Abstract
The microscopic texture of a sedimentary rock vitally affects its mechanical, electrical, and fluid dynamic properties. Use of the autocorrelation function, or its Fourier dual the power spectral density function, has been suggested for texture description (Davis and Preston, 1972; Haralick, 1979; Matheron, 1967).A discussion is presented herein of the theoretical appropriateness of the autocorrelation function for rock physics texture modeling. Autocorrelograms are examined for digitized images of Berea sandstone, Whitestone limestone, a composite of glass beads, and various test patterns. Porosity and anisotropy are determined from the autocorrelograms, and noise effects seem negligible. Details about packing or distributions of sizes and shapes in granular mixtures are obtainable from the autocorrelograms.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bendat, J. and Piersol, A., 1971, Random data: analysis and measurement procedures: New York, Wiley.
Davis, J. and Preston, F., 1972, Optical processing: an alternative to digital computing: Geological Society of Americal Special Paper 146, p. 49–68.
Davis, J. and Preston, F., 1976, Sedimentary porous materials as a realization of a stochastic process,in Merriam, D. F. (Ed.), Random processes in geology. New York/Germany, Springer-Verlag, p. 63–86.
Dehoff, R. and Rhines, F., 1968, Quantitative microscopy: New York, McGraw-Hill.
Daveney, and Levine, ., 1980.
Ehrlich, R. and Weinberg, B., 1970, An exact method for characterization of grain shape: J. Sed. Petr., vol. 40, p. 205–212.
Ehrlich, R., Brown, P., Yarus, J., and Przygocki, R., 1980, The origin of shape frequency distributions and the relationship between size and shape: J. Sed. Petr., v. 50, p. 475–484.
Fare, H. and Scheidegger, A., 1961, Statistical geometry of porous media: J. Geophys. Res., v. 66, p. 3278.
Haralick, R., 1979, Statistical and structural approaches to texture: Proc. IEEE, v. 67, p. 786–804.
Matheron, G., 1967, Elements pour une theorie des milieux poreux: Masson et Cie.
Pratt, W. K., 1978, Digital image processing: New York: Wiley.
Rink, and Schopper, 1976.
Scholle, P. and Schluger, P. (Eds.), 1979, Aspects of diagenesis, Special Publication No. 26, SEPM.
Tukey, J., 1950, The sampling theory of power spectrum estimates,in Symposium on applications of autocorrelation analysis to physical problems: Office of Naval Research, (NAVEXOS-P-735), p. 47–67.
Tukey, J., 1951.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lin, C. Microgeometry I: Autocorrelation and rock microstructure. Mathematical Geology 14, 343–360 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01032595
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01032595