A width centric image to mechanics framework for assessing advance grouting with TMSE adaptive width segmentation and
Pengcheng Zhu1, Zhilei Zhang2, Tielin Chen3
1Key Laboratory of Urban Underground Engineering of Ministry of Education, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, China.
Scientific Reports
|November 20, 2025
Summary
This study introduces an image-based framework to analyze grout veins, improving stiffness and permeability estimations for screening applications. While accurate, the method requires further refinement for critical design decisions.
Area of Science:
- Geotechnical Engineering
- Image Analysis
- Material Science
Background:
- Grout veins significantly impact bulk stiffness and permeability.
- Accurate characterization of these veins is crucial for understanding material properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a width-centric, image-to-mechanics framework for analyzing grout veins.
- To improve the estimation of bulk stiffness and permeability influenced by grout veins.
Main Methods:
- Utilized SES preprocessing with HDMR-based multi-feature fusion and a moment-based sub-pixel localizer.
- Extracted graph-theoretic centerlines and estimated vein widths via T_MSE-adaptive segmentation.
- Applied the framework to a lab-scale image set with seven backbones for segmentation improvement.
Main Results:
- The framework successfully improved segmentation of grout veins.
- Resulting width and orientation statistics yielded laboratory-scale estimates of elastic modulus and permeability.
- Worst-case errors were 8.83% for modulus and 10.42% for permeability.
Conclusions:
- The developed method is suitable for screening and monitoring under controlled conditions.
- The current accuracy does not meet design-grade tolerances for critical applications.
- Assumptions and parameters for reproducibility, including edge profile and 2D analysis, were clarified.
