3D characterization and analysis of pore structure of packed ore particle beds based on computed tomography images

Methods and procedures of three-dimensional (3D) characterization of the pore structure features in the packed ore particle bed are focused. X-ray computed tomography was applied to deriving the cross-sectional images of specimens with single particle size of 1–2, 2–3, 3–4, 4–5, 5–6, 6–7, 7–8, 8–9, 9–10 mm. Based on the in-house developed 3D image analysis programs using Matlab, the volume porosity, pore size distribution and degree of connectivity were calculated and analyzed in detail. The results indicate that the volume porosity, the mean diameter of pores and the effective pore size (d50) increase with the increasing of particle size. Lognormal distribution or Gauss distribution is mostly suitable to model the pore size distribution. The degree of connectivity investigated on the basis of cluster-labeling algorithm also increases with increasing the particle size approximately.