Compute Geometric Material Properties

In filtration, energy storage, catalysis, and the development of new materials, the material microstructure is the key to success or failure. But how well do you understand the solid phase in porous media?

MatDict is a specialized analysis module designed to extract and quantify key geometric properties of the solid phase - including material thickness, heterogeneity, particle size distribution, surface area, and connectivity.

The base data: High-resolution 3D models from CT-, µCT-, FIB/SEM-scans, or geometries generated with GeoDict.
The result: A reliable assessment of the structural parameters that have a significant impact on mechanical strength, service life, and functional efficiency.

• Battery electrodes: Structural insights to increase energy density and service life of batteries.
• Fuel cells: Analysis of the gas diffusion layer for higher system efficiency. 
• Reservoir analysis: Reliable evaluation of complex sandstone and other reservoir rocks. 
• Filter media: Optimization of fabrics and nonwovens for high-performance filter systems and also technical textiles.

MatDict provides a deep insight into the material needed to make informed decisions faster and with greater confidence, whether you are designing new materials or optimizing existing ones.

MatDict provides multiple options to compute all relevant geometric properties of the solid material phase.

The Structure Information option enables the computation of fundamental material properties, such as porosity, density, grammage, and material fractions. These calculations are performed in all three spatial directions, providing a comprehensive insight into the material's properties.

Accurate Thickness Estimation is key in characterizing material microstructures and understanding their impact on performance. Advanced imaging combined with computational analysis enables precise mapping of thickness variations across a sample [1]. This detailed measurement not only provides valuable insights for quality control but also guides material design by correlating thickness with properties such as mechanical strength and thermal behavior.

The 2D Density Map option analyzes the spatial heterogeneity of materials by computing the distribution of grammage, solid volume fraction (SVF), and object count across planes in a specified direction. Each pixel in these planes represents the averaged property value along the direction of interest, providing detailed insights into variations such as cloudiness within the material.

The 3D Inhomogeneity tool analyzes material heterogeneity by dividing the structure into defined sub-volumes and calculating histograms of solid volume fraction or material fraction. This provides a clear visualization of spatial variations within the material.

With the option Solid Size Distribution, the solid material size distribution is characterized by fitting spheres into the solid material phase. This purely geometrical method does not distinguish between single objects / grains in the material (single grains can be identified with the module GrainFind).

Computing Connected Components distinguishes separate regions within a microstructure, highlighting connectivity and isolation. This insight is vital for understanding percolation, transport behavior, and structural integrity, which helps optimize material performance.

The Percolation Path option is used to calculate the maximum diameter of a spherical particle that can traverse the medium through the solid material phase and also determines the shortest path. Additionally, users can compute specific cases, such as the five largest path diameters (along with their shortest paths) or the eight shortest paths for a given path diameter. The movement of spheres along these paths is represented visually and animated.

The feature Estimate Surface Area is vital for characterizing material microstructures as it quantifies the total interfacial region where key physical and chemical processes occur. This metric reveals critical information about reaction sites, diffusion paths, and interphase interactions, enabling researchers to predict and optimize material behavior in applications such as catalysis, adsorption, and energy storage. [2]

Estimate Three-Phase Contact Line is an option that allows users to identify the regions where three distinct phases converge. This analysis provides valuable insights into wetting dynamics, capillary forces, and interfacial reactivity, which are critical for optimizing processes like emulsification, catalysis, and energy conversion.

Minkowski Parameters provide a robust method to quantify the geometry and topology of complex microstructures.  By calculating these parameters - such as volume, surface area, curvature, and connectivity - researchers can objectively describe features otherwise difficult to characterise visually. This quantitative insight is essential to correlate microstructural characteristics with material properties. [2]

The GAD Object Orientation option is used in the computation of the orientation tensor for a given object type. With it, it is possible to check the orientation of all geometries created with GeoDict, including those created with GrainGeo or FiberGeo.

The Chord Length Distribution (CLD) enables precise comparison of complex media geometries. Unlike traditional size distribution methods, CLD is particularly useful for 2D cross-sections where direct size measurements are impractical. By analyzing chord lengths - linear segments traversing the solid phases - it provides insights into solid connectivity, anisotropy, and heterogeneity.

Geodesic Tortuosity quantifies the complexity of transport pathways in complex material geometries by measuring the ratio of the shortest actual path through the medium to the straight-line distance. It provides insights into conductivity, diffusion, and connectivity, helping to assess effective conductivity and transport efficiency. Higher tortuosity indicates more convoluted pathways, which can impede transport.

The 2-Point Correlation function offers a concise statistical description of a material's microstructure by quantifying the likelihood that two points, separated by a specific distance, belong to the same phase. This measure effectively captures essential spatial patterns, aiding in the prediction of material properties and guiding the optimization of material design.

The Analyze Objects feature provides a comprehensive suite of functions for the calculation of various properties, distributions and statistics of material models based on object information. This includes data analytic information from GeoDict, as well as data derived from CT scans analysed using modules such as GrainFind and FiberFind. These analyses yield results like contact area histograms and coordination numbers, offering insights into the interactions and connectivity within the material.

Computing the Euclidean Distance Transform (EDT) for complex materials is essential for accurately characterizing their microstructure. The EDT calculates the shortest distance from any point within the pore space to the nearest solid boundary, providing a spatial map of local pore sizes.

The Skeletonizer option computes the material skeleton of structures and provides a simplified representation of their complex geometry, capturing essential features such as connectivity and topology.

The Compute Fractal Dimension GeoApp, for the analysis of complex materials, allows to compute the fractal dimension for a given complex structure using the box counting algorithm.