A novel approach for simulating light interaction with particulate materials: application to the modeling of sand spectral properties

In this paper, we present a new spectral light transport model for sand. The model employs a novel approach to simulate light interaction with particulate materials which yields both the spectral and spatial (bi-directional reflectance distribution function, or BRDF) responses of sand. Furthermore, the parameters specifying the model are based on the physical and mineralogical properties of sand. The model is evaluated quantitatively, through comparisons with measured data. Good spectral reconstructions were achieved for the reflectances of several real sand samples. The model was also evaluated qualitatively, and compares well with descriptions found in the literature. Its potential applications include, but are not limited to, applied optics, remote sensing and image synthesis.