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Computing Effective Elastic Properties From Microtomographic Images: An Efficient 3D Digital Rock Workflow.

Ganguli, S. S., Foroughi, S., Bijeljic, B., & Blunt, M. J.(2026)

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH: SOLID EARTH

https://doi.org/10.1029/2026JB033780 

Understanding the mechanical behaviour of rocks under pressure is fundamental to the reliable management of subsurface resources and the assessment of geohazards. In this work, authors have developed a simulation workflow that uses high resolution 3D rock images to estimate how they respond to physical stress. While many current models.

Simplify rocks by assuming they are composed of a single dominant mineral, such as quartz, our approach considers the different minerals present in the rock's microstructure. The approach has been validated on two types of sedimentary rocks and found that ignoring specific mineral types and the detailed manner in which grains bind one another can lead to errors in predictions by as much as 36%. This workflow offers a non-destructive method for enhancing our understanding of the Earth's subsurface, which is crucial for safely storing CO2, exploring renewable energy sources, and mitigating the risk of ground deformation.

Fig: Estimated mean (a) bulk modulus and (b) shear modulus for the Bentheimer sandstone sample.

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