proposed digital analysis ap-
proach. Fig. 12 shows the microstructures with cracks and pores
from each stage of the failure process of sandstone samples C2–C4
under the confining pressure of 10, 20, and 30 MPa.
Initially, the initial fissures in sandstone samples C2–C4 are
compressed and closed. No apparent damage characteristics are ob-
served, as shown in Figs. 12(a–c).
Then, primary microcracks, such as symmetrical double shell
cracks in sample C2, oblique cracks with the small dip angle in
sample C3, and oblique cracks with the large dip angle in sample
C4, initiate and propagate, as shown in Figs. 12(d–f). With the in-
crease of the axial stress, primary microcracks coalesce to form

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J. Eng. Mech., 2020, 146(8): 04020084

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Fig. 13. Cloud maps of samples C2–C4 at the typical I-V stage: (a) cloud map for sample C2 in stage I; (b) cloud map for sample C3 in stage I;
(c) cloud map for sample C4 in stage I; (d) cloud map for sample C2 in stage II; (e) cloud map for sample C3 in stage II; (f) cloud map for sample C4 in
stage II; (g) cloud map for sample C2 in stage III; (h) cloud map for sample C3 in stage III; (i) cloud map for sample C4 in stage III; (j) cloud map for
sample C2 in stage IV; (k) cloud map for sample C3 in stage IV; (l) cloud map for sample C4 in stage IV; (m) cloud map for sample C2 in stage V;
(n) cloud map for sample C3 in stage V; and (o) cloud map for sample C4 in stage V.

© ASCE 04020084-10 J. Eng. Mech.

J. Eng. Mech., 2020, 146(8): 04020084

 macrocracks, and macrocracks propagate in a stable way as in sand-
stone samples C2–C4, as shown in Figs. 12(g–i).
As the axial stress continues to increase, macrocracks propa-
gate gradually in an unstable way. Meanwhile, secondary cracks are
initiated from tips of macrocracks in sandstone samples C2–C4,
as shown in Figs. 12(j–l). Finally, macrocracks propagate to boun-
dary of samples, leading to the failure of the samples, as shown in
Figs. 12(m–o).
Point Cloud Characterization of 3D Cracks
To show the propagation process of secondary cracks intuitively,
the failure process of sandstone samples C2–C4 is reproduced
by the extracted 3D data obtained from Eq. (17). To discuss the
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characteristics and evolution process of 3D cracks, the typical point
cloud maps are extracted at each stage.
Fig. 13 shows point cloud maps of sandstone samples C2–C4
subjected to confining pressures of 10, 20, and 30 MPa at each
stage. Based on these point cloud maps, the characteristics and evo-
lution process of 3D cracks are illustrated, and the propagation pro-
cess of secondary cracks in each sample is shown intuitively and
well interpreted.
At first, the initial fissures and pores are gradually compressed
and closed, and point cloud maps are uniform, which implies no
damage in samples, as shown in Figs. 13(a–c). Then, primary mi-
crocracks, such as the symmetrical double shell cracks in sample
C2, the oblique cracks with the small dip angle in sample C3, and
the oblique cracks with the large dip angle in the C4, are initiated
from the edge of samples and propagate along the direction of axial
stress. Point cloud maps in primary microcrack zone are nonuni-
form, as shown in Figs. 13(d–f).
With the increase of axial stress, primary microcracks coalesce
to form macrocracks, and macrocracks propagate in a stable way in
sandstone samples C2–C4. Point cloud maps in macrocrack zones
are nonuniform, as shown in Figs. 13(g–i).
With the successive increase of the axial stress, macrocracks
propagate toward the boundary of samples in an unstable way.
Meanwhile, secondary cracks initiate and propagate. At this stage,
there are obvious different characteristics of the 3D cracks in these
samples. In sandstone sample C2, the secondary cracks propagate
and coalesce with the symmetrical double shell cracks. In sandstone
sample C3, the secondary cracks with a small inclination angle
initiate from the upper edge of macrocracks, and propagate along
the direction of macrocracks. In sandstone sample C4, two secon-
dary cracks initiates from the upper and lower edge of macrocracks,
and propagate toward the boundary of the sample, as shown in
Figs. 13(j–l).
Finally, macrocracks propagate to boundary of samples, leading
to the complete failure of the samples, and point cloud maps in the
failure zones are incomplete, as shown in Figs. 13(m–o).
Stress–Strain Curves
At the ROI measurement scale, the 3D microstructures of sandstone
are employed to simulate stress–strain curves using ABAQUS with
the Mohr-Coulomb strength criterion (Hackston and Rutter 2016),
in which the 3D microstructures are exported as the STL files to be
imported into ABAQUS.
In this paper, the 3D microstructures models (141 × 141 ×
40 pixels) are converted to the FE models to obtain the stress–strain
curves, and the details can be seen in our previous works (Zhou and
Xiao 2019; Zhao and Zhou 2019). The mechanical parameters used
to simulate stress-stain curves are listed in Table 3. The loading
conditions to simulate the triaxial compression are determined as
© ASCE 04020084-11
J. Eng. Mech., 2020, 146(8): 04020084
Table 3. Mechanical parameters for the stress-stain simulation
Density Young’s modulus
Categories (g=cm3 ) (GPa) Poisson ratio
C2 2.376 17.663 0.174
C3 2.375 19.543 0.183
C4 2.451 20.719 0.179
Fig. 14. Representation of (a) 3D real microstructure model; and
(b) 3D mechanical reference mesh model.
follows: (1) the displacement and confining pressure are loaded on
the rigid plate; (2) the bottom rigid plate is fixed, and remains stable
without displacement and rotations along all directions; and (3) the
top rigid plate is fixed in the X-Y plane with free Z-axis, and it is
loaded in displacement control way along the Z-axis direction.
Fig. 14 shows the 3D real microstructure model and its corre-
sponding reference FE model to sumulate the stess-stain curves.
Fig. 15 shows the numerical results of the stress–strain curves
under confining pressures of 10, 20, and 30 MPa. The numer-
ical stress–strain curves are compared with the experimental
stress–strain curves. Obviously, the correlation coefficients be-
tween the experimental and numerical results in sandstone samples
C2–C4 are respectively 0.98864, 0.94238, and 0.97570, as shown
in Table 4. This implies that the numerical stress-stain curves
of sandstone samples C2–C4 are in good agreement with the
experimental stress-stain curves of sandstone samples C2–C4.
However, the experimental peak strength (144.295, 170.548, and
198.315 MPa) is slightly smaller than the numerical peak strength
in sandstone samples C2–C4 (144.89, 170.568, and 199.409 MPa).
Therefore, this is remarkable evidence for the reliability and accu-
racy of the proposed digital 461 analysis approach.
Summaries and Conclusions
In this work, X-ray CT scanning tests and digital analysis tech-
niques combined with the 3D reconstruction method are applied
to study the cracking behaviors and mechanical properties during
the failure process of sandstone sample subjected to triaxial com-
pression tests with the confining pressures of 10, 20, and 30 MPa.
The main conclusions are drawn as follows.
The damage ratio, integrity, and porosity are defined to describe
the characteristics of cracks based on the X-ray CT images. Based
on these variables and the microstructure variation of sandstone
samples, their cracking process is well studied and is divided into
five stages including: (1) the compaction of initial fissure; (2) the
initiation and propagation of microcracks; (3) microcracks coales-
cence, i.e., the formation and stable propagation of macrocracks;
J. Eng. Mech.
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Fig. 15. Comparison analysis of the numerical and experimental stress–strain relationships (a, c, and e) stress–strain curve for C2–C4; and
(b, d, and f) cloud map of stress for C2–C4.

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J. Eng. Mech., 2020, 146(8): 04020084

 Table 4. Comparison of the numerical and experimental maximum triaxial
compression stress
ETCS MTCS Correlation
Categories (MPa) (MPa) coefficient
C2 144.295 145.89 0.98864
C3 170.548 170.568 0.94238
C4 199.315 199.409 0.9757
(4) the unstable propagation of macrocracks; and (5) the failure of
rock samples.
Based on the digital analysis and 3D reconstruction algorithm,
3D real microstructural models can be obtained and can be applied
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to understand the microstructural characteristics and evolution
process of 3D cracks as well as the mechanical properties of sand-
stone samples. In addition, the numerical stress–strain curves are
in good agreement with the experimental stress–strain curves for
the sandstone samples, which implies the accuracy of the proposed
method.
In future work, the generated pore-crack microstructure mesh
models would be applied to numerically study the hydraulic prop-
erties and transport properties of rock reservoirs, which are helpful
to oil resource and shale-gas exploration in energy engineering.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all datasets and codes for this paper can be obtained by
contacting the corresponding author Xiao-Ping Zhou upon reason-
able request.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation
of China (Grant Nos. 51839009 and 51679017).
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