Risk Assessment, Stability Monitoring, and Safe Design for Deep Rock Engineering

The safety and stability of deep underground engineering works is a challenging topic of increasing interest. With the gradual exhaustion of shallow mineral resources and energy, the depth of further extraction and exploitation continues to increase. Meanwhile, to mitigate the adverse effects of greenhouse gas emissions and achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, interest in deep geologic storage of captured carbon dioxide and nuclear waste is increasing. Additionally, many deep transit and water conveyance tunnels are planned or under construction in mountain areas. However, effectively characterizing the nonlinear mechanical response of deep rock masses for risk assessment and monitoring the stability of deep rock engineering works is beyond the ability of conventional mathematical and physical methods because of the combined effects of high stress, high temperature, and high seepage pressure. Emerging cutting-edge technologies and approaches, such as test equipment for extreme environments, microseismic monitoring, artificial intelligence, and advanced numerical techniques, have been successfully applied in tackling these issues in recent years.

This Research Topic aims to identify cutting-edge research and recent advances related to applications of advanced theories, monitoring technologies, and numerical methods in deep geoengineering. Through the promotion and dissemination of this research, this Research Topic is intended to expand the international impact of the latest scientific and technological achievements concerning mining, tunneling, geological storage, and other related topics, and to facilitate the sharing and exchange of related knowledge, expertise, and experience. Furthermore, by discussing challenges, opportunities, and trends, this Research Topic is expected to provide insights into risk assessment and stability monitoring of surrounding rock masses and promote the safe development and management of deep rock engineering projects.

This Research Topic welcomes both original research papers and review articles reporting the innovative advances and applications of constitutive models, strength criteria, microseismic monitoring, artificial intelligence, numerical simulations, and others in deep rock engineering. The focal points include, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• Risk assessment and management in deep mines and underground spaces;
• Mitigation and prevention of burst hazards in deep mines;
• Renewability, sustainability, and safety of geothermal resource development;
• Evaluation of deep excavation failure mechanisms, such as rock bursts, water inrush, and large deformation of soft rock;
• Monitoring and early warning in the context of deep rock engineering;
• And multi-field and/or multi-phase coupled simulation for deep underground conditions.