X-ray computed tomography images and network data of sands under compression

Area of Science:

• Geotechnical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Computational Science

Background:

• Distinct particle shapes in Ottawa and Angular sands influence granular material behavior.
• Understanding granular material microstructure is crucial for predicting mechanical and transport properties.
• X-ray computed tomography (XCT) offers non-destructive 3D imaging of granular materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide XCT image stacks of Ottawa and Angular sands under confined compression.
• To generate associated contact and thermal networks, including edge betweenness centrality.
• To facilitate the creation of digital sand models for advanced analysis.

Main Methods:

• In-situ confined compression testing of Ottawa and Angular sands.
• X-ray computed tomography (XCT) imaging to capture 3D microstructures.
• Network analysis to derive contact, thermal, and centrality features.

Main Results:

• Acquisition of high-resolution XCT image stacks for two distinct sand types.
• Generation of comprehensive network data (contact, thermal, centrality) linked to microstructures.
• Provision of a dataset enabling digital sand reconstruction.

Conclusions:

• The provided data supports the creation of digital sand models.
• These models can be used to extract microstructural parameters and analyze transport processes.
• The dataset facilitates research using both traditional and novel simulation approaches.