A method to measure pores and fissures in geologic materials under S.E.M. by digital image processing

Abstract

INTRODUCTION.- The physical properties of rock masses are greatly influenced by their internal discontinuities, like pores and fissures. So, these need to be measured as a basis for interpretation. To avoid the basic difficulties of measurement under optical microscopy and analogic image systems, the authors use S.E.M. and multiband digital image processing. In S.E.M., analog signal processing has been used to further image enhancement (1), but automatic information extraction can be achieved by simple digital processing of S.E.M. images (2). The use of multiband image would overcome difficulties such as artifacts introduced by the relative positions of sample and detector or the typicals encountered in optical microscopy.DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING.- The studied rock specimens were in the form of flat deformation-free surfaces observed under a Phillips SEM model 500. The SEM detector output signal was recorded in picture form in b&w negatives and digitized using a Perkin Elmer 1010 MP flat microdensitometer.