ISRM Newsletter No. 61 - March 2023

Dr. Norikazu Shimizu is an Emeritus Professor of Yamaguchi University, Japan, and is currently working for the Organization for Research and Development of Innovative Science and Technology, Kansai University, as a Specially Appointed Professor. He started his academic career in the Department of Civil Engineering at Kobe University in 1981. He joined Yamaguchi University as an Associate Professor in 1992 and was appointed as a Full Professor of Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering in 2000. He retired from Yamaguchi University in 2021.

Professor Shimizu served as a Vice President at Large of the International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (ISRM) from 2015-2019. He was President of the Japan Society for Rock Mechanics and Chair of the Committee of Rock Mechanics in the Japan Society of Civil Engineers from 2011-2013.

Professor Shimizu has received various awards for his contributions to academia and society from the Japanese government: the Japan Prime Minister’s Prize for Distinguished Contributor to Disaster Prevention, the Space Development and Utilization Grand Prize by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and the Award of Contribution to Regional Educational Administration from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. He was also awarded the Meritorious Contribution Award from the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, and Distinguished Paper Award, Technical Development Award, etc. from several academic and professional societies. He was chosen to be an honorary member of the Geotechnical Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina for his contribution to the society.

His research topics are “Development of rock displacement monitoring system using satellite technology and its practical uses”, “Numerical analyses and field measurements for assessment of the rock stability of slopes, tunnels, underground large caverns and dams”, and “Underground space design using human sensibility”. In 2014, he published the ISRM Suggested Method for Monitoring Rock Displacements Using GPS. He has conducted collaborative research with several countries. More than 350 of his scientific and technical papers have been published in international and domestic journals and conference proceedings. He has delivered about 45 keynote addresses and special lectures at international conferences, foreign universities, and research institutes.

Click to open the  online lectures dedicated webpage.

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A report was prepared by Prof. Ömer AYDAN and Prof. Reşat ULUSAY on 15 February 2023, with the sole purpose to provide an overview of various aspects of the inter/intraplate type earthquakes for researchers. The report is dedicated to the people who lost their lives or were injured.

The pictures and some figures are obtained from various sources. The major source of the pictures relevant to the aspects of this document are obtained from the web-sites of the mass media of Türkiye and relevant institutes and they are gratefully acknowledged for the information through images and data of the earthquake.

Click here to download the report.

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The 1st and 2nd “Short-term Prediction of Rock Failure Competition (STPRFC)” was held in Taiyuan, China

Predicting and forecasting of major natural and engineering disasters in rock systems like earthquakes and landslides are a major problem, and Prof. Yangsheng Zhao, Academician of CAS, proposed and advocated STPRFC to promote the rapid solution of this problem. The innovative development of theories, methods, technologies and monitoring instruments to overcome this problem will surely be continuously motivated.

The 1st (Oct. 2021) and 2nd (Aug. 2022) STPRFC sponsored by CSRME were successfully held at TYUT, China, and there were 14 and 12 teams from Chinese universities and research institutes participating in STPRFC, respectively.

The content of STPRFC includes: the time of failure, the energy released by failure, and the location and type of failure. XPS-1000 servo-controlled rock mechanics test machine of TYUT was used in STPRFC. The loading mode was constant displacement rate loading, both granite and sandstone samples with size of 200×200×400 mm were tested.

The theories and methods used at 1st and 2nd STPRFC include three categories: 1) AE, strain measurement, numerical simulation or machine learning algorithm; 2) Non-contact deformation measurement and AE; 3) displacement, thermal infrared imaging, and AE. There are obvious nonlinear softening and multi-peak stress point fluctuation characteristics, X-shaped, or X-shaped and vertical split fracture and the duration of failure varies from 3500 to 6000 s.

In each STPRFC, the top three teams were awarded certificates. More detailed information on the 1st and 2nd STPRFC can be downloaded here.

The 3rd STPRFC will be held in August 2023 at TYUT. Please download the flyer with more information.

Yang Qiang
ISRM Vice President at Large

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The Icelandic Geotechnical Society and the Icelandic Tunnelling Society are pleased to welcome you to the Nordic Rock Meeting - the IV Nordic Symposium on Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering in Reykjavik, Iceland 24 - 26 of May 2023. This is an ISRM sponsored Specialized Conference.

This symposium gathers Nordic rock mechanics and engineering geology experts to discuss the current state of research, infrastructure, rock caverns, tunnelling, mining, use of underground space for energy recovery and storage, and case histories. Use of underground space for various purposes is a natural choice in Nordic countries and it has made the understanding of rock mechanics and rock engineering vital.

Be welcome and meet your colleagues at the Nordic Rock Meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland.

For more information click here to visit the conference website.

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The Joint Technical Committee on Natural Slopes and Landslides (JTC1) of FedICGS is delighted to invite you to join us at the 3rd JTC1 Workshop on Impact of global changes on landslide hazard and risk, to be held in Oslo, Norway on June 7th – 10th, 2023.

The aim of the Workshop is to promote discussion among scientists, engineers, decision-makers and other stakeholders on whether we are capable of predicting and quantifying the expected changes in landslide hazard and risk and how we could implement the knowledge gained from academic research on landslide risk management into practice.

The digital proceedings will be issued right after the workshop and made available on the 3rd JTC1 Workshop website.

The Organizing Committee will make a selection of the best abstracts and invite the authors to provide a full manuscript to be published in a Special Issue of a refereed, open-access journal. A total of 10 to 15 articles are envisioned for the Special Issue, which is expected to be published within one year of the workshop.

For more information click here to visit the conference website.

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The 10th Nordic Grouting Symposium is organised by the Swedish Rock Engineering Association and will take place in Stockholm, Sweden, at the Hilton Stockholm Slussen, on 11-13 September 2023. The Symposium is an ISRM Sponsored Specialized Conference.

The symposium gathers experts to exchange experiences and discuss the latest development and achievement in the field of rock grouting. The 10th Nordic Grouting Symposium will continue the tradition of the Nordic Grouting Symposiums which started in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1992.

For more information click here to visit the conference website.

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The Chilean Society of Rock Mechanics (ISRM National Group of Chile) together with the University of Santiago (USACH), are organizing the First Chilean Congress in Rock Mechanics, to be held on November 22^nd to 24^th 2023 in the city of Santiago, Chile. This is an ISRM sponsored Specialized Conference.

This event will gather participants from the largest underground and open pit copper deposits in the world, deep tunnels through the Andes mountains, some of the largest south American stope mines as deepest open pit mines. Also, the most important mine research centers and Chilean universities will be publishing their latest research.

The congress topics will include:

• Rock mass classification
• Rock support
• Instrumentation and field measurements
• Numerical modelling
• Blast damage
• Laboratory and experimental research
• Seismic hazard and rockbursting
• Slope stability
• New project case studies
• Geotechnical risk
• Big data and Machine learning in rock mechanics.

We invite all rock mechanics practitioners to stay alert to the accepted abstract list soon available and to check out available information about the congress and related workshops on the conference website. For more information click here to visit the conference website.

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The Sri Lankan Rock Mechanics and Engineering Society (SLRMES) invites you to participate in the 1st SLRMES Conference on Rock Mechanics for Infrastructure and Geo-Resources Development to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka during December 2-7, 2023. This will be a ISRM Sponsored Specialized Conference.

The first two days (Dec. 2 & 3) are allocated for  short courses and workshops. The plenary and technical lectures of the conference are planned for the next two days (Dec. 4 & 5) and the last two days (Dec. 6 & 7) are allocated for the technical and sightseeing tours. 

The conference will cover advances in all areas of rock mechanics and rock engineering encompassing the fields of mining, civil, geological, and petroleum engineering, and geophysics and hydrogeology, focusing on the theme “Rock Mechanics for Infrastructure and Geo-Resources Development”. 

For more information click here to visit the conference website.

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