No. 6 - June 2009
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EUROCK'2009 - Rock Engineering in Difficult Ground Conditions:
Dubrovnik-Cavtat, Croatia, 29-31 October  The Croatian Geotechnical Society is proud to organize the ISRM Regional Symposium EUROCK’2009 in Cavtat-Dubrovnik on 29-31 October 2009. 120 papers and 7 keynote lectures will be presented. Early bird registrations at a reduced price can be done until 1 July. The Second Bulletin will be published on the website of the Symposium on August 1, 2009, and the hard copies will be distributed on August 15, 2009. Until then, all new information will be published on the website at http://www.eurock2009.hr. We look forward to seeing you in Dubrovnik in October 2009! Ivan Vrkljan
EUROCK'2009 Chairman Go to the top of the Newsletter |
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| Update on the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory Project (DUSEL)
In mid-May, the mining team working on the rehabilitation of the old Homestake Mine, site of the future Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL), successfully completed dewatering to a depth of roughly 1500m below surface. It is at this depth that scientists and engineers will establish the Sanford Laboratory, the first research facility of what will ultimately become a major underground campus. This level will also serve for construction staging as the miners strive to reopen the mine to its full depth, some 2.4 kilometers below surface. This dedicated facility is being designed to support a broad spectrum of fundamental and applied research at depth in the earth’s crust. Research partners include physicists, biologists, geo-chemists, rock engineers and mechanics.
One major physics experiment proposed for DUSEL is the Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE). This experiment calls for the construction of single or multiple, large-span (50m+) rock caverns, sited at depths well in excess of a kilometer. The experiment will support the performance of “frontier research” into the fundamental behavior of neutrino and proton particles. To support this initiative, rock engineers and mechanics must deliver large-deep excavation(s) that meet stringent demands for long-term environmental and structural stability, mined within a heavily folded metamorphic rock mass. Site investigation work is on-going to identify potential sites for the caverns, with characterization, modeling and detailed design work targeted to allow for a construction start in 2013.
The State of South Dakota is currently performing initial shaft re-entry work to re-establish access to shallow and intermediate mine depths, install pumps, and perform an initial round of basic tunnel rehabilitation tasks. The University of California at Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology are responsible for the design of the full facility under a grant from the US National Science Foundation.
(graphics sources: US National Science Foundation, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority)
Additional information
For information on the deep science initiative go to:
http://www.deepscience.org/
For information on the on-going work of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority go to:
http://www.sanfordundergroundlaboratoryathomestake.org/
For information on the design of DUSEL go to:
http://www.lbl.gov/nsd/homestake/
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Homestake Shaft Headhouse
Homestake Mine - Geologic Section
Baseline Neutrino Experiment Cavern: Depth-Span Graphic
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DUSEL A Multidisciplinary Underground Laboratory |
Lab Development Plans - 4850L | Chris Laughton and Zbigniew Hladysz Go to the top of the Newsletter |
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 Dr J. Christer Andersson selected as the 2010 Rocha Medal winner
Ten PhD theses from all over the world were short listed for the Rocha Medal 2010 of the ISRM, which distinguishes the best PhD thesis in Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering. After a thorough analysis of all the candidates’ theses, the Award Committee selected Dr J. Christer Andersson, from Sweden, as the 2010 Rocha Medal winner, for the thesis "Rock Mass Response to Coupled Mechanical Thermal Loading. Äspö Pillar Stability Experiment, Sweden". Dr Andersson will be awarded the Rocha Medal 2010 at the ARMS6 in October 2010, in New Delhi, India. Acknowledging the value of other two theses, the Rocha Award Committee decided to award runner-up certificates to Dr Yoon Jeoung Seok, from Korea, for the thesis “Hydro-mechanical coupling of shear-induced rock fracturing by bonded particle modelling” and to Dr Abbas Taheri, from Iran, for the thesis “Study on shear strength and deformability properties of rock masses by in-situ and laboratory testing methods”. Click here to go to the Rocha Medal page, where the CVs and Summaries of the winning theses are available. Go to the top of the Newsletter |
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ISRM 1st technical and cultural field trip to the Florence region
The 1st Annual ISRM Technical and Cultural Field Trip will take place on 21-22 September 2009, in the Florence region, Italy. It is devoted to the Carrara Marble quarries and the historical quarrying and mining activities which have taken place in Tuscany since Etruscan times (about 700 B.C.). Organisation is by Prof. Geol. Massimo Coli, Department of Earth Sciences, and Prof. Geol. Carlo Alberto Garzonio, Department of Restoration and Conservation of Architectural Heritage of the University of Florence. A brochure (download here) with the main information was released and it includes the application form. Please be reminded that the number of participants is limited and that the deadline for payment is 20 July. A Guide Book (download here) was prepared with detailed technical information on the sites that will be visited. Go to the top of the Newsletter |
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 3rd International Workshop on
Rock Mechanics and Geo-engineering in Volcanic Environments The “Sociedad Española de Mecánica de Rocas” (the Spanish National Group of the ISRM) is organizing the ”3rd International Workshop on Rock Mechanics and Geo-engineering in Volcanic Environments Conference” to be held in the Canary Islands on 31st of May and 1st of June 2010. This event is complementary to those technical meetings organized in previous years at Madeira and Azores, in 2002 and 2007, respectively. In this case this Workshop is included in a multidisciplinary Congress, (Cities on Volcanoes 6 – Tenerife 2010), organized by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of Earth Interior. Volcanologists, geologists, disaster mitigation experts, and other specialised professions are expected to participate. The topics to be discussed in this 3rd Workshop will be related to geoengineering, mining, water resources and infrastructures in volcanic environment. In other words, laboratory and field characterisation of volcanic rock media, slope stability, tunnelling and excavation in volcanic areas will be studied and papers will provide a deeper insight in their knowledge. For more information click here to download the brochure or go to web pages www.semr.es, or www.citiesonvolcanoes6.com, respectively. We hope to see you in the Canary Islands. Claudia Olalla
Co-Chairman of the Organizing Committee Go to the top of the Newsletter |
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 EUROCK'2010 - Rock Mechanics in Civil and Environmental Engineering The ISRM European Rock Mechanics Symposium of the ISRM - EUROCK 2010 will take place in 15-18 June 2010 in Lausanne, Switzerland, organised by the Swiss Society for Soil and Rock Mechanics and by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne. The theme of EUROCK 2010 is “Rock Mechanics in Civil and Environmental Engineering”. It covers all the aspects of rock mechanics, from theoretical research to engineering practices, with emphasis on applications to infrastructural construction, sustainable development, and natural hazards management. A plenary open session will be organised to report and discuss rock mechanics activities in Europe, including education, training, research, and engineering. The objective is to foster a closer cooperation among European countries, to promote future rock mechanics activities in Europe, and to build a stronger rock mechanics community. Abstract should be about 400 words long, with a title, authors' names, affiliations, and email addresses, and be sent to the symposium organiser by 31 August 2009. For more information click here to download the conference brochure, or visit the conference website. Jian Zhao
Chairman of the Organizing Committe Go to the top of the Newsletter |
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 The 5th International Symposium on In-situ Rock Stress - an ISRM sponsored Specialized Conference
The 5th International Symposium on In-situ Rock Stress will be held in Beijing, China, 25-28 August 2010, organised by the Institute of Crustal Dynamics (ICD), the China Earthquake Administration (CEA) and the Seismological Society of China (SSC) Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering (CSRME).
The conference will deal with topics such as:
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Methods and theory of in-situ stress measurement
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Engineering Application of in-situ stress
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Numerical modeling
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Crustal stress of strong earthquake
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Stress-strain observation and earthquake prediction
For more information click here to download the First Announcement or visit the conference website at http://www.rockstress2010.org.
LIU Yuchen
President of the Organizing Committee
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ISRM sponsored meetings
- 29-31 October 2009, Dubrovnik-Cavtat, Croatia – EUROCK'2009 – Rock Engineering in Difficult Ground Conditions - Soft Rocks and Karst: an ISRM Regional Symposium
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30 May-1 June 2010, Tenerife, Canary Islanda, Spain – 3rd International Workshop on Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering in Volcanic Environments: an ISRM Specialized Conference
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15-18 June 2010, Lausanne, Switzerland – EUROCK'2010 – Rock Mechanics in Civil and Environmental Engineering: an ISRM Regional Symposiuman
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25-27 August 2010, Beijing, China – 5th International Workshop on Rock Stress: an ISRM Specialized Conference
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23-27 October, New Delhi, India – ARMS 6 – International Symposium on Advances in Rock Engineering: the 2010 ISRM International Symposium
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16-21 October 2011, Beijing, China – ISRM 12th International Congress on Rock Mechanics: the 2011 ISRM International Congress
Click here to view the list of ISRM Sponsored Conferences.
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