Pore morphology and pore surface roughening in rocks: a small-angle neutron scattering investigation

Pore morphology and pore-matrix interface roughening in some metamorphosed sedimentary rocks, sandstones and igneous rocks have been investigated using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), in the length scales of ∼20–1000 nm., which reveal the fractal nature of the rock-pore interfaces. Surface fractal dimension of the metamorphosed rocks and the sandstones has been estimated to be ∼2.8 while, that for the igneous rocks has been found to be ∼2.3. An attempt has been made to explain the relatively high surface fractal nature of the former rocks with the help of a computer simulation model based on the formation mechanisms of these rocks. SANS data indicate some ideas about the upper cut-off of the fractal geometry for the igneous rocks as well as for the sandstone, but no unambiguous cut-off value has been obtained for the metamorphosed rocks in the accessible length scale. The multiple scattering effect in these rock specimens has also been looked into by performing the SANS experiments for the two thicknesses on each specimen.