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Smart Estimation of Sandstones Mechanical Properties Based on Thin Section Image Processing Techniques

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Abstract

Rock strength parameters such as uniaxial compressive strength and modulus of elasticity are crucial parameters in designing rock engineering structures. Owing to the importance of the aforementioned parameters, in this paper, image processing technique is coupled with artificial neural network (ANN) method for assessing the uniaxial compressive strength and modulus of elasticity of sandstones. For this reason, 102 core sandstone samples were prepared. Subsequently petrographic analyses and imaging operation for 102 images were performed. Principal component analysis was then conducted for feature reduction purposes. At last, an ANN model, which received its input data from image processing technique, was constructed for assessing the UCS and E of sandstone samples. Overall, the best performance of the network was obtained when 10 hidden nodes were used. The correlation coefficient (R) values of 0.9722 and 0.97062 for UCS and E, respectively, suggest the feasibility of the proposed model.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Lorestan University for their support and resources provided during the completion of this research project and the subsequent publication of this paper.

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This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical Engineering of Biosystems Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Korramabad, Iran

    Amin Taheri-Garavand

  2. Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, Lorestan University, Korramabad, Iran

    Yasin Abdi

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Lorestan University, Korramabad, Iran

    Ehsan Momeni

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  1. Amin Taheri-Garavand
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  2. Yasin Abdi
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  3. Ehsan Momeni
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Contributions

AT-G carried out the image analysis and ANN model, YA wrote the materials and methods, AT-G. Y-A and EM wrote the main manuscript text and prepared figures. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yasin Abdi.

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Taheri-Garavand, A., Abdi, Y. & Momeni, E. Smart Estimation of Sandstones Mechanical Properties Based on Thin Section Image Processing Techniques. J Nondestruct Eval 43, 42 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-024-01056-x

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