SYMPOSIUM and ROUND TABLE TOPICS

Geomechanics involves both the built and natural environment and their interface. It is devoted to the understanding of the mechanical behavior of geomaterials (soil, rock, concrete, bricks and other porous materials) under various environmental conditions involving the interaction with other fields such as heat and fluid flow, chemical reactions and others. The theories and models developed in this context find applications in a many fields of engineering: earth dams, embankments, and natural sites such as slopes and cliffs; conventional and non-conventional energy production, reservoir engineering and mining, and their influence on the geosphere; the built environment, architectural heritage, underground structures such as tunnels; waste disposal, pollution, depollution and environmental protection through good practice; natural hazards such as seismic actions, debris flow and avalanches and others.

Complexity is an important feature of this interdisciplinary field, and consequently experimental evidence is difficult to obtain, and laboratory as well as in situ testing procedures present serious challenges. Advanced numerical techniques are required to obtain reliable predictions and can help to develop good practices for sustainable development in this field. All this will be addressed in the symposium, by presenting problems related to a broad range of geo-environmental engineering practices.

List of topics:

• Computational Geomechanics, continuum and discrete models
• Mitigation of surface subsidence due to extraction of underground fluids
• Best practices in hydraulic fracturing for unconventional hydrocarbon production; applications to geophysics; strain localization
• Best practices in nuclear waste disposal
• Fire in tunnels and passenger comfort
• Durability of concrete and other porous building materials
• Conservation of the architectural heritage, degradation of natural building stones
• Stability of man-made structures, earth dams, embankments
• Natural hazards: mitigation of effects of seismic action; debris flow, avalanches
• Best practices in depollution of polluted sites, reclamation of land from abandoned industrial sites for urban developments, waste management and surface waste disposal