<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

X-ray computed tomography (CT) can reveal internal, three-dimensional details of objects in a non-destructive way and provide high-resolution, quantitative data in the form of CT numbers. The sensitivity of the CT number to changes in material density means that it may be used to identify lithology changes within cores of sedimentary rocks. The present pilot study confirms the use of Representative Elementary Volume (REV) to quantify inhomogeneity of CT densities of rock constituents of the Boda Claystone Formation. Thirty-two layers, 2 m core length, of this formation were studied. Based on the dominant rock-forming constituent, two rock types could be defined, i.e., clayey siltstone (20 layers) and fine siltstone (12 layers). Eleven of these layers (clayey siltstone and fine siltstone) showed sedimentary features such as, convolute laminations, desiccation cracks, cross-laminations and cracks. The application of the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Averages, Statistical Process Control (ARIMA SPC) method to define Representative Elementary Volume (REV) of CT densities (Hounsfield unit values) affirmed the following results: i) the highest REV values corresponded to the presence of sedimentary structures or high ratios of siltstone constituents (> 60%). ii) the REV average of the clayey siltstone was (5.86 cm3) and (6.54 cm3) of the fine siltstone. iii) normalised REV percentages of the clayey siltstone and fine siltstone, on the scale of the core volume studied were 19.88% and 22.84%; respectively. iv) whenever the corresponding layer did not reveal any sedimentary structure, the normalised REV values would be below 10%. The internal void space in layers with sedimentary features might explain the marked textural heterogeneity and elevated REV values. The drying process of the core sample might also have played a significant role in increasing erroneous pore proportions by volume reducation of clay minerals, particularly within sedimentary structures, where authigenic clay and carbonate cement were presumed to be dominant.
</abstract>

X-ray computed tomography (CT) can reveal internal, three-dimensional details of objects in a non-destructive way and provide high-resolution, quantitative data in the form of CT numbers. The sensitivity of the CT number to changes in material density means that it may be used to identify lithology changes within cores of sedimentary rocks. The present pilot study confirms the use of Representative Elementary Volume (REV) to quantify inhomogeneity of CT densities of rock constituents of the Boda Claystone Formation. Thirty-two layers, 2 m core length, of this formation were studied. Based on the dominant rock-forming constituent, two rock types could be defined, i.e., clayey siltstone (20 layers) and fine siltstone (12 layers). Eleven of these layers (clayey siltstone and fine siltstone) showed sedimentary features such as, convolute laminations, desiccation cracks, cross-laminations and cracks. The application of the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Averages, Statistical Process Control (ARIMA SPC) method to define Representative Elementary Volume (REV) of CT densities (Hounsfield unit values) affirmed the following results: i) the highest REV values corresponded to the presence of sedimentary structures or high ratios of siltstone constituents (> 60%). ii) the REV average of the clayey siltstone was (5.86 cm3) and (6.54 cm3) of the fine siltstone. iii) normalised REV percentages of the clayey siltstone and fine siltstone, on the scale of the core volume studied were 19.88% and 22.84%; respectively. iv) whenever the corresponding layer did not reveal any sedimentary structure, the normalised REV values would be below 10%. The internal void space in layers with sedimentary features might explain the marked textural heterogeneity and elevated REV values. The drying process of the core sample might also have played a significant role in increasing erroneous pore proportions by volume reducation of clay minerals, particularly within sedimentary structures, where authigenic clay and carbonate cement were presumed to be dominant.

Assessing the representative elementary volume of rock types by X-ray computed tomography (CT) – a simple approach to demonstrate the heterogeneity of the Boda Claystone Formation in Hungary

Geologos

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

X-ray computed tomography (CT) can reveal internal, three-dimensional details of objects in a non-destructive way and provide high-resolution, quantitative...

Assessing the representative elementary volume of rock types by X-ray computed tomography (CT) – a simple approach to demonstrate the heterogeneity of the Boda Claystone Formation in Hungary

Published Online: Dec 30, 2021

Page range: 157 - 172

Received: Aug 15, 2021

Accepted: Oct 28, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/logos-2021-0018

Keywords
Hounsfield Unit (HU), Autoregressive Integrated Moving Averages (ARIMA), Statistical Process Control (SPC) technique

© 2021 Saja M. Abutaha et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Assessing the representative elementary volume of rock types by X-ray computed tomography (CT) – a simple approach to demonstrate the heterogeneity of the Boda Claystone Formation in Hungary

Published Online: Dec 30, 2021

Page range: 157 - 172

Received: Aug 15, 2021

Accepted: Oct 28, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/logos-2021-0018

KeywordsHounsfield Unit (HU), Autoregressive Integrated Moving Averages (ARIMA), Statistical Process Control (SPC) technique

© 2021 Saja M. Abutaha et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Hounsfield Unit (HU), Autoregressive Integrated Moving Averages (ARIMA), Statistical Process Control (SPC) technique