@article{fdi:010070090,
  title = {{Q}uantification of the pore size distribution of soils : assessment of existing software using tomographic and synthetic 3{D} images},
  author = {{H}ouston, {A}. {N}. and {O}tten, {W}. and {F}alconer, {R}. and {M}onga, {O}livier and {B}aveye, {P}. {C}. and {H}apca, {S}. {M}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he pore size distribution ({PSD}) of the void space is widely used to predict a range of processes in soils. {R}ecent advances in {X}-ray computed tomography ({CT}) now afford novel ways to obtain exact data on pore geometry, which has stimulated the development of algorithms to estimate the pore size distribution from 3{D} data sets. {T}o date there is however no clear consensus on how {PSD}s should be estimated, and in what form {PSD}s are best presented. {I}n this article, we first review the theoretical principles shared by the various methods for {PSD} estimation. {T}hen we select methods that are widely adopted in soil science and geoscience, and we use a robust statistical method to compare their application to synthetic image samples, for which analytical solutions of {PSD}s are available, and {X}-ray {CT} images of soil samples selected from different treatments to obtain wide ranging {PSD}s. {R}esults indicate that, when applied to the synthetic images, all methods presenting {PSD}s as pore volume per class size (i.e., {A}vizo, {CTA}nalyser, {B}one{J}, {Q}uantim4, and {DTM}), perform well. {A}mong them, the methods based on {M}aximum {I}nscribed {B}alls ({B}one{J}, {CTA}nalyser, {Q}uantim4) also produce similar {PSD}s for the soil samples, whereas the {D}elaunay {T}riangulation {M}ethod ({DTM}) produces larger estimates of the pore volume occupied by small pores, and {A}vizo yields larger estimates of the pore volume occupied by large pores. {B}y contrast, the methods that calculate {PSD}s as object population fraction per volume class ({A}vizo, 3{DMA}, {DFS}-{FIJI}) perform inconsistently on the synthetic images and do not appear well suited to handle the more complex geometries of soils. {I}t is anticipated that the extensive evaluation of method performance carried out in this study, together with the recommendations reached, will be useful to the porous media community to make more informed choices relative to suitable {PSD} estimation methods, and will help improve current practice, which is often ad hoc and heuristic.},
  keywords = {{P}orous media ; {S}oil ; {P}ore size distribution ; {C}omputed tomography ; {X}-ray},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{G}eoderma},
  volume = {299},
  numero = {},
  pages = {73--82},
  ISSN = {0016-7061},
  year = {2017},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.03.025},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010070090},
}