3D Modeling of a synthetic basalt during its cooling

This project shows a way of using the 3DEXPERIENCE© in the geology’s and the scientific research domains. Following the acquisition of 2D images by Computer Assisted Tomography (CAT), 3D models of olivine and plagioclase crystals from synthetic basalt marbles were created and upgraded using the 3DEXPERIENCE©. The slices of the marbles were imported into this software. Then, by a method of “contouring” the crystals on each image, the sketches are connected and form a crystal in volume. Subsequently, axis and volume measurements are taken to compute the connectivity (percentage of crystals that share a same volume), crystallinity (percentage of crystals in a marble) and Cristal Size Distribution (CSD; number of crystals by size classes) values for both olivine and plagioclase in each marble. The results allow us to understand the cooling’s process of a synthetic basalt using a 3D method. However, the aim of the project is to compare our results to those obtain with the 2D method used by previous researchers and to validate it or not.