An Improved Horizons Method for 3D Geological Modeling from Boreholes

3D geological modeling is often used to build solids for spatial information systems addressing environmental and geological problems. The paper presents some improvements and extensions based on the original horizons method, so as to optimize and extend the method for building solids directly from boreholes. When preparing the numbered boreholes, each horizon is constructed by moving upward the points of the initial bottommost horizon. The contracts are numbered when such an elevated horizon passes them. A virtual contract is added if a contract with a given number is absent on a borehole. In this way the resultant solids pinch out between boreholes. Unnecessary intersection lines are excluded so that the redundancy of solid data is reduced. The successful application of the presented method to the practical modeling of some area in Beijing demonstrates that the improved horizons method has eliminated the flaws of the original method, ensured the correctness as well as accelerated the modeling process.