Scale Effects on the Reproducibility of Morphological Parameters of Natural Sand by 3D Printing

The study of individual effects of morphological properties of sand grains, such as their size, shape, and surface roughness, is of great importance while dealing with problems of liquefaction and cyclic mobility, as these microscopic characteristics significantly influence the physical, mechanical, and hydraulic behaviour of sands. 3D printed granular media with representative morphological characteristics of natural sand grains enable us to control particle size and shape, thus permitting a comprehensive investigation of the effect of individual parameters. This study aims to critically evaluate the capability of 3D printed media reproduced at different scales to capture the morphological characteristics of natural sands through a well-established image analysis method. A completely automated image analysis procedure characterizes the 2D morphology indices of 3D printed media and natural sands. The effect of the scale of reproduction of the 3D printed materials and other critical parameters on the reproducibility of morphological characteristics of the original medium is assessed through an analytical comparison of these indices.