International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (ISRM)
Report for New Zealand – June 2022
You will recall from our last update that NZGS is bidding to host the 16th ISRM International Congress in 2027. This is ISRM’s flagship event and occurs every four years. A little like the Olympic Games, potential host countries must bid many years in advance to be able to host the Congress. An organising committee has been formed which comprises Paul Horrey, Stuart Read, Eleni Gkeli, Romy Ridl and Christoph Krauss. The Committee, with the valued support of Tourism New Zealand has selected Christchurch as our host city and developed a promotional video and supporting information pack which were presented to the ISRM Council on 17 November 2021. Several of our bid organising committee will attend the next Council meeting at the LARMS 2022 ISRM Symposium in Asuncion, Paraguay to make a final presentation of our bid. The Council will then vote on which country will host and the outcome should be known during the conference. Other bidders are South Korea and China.
ISRM Congress 2027 Hosting Bid Update:
The 2022 ISRM Board, Commissions and Council meetings will be held in Asuncion, Paraguay during LARMS 2022 on 15-16 October.
Board and Council Meetings:
ISRM Awards:
The Rocha Awards for 2022 are.
Winner:
• Radhika De Silva, Sri Lanka, for the thesis “Rock fracture stimulation using a slow energy releasing fracturing compound for permeability enhanced in situ leaching”, presented at Monash University, Australia.
Runners-up:
• Masoud Rahjoo, Iran, for the thesis “Directional and 3D confinement dependent fracturing, strength and dilation mobilization in brittle rocks”, presented at University of British Columbia, Canada;
• Li Xiaofeng, China, for the thesis “Research on Rock Fracturing and Fragmentation Subject to Intensive Impact”, presented at University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.
Key International Symposia 2022-3
Eurock 2022 – Rock and Fracture Mechanics in Rock Engineering and Mining in Espoo, Helsinki-region, Finland, 12 to 15 September 2022. The full programme has been published and early bird registrations are open until June 15.
The 2022 International Symposium will be held in conjunction with the IX Latin American Congress on Rock Mechanics, Rock Testing and Site Characterization in Asuncion, Paraguay on October 12-19, 2022.
2023 ISRM 15th International Congress, Salzburg, Austria 9-14 October 2023. Abstracts close 30 June 2022.
Other regional events and specialised events are listed on the ISRM website.
Newsletter
The latest ISRM newsletter (No 56 dated December 2021) is available on the ISRM website
New ISRM SHORT Course
A new ISRM short course “Ground control consideration in high-production longwall mining in Australia” was recorded and made available in 2021 by Prof. Ismet Canbulat, from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, and has now been added to the ISRM website.
Training Opportunities
Your attention is drawn to the excellent technical resources available on the ISRM website. These include Suggested Methods, Reports, Glossary (multi-lingual), digital library, Slide Collection, Online Lectures, Videos, Online Courses and Book Series. Some items are available for purchase, but many are free of cost.
Young PROFESSIONALS’ Webinars
The ISRM Young Rock Engineers group have established the ISRM Young Members Monthly Seminars.
The most recent presentations in the series have been:
5th seminar – 27 May 2022
• Directional and 3D-Confinement-Dependent Fracturing, Strength and Dilation Mobilization in Brittle Rocks – Masoud Rahjoo (AECOM – Canada)
• Stochastic Discrete Element Modelling for Pillar Strength Determination: a First Step in a Risk-Based Pillar Design Approach – Juan José Monsalve (Virginia Tech University – USA)
4th seminar – 28 April 2022
• Experimental analysis of burst type extreme rock failures and rock fracture under high-stress conditions by Selahattin Akdag (Australia).
• Coseismic rock slope failure mechanisms – insights from landslides triggered by the 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake by Corine Singsein (New Zealand).
ISRM On-line lectures
A NEW on-line lecture has been given since the last report:
• December 2021 The 36th Online Lecture “Methodologies of underground rock support and applications” Prof. Charlie Li This has been recorded and is available on the ISRM website.
Paul Horrey
NZGS ISRM Liaison
Romy Ridl
NZGS ISRM YGP Coordinator
June 2022