Advances in Rock Mechanics for Underground Resources and Energy Infrastructures

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, the design and construction of underground infrastructures such as tunnels, mine caverns, hydropower stations, and nuclear waste repositories have been developed from shallow depth to deeper depth, from populated areas to polar regions, and from the mainland to deep sea. Moreover, with the emergence of new demand for exploiting underground spaces for renewable energy storage and future habitats, more complicated underground environments will be encountered, which poses new challenges to the underground infrastructures.

New advanced technologies, including rock blasting techniques, lining support techniques, site monitoring techniques, and advanced modelling techniques, are highly required for safer and more efficient design, construction, and operation of underground infrastructures, which are susceptible to the influence of temperatures, dynamic disturbances, high in situ stresses, and complicated rock mass structures. The complex engineering environment often leads to the instability of underground infrastructures. Hence, it’s necessary to exploit advanced technologies for safe and efficient engineering practices.

This Special Issue, titled "Advances in Rock Mechanics for Underground Resources and Energy Infrastructures", aims to provide a platform for researchers to present their latest advances in this rapidly evolving field. This Special Issue will cover a wide range of topics, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Rock mechanics and rock behavior in complicated in situ stresses;
• Advanced geotechnical monitoring and control technologies;
• Rock fracture mechanics and dynamic fracturing behavior in underground mining activities;
• Advanced lining support techniques for resilient and stable underground structures;
• Developed numerical simulation methodology for predicting rock behavior and engineering design;
• Rock blasting technique for more efficient rock fracturing and fragmentation;
• New techniques for developing underground energy storage infrastructures;
• Theoretical method and development for understanding rock mechanics and structural response of underground infrastructures.

We look forward to your contributions!

Dr. Huachuan Wang
Dr. Huicong Xu
Dr. Yike Dang
Dr. Leiming Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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