Next: Quiblier method Up: Main Previous: Cellular automaton fluid

Creating isotropic 3-D structures from 2-D images

There are various ways to obtain 3-D images from 2-D images. Experimentally, 3-D images may be built up from a set of 2-D serial sections [85]. This is a tedious and time-consuming task, even with an automated system. X-ray tomography offers one possibility for rapidly obtaining a three-dimensional image of a microstructure. Resolution limits of several micrometers per pixel can be achieved. This is adequate for many porous materials [86,87,88] (see Chapters 11 and 12). Sample sizes of a few millimeters or centimeters can be accomodated depending on the needed resolution. The acquisition and processing of such images are rapid because no physical slicing of the sample is involved. The rest of this section describes a method for generating 3-D images form 2-D images, in cases where 3-D images are not readily or directly obtainable.