Microstructural characterizations of three main constituents of mudstone

The aim of this study was to explore the principal contributing cause of th e hardened mudstone using microstructual and microchemical evidences. The e lemental and morphologic changes in the three separated phases of mudstone were illustrated by using X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) and scannin g electron microscopy (SEM) /energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) techni ques. The results of XRF analyses for the isolated phases indicated that th e each main composition of separated by using textural fractions is still t he presence of sand, slit, and clay phases. Moreover, the results of XRF an d EDAX analyses obtained a good consistency. Through the SEM/EDAX semiquant itative analyses, it was shown that the amount of Ca decreased with an incr ease in the amount of clay. Thus, it was suggested that the main contributi ng cause of the hardened mudstone was attributed to the cementing reaction between calcium species and quartz.