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Sustainable Research on Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 755

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Division of Mining and Geotechnical Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden
Interests: mining dynamics disasters; underground energy storage; rock mechanics

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Guest Editor
Division of Mining and Geotechnical Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden
Interests: rock mechanics; fatigue and creep; underground space utilization; rockburst

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Guest Editor
INSA Lyon, CNRS, LaMCoS, UMR5259, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
Interests: rock mechanics; damage and fracture; underground energy storage; creep and fatigue

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to participate in our upcoming Special Issue, titled Sustainable Research on Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.

As underground engineering continues to expand globally, ensuring the stability, efficiency, and sustainability of rock mechanics and geotechnical systems has become a critical challenge. Addressing issues such as underground energy storage, deep mining stability, tunneling efficiency, and geological hazard mitigation requires interdisciplinary research and innovative solutions. Sustainable rock mechanics and geotechnical engineering play key roles in reducing environmental impacts while enhancing the safety and longevity of underground infrastructures.

This Special Issue will provide a platform for researchers to discuss cutting-edge technologies, methodologies, and case studies related to sustainable rock mechanics and geotechnical engineering. We encourage contributions that advance theoretical models, experimental studies, numerical simulations, and engineering applications in these fields.

Topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • Sustainable excavation and tunneling technologies;
  • Geotechnical challenges in underground energy storage (hydrogen, CO2, CAES);
  • Creep and fatigue behavior of geomaterials under complex stress conditions;
  • Rockburst prediction, mitigation, and control strategies;
  • Numerical modeling and AI-based approaches in rock mechanics;
  • Acoustic emission and microseismic monitoring for rock stability assessment;
  • Deep mining rock mechanics and sustainable support systems;
  • The role of geotechnical engineering in carbon capture and storage (CCS);
  • Resource utilization and sustainable management of underground reservoirs;
  • Innovations in laboratory and field testing of rock and soil behavior.

We welcome theoretical research, empirical studies, case studies, and technological applications that contribute to sustainable advancements in rock mechanics and geotechnical engineering. Please submit your contributions through our online submission system by the deadline.

Thank you for your attention and participation. We look forward to receiving your excellent contributions!

Best regards,

Dr. Yang Zou
Dr. Zongze Li
Dr. Marion Fourmeau
Guest Editors

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

  • rock mechanics
  • geotechnical engineering
  • underground energy storage
  • sustainable mining
  • numerical modeling
  • rockburst and stability analysis
  • tunneling and excavation
  • fatigue and creep behavior
  • acoustic emission monitoring
  • carbon capture and storage (CCS)

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

22 pages, 3288 KiB  
Review
Recent Developments on Biomineralization for Erosion Control
by Shan Liu, Changrui Dong, Yongqiang Zhu, Zichun Wang, Yujie Li and Guohui Feng
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(12), 6591; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15126591 - 11 Jun 2025
Viewed by 470
Abstract
Erosion poses significant threats to infrastructures and ecosystems, exacerbated by climate change-driven sea-level rise and intensified wave actions. Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) has emerged as a promising, sustainable, and eco-friendly solution for erosion mitigation. This review synthesizes recent advancements in optimizing [...] Read more.
Erosion poses significant threats to infrastructures and ecosystems, exacerbated by climate change-driven sea-level rise and intensified wave actions. Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) has emerged as a promising, sustainable, and eco-friendly solution for erosion mitigation. This review synthesizes recent advancements in optimizing biomineralization efficiency, multi-scale erosion control, and field-scale MICP implementations in marine dynamic conditions. Key findings include the following: (1) Kinetic analysis of Ca2+ conversion confirmed complete ion utilization within 24 h under optimized PA concentration (3%), resulting in a compressive strength of 2.76 MPa after five treatment cycles in ISO-standard sand. (2) Field validations in Ahoskie and Sanya demonstrated the efficacy of MICP in coastal erosion control through tailored delivery systems and environmental adaptations. Sanya’s studies highlighted seawater-compatible MICP solutions, achieving maximum 1743 kPa penetration resistance in the atmospheric zone and layered “M-shaped” CaCO3 precipitation in tidal regions. (3) Experimental studies revealed that MICP treatments (2–4 cycles) reduced maximum scour depth by 84–100% under unidirectional currents (0.3 m/s) with the maximum surface CaCO3 content reaching 3.8%. (4) Numerical simulations revealed MICP enhanced seabed stability by increasing vertical effective stress and reducing pore pressure. Comparative analysis demonstrates that while the destabilization depth of untreated seabed exhibits a linear correlation with wave height increments, MICP-treated seabed formations maintain exceptional stability through cohesion-enhancing properties, even when subjected to progressively intensified wave forces. This review supports the use of biomineralization as a sustainable alternative for shoreline protection, seabed stabilization, and offshore foundation integrity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Research on Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering)
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