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Disaster Prevention and Control of Underground and Tunnel Engineering

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Civil Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2025 | Viewed by 749

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Engineering and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China.
Interests: basic theory and application of rock mechanics; numerical simulation method and application of geotechnical engineering; evaluation and prevention of geological hazards
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
School of Engineering and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Interests: high temperature rock mechanics; rock mechanics in underground space development; numerical simulation methods for geotechnical engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the utilization of underground space has advanced towards deeper parts of the earth, resulting in an increasing number of geological hazards that seriously threaten the safety of engineering. The control of disasters in underground space and tunnel engineering has attracted the attention of many engineers and researchers.

We are pleased to invite you to submit an article to this Special Issue, whose scope includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

(1) Urban underground engineering, such as the problems associated with the rock and soil mechanics encountered by new urban underground engineering projects in special geological formations and the deformation and damage problems encountered by existing urban tunnel galleries and underground engineering when the groundwater level rises;

(2) Conventional energy underground engineering, such as the ground subsidence and mining pressure disasters faced by coal underground mining and the problems associated with rock mechanics and rock fracturing in oil and gas (shale gas) mining;

(3) Unconventional energy underground engineering, such as multi-field coupled rock mechanics problems in dry hot rock mining;

(4) Geological energy storage engineering, such as the rock mechanics faced during the exploration, construction, and operation of compressed air storage facilities, natural gas underground storage facilities, and petroleum underground storage facilities;

(5) Extreme environmental underground engineering, such as tunnel engineering in extremely cold regions and tunnel engineering in high-temperature regions.

(6) The control of adverse geological conditions in deep areas, such as the treatment of goaf and karst collapse.

We look forward to receiving your submissions to this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Nengxiong Xu
Guest Editor

Dr. Yan Qin
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • underground space development
  • underground energy storage facility
  • poor geological conditions underground
  • conventional energy extraction
  • unconventional energy extraction
  • geotechnical problems
  • engineering geological issues

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3274 KB  
Article
Study on Microcracks Propagation of Shale Under Tensile and Shear Loading at Different Confining Pressures
by Jianyong Zhang, Longfei Li, Xiaopeng Chen, Zhendong Cui, Chao Jin, Chao Shen, Zhandong Su, Sihan Li and Jinping Liang
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(21), 11546; https://doi.org/10.3390/app152111546 - 29 Oct 2025
Viewed by 117
Abstract
To understand the macroscopic fracture behavior of shale under different confining pressures, it is necessary to study the process of microcrack propagation from a microscopic perspective. In this study, a cohesive zone model for heterogeneous shale based on mineral distribution was constructed. Numerical [...] Read more.
To understand the macroscopic fracture behavior of shale under different confining pressures, it is necessary to study the process of microcrack propagation from a microscopic perspective. In this study, a cohesive zone model for heterogeneous shale based on mineral distribution was constructed. Numerical simulation experiments were conducted under different confining pressures to investigate the effects of confining pressure on the extension of microcracks under tensile and shear loading from three perspectives: microcrack morphology, acoustic emission characteristics, and mechanical responses of different minerals. This study reveals the influence of different confining pressures on the extension of microcracks under tensile and shear loading conditions in shale and their microscopic mechanisms, which holds theoretical and practical significance for the exploitation of deeply buried shale gas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Disaster Prevention and Control of Underground and Tunnel Engineering)
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16 pages, 3314 KB  
Article
Stability Assessment of Road Pavement over Lava Caves Formed in Basalt Ground
by Dong-Wook Lee, Do-Hyeong Kim, Deokhee Won, Jeongjun Park, Kicheol Lee and Gigwon Hong
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(20), 10871; https://doi.org/10.3390/app152010871 - 10 Oct 2025
Viewed by 308
Abstract
Lava caves commonly occur in basaltic ground and can compromise roadway stability when present beneath pavements; however, their long-term effects remain insufficiently characterized. This study quantitatively evaluates how lava caves influence pavement behavior using numerical analyses in ABAQUS/CAE. The parameters examined include the [...] Read more.
Lava caves commonly occur in basaltic ground and can compromise roadway stability when present beneath pavements; however, their long-term effects remain insufficiently characterized. This study quantitatively evaluates how lava caves influence pavement behavior using numerical analyses in ABAQUS/CAE. The parameters examined include the presence/absence of a cave, cave width, cover depth, pavement thickness, and load range. Load–settlement curves under a uniformly distributed surface load show that narrower load ranges concentrate stresses and produce larger settlements, whereas wider load ranges disperse stresses and reduce deformation. Classification of deformation behavior using a rutting criterion indicates that plastic soil response dominates under most conditions. A Peak Load Reduction (PLR) index further demonstrates that structural resistance decreases markedly with shallow cover, larger cave width, and narrower load range. Overall, pavement stability above lava caves is governed primarily by cover depth, load range, and cave width, while the effect of pavement thickness is negligible. These findings suggest that, in basaltic terrains, design and maintenance should prioritize subsurface conditions and loading characteristics over pavement thickness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Disaster Prevention and Control of Underground and Tunnel Engineering)
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