Reconstruction of random media using Monte Carlo methods

A simulated annealing algorithm is applied to the reconstruction of two-dimensional porous media with prescribed correlation functions. The experimental correlation function of an isotropic sample of Fontainebleau sandstone and a synthetic correlation function with damped oscillations are used in the reconstructions. To reduce the numerical effort we follow a proposal suggesting the evaluation of the correlation functions only along certain directions. The results show that this simplification yields significantly different microstructures as compared to a full evaluation of the correlation function. In particular, we find that the simplified reconstruction method introduces an artificial anisotropy that is originally not present.