Automatic Segmentation and Characterization of Structure Planes From Borehole Images Based on Deep Learning

Structural characteristics of rock masses are crucial in geotechnical engineering, yet manual identification of structural planes from borehole images is limited by efficiency and reliability. To address this, we developed an improved U-Net-based segmentation network, specifically tailored for struc...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shuangyuan Chen, Zengqiang Han, Yi Cheng, Chao Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10854461/
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849764451757064192
author Shuangyuan Chen
Zengqiang Han
Yi Cheng
Chao Wang
author_facet Shuangyuan Chen
Zengqiang Han
Yi Cheng
Chao Wang
author_sort Shuangyuan Chen
collection DOAJ
description Structural characteristics of rock masses are crucial in geotechnical engineering, yet manual identification of structural planes from borehole images is limited by efficiency and reliability. To address this, we developed an improved U-Net-based segmentation network, specifically tailored for structural planes in borehole images, enabling automatic identification and characterization. The model integrates deformable convolutions and channel attention mechanisms to improve structure plane detection, allowing for precise segmentation of geological structures under various challenging conditions. Furthermore, we introduce an automated workflow that couples segmentation results with curve fitting and parameter estimation techniques to precisely quantify critical structural attributes, including dip direction, dip angle, and aperture. The proposed method was evaluated on a borehole image dataset, achieving a mean IoU of 69.53%, with 93.59% for the background class and 45.47% for the structure plane class, demonstrating its effectiveness in segmenting both dominant and complex regions. The dataset is available upon request and will be made publicly available in future studies. Results also validates the effectiveness of estimating structural plane parameters. Compared to exist methods, our approach specifically addresses the unique challenges of borehole images. By providing a reliable and efficient tool for structure plane segmentation and parameter characterization, this study enhances the accuracy and efficiency of rock mass structure detection and analysis.
format Article
id doaj-art-85e55d008b834e2c82914bdf34a2dcd4
institution DOAJ
issn 2169-3536
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher IEEE
record_format Article
series IEEE Access
spelling doaj-art-85e55d008b834e2c82914bdf34a2dcd42025-08-20T03:05:09ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-0113347893480110.1109/ACCESS.2025.353426910854461Automatic Segmentation and Characterization of Structure Planes From Borehole Images Based on Deep LearningShuangyuan Chen0https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4746-3255Zengqiang Han1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5141-3102Yi Cheng2Chao Wang3State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, ChinaStructural characteristics of rock masses are crucial in geotechnical engineering, yet manual identification of structural planes from borehole images is limited by efficiency and reliability. To address this, we developed an improved U-Net-based segmentation network, specifically tailored for structural planes in borehole images, enabling automatic identification and characterization. The model integrates deformable convolutions and channel attention mechanisms to improve structure plane detection, allowing for precise segmentation of geological structures under various challenging conditions. Furthermore, we introduce an automated workflow that couples segmentation results with curve fitting and parameter estimation techniques to precisely quantify critical structural attributes, including dip direction, dip angle, and aperture. The proposed method was evaluated on a borehole image dataset, achieving a mean IoU of 69.53%, with 93.59% for the background class and 45.47% for the structure plane class, demonstrating its effectiveness in segmenting both dominant and complex regions. The dataset is available upon request and will be made publicly available in future studies. Results also validates the effectiveness of estimating structural plane parameters. Compared to exist methods, our approach specifically addresses the unique challenges of borehole images. By providing a reliable and efficient tool for structure plane segmentation and parameter characterization, this study enhances the accuracy and efficiency of rock mass structure detection and analysis.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10854461/Borehole imagefeature extractionfracture detectionimage segmentation
spellingShingle Shuangyuan Chen
Zengqiang Han
Yi Cheng
Chao Wang
Automatic Segmentation and Characterization of Structure Planes From Borehole Images Based on Deep Learning
IEEE Access
Borehole image
feature extraction
fracture detection
image segmentation
title Automatic Segmentation and Characterization of Structure Planes From Borehole Images Based on Deep Learning
title_full Automatic Segmentation and Characterization of Structure Planes From Borehole Images Based on Deep Learning
title_fullStr Automatic Segmentation and Characterization of Structure Planes From Borehole Images Based on Deep Learning
title_full_unstemmed Automatic Segmentation and Characterization of Structure Planes From Borehole Images Based on Deep Learning
title_short Automatic Segmentation and Characterization of Structure Planes From Borehole Images Based on Deep Learning
title_sort automatic segmentation and characterization of structure planes from borehole images based on deep learning
topic Borehole image
feature extraction
fracture detection
image segmentation
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10854461/
work_keys_str_mv AT shuangyuanchen automaticsegmentationandcharacterizationofstructureplanesfromboreholeimagesbasedondeeplearning
AT zengqianghan automaticsegmentationandcharacterizationofstructureplanesfromboreholeimagesbasedondeeplearning
AT yicheng automaticsegmentationandcharacterizationofstructureplanesfromboreholeimagesbasedondeeplearning
AT chaowang automaticsegmentationandcharacterizationofstructureplanesfromboreholeimagesbasedondeeplearning