ABSTRACT
3D printing of granular assemblies consisting of synthetic grains with controlled morphological parameters is a novel approach used to explore micro-to-macro correlations in the sand and similar granular media. The current study evaluates the accuracy of the reproduction of the morphology of sand particles using three different 3D printing techniques, viz., polyjet, Digital Light Processing (DLP), and Stereolithography (SLA), at different levels of morphological details. Novel techniques of X-ray micro-computed tomography (X-ray micro-CT) and spherical harmonics (SH) -based surface reconstruction are used to quantify the morphology of the reference sand particles and the 3D-printed particles. The polyjet 3D printing technology showed the least errors in size and shape parameters with values within 20%. DLP printing technology showed minimum errors in shape parameters, but higher errors in size parameters. The maximum error in size and shape parameters are shown by SLA printing technology values reaching up to 50%.
