Crystal modelisation in a synthetique basalt for a 3D texture analysis

We are a group of three students: Eugénie, Félix and Julien from UniLaSalle, an engineering school in geosciences in France. For our thesis we worked on a crystallographic project. This thesis is based on plagioclase and olivine crystals 3D reconstruction inside a synthetic basaltic magma. The aim of this work is to study and understand the evolution of crystals during an experiment where four magma marbles were synthetized in different cooling conditions and quenched. Those marbles have been modeled to be compared among themselves and to follow their evolution. In order to do so, the software 3DEXPERIENCE© of Dassault Systems was used to modeled each crystal individually inside the marble. To do this, we used a series of photography distant of 27.4 micrometer and we linked each sketch of a crystal on each slice to obtain a 3D crystal. After the modelization, the software allows the measurement of the crystals axis, their volume, to calculate the CSD (Crsytal Size Distribution) and to study the shape of each crystal. This work allowed us to understand the evolution of each crystal but also of all crystal between themselves. On a bigger picture, these projects are in the continuity of a series of experiences concerning the thermal history of rocks.