Symposium Chairs and Topics |
Yves Potvin is the current director of the Australian Centre for Geomechanics and since 1998, a professor at the University of Western Australia (UWA). Prior to joining UWA, Yves spent more than 10 years in the mining industry. He was previously the mining research manager at Mount Isa Mines in Queensland and the rock mechanics programme manager at the Noranda Technology Centre, Canada. |
YVES POTVINMINING ROCK MECHANICS Rock mechanics and ground control has become an important part of mining. It is the main tool used to control the geotechnical risks in mines, arguably one of the main risks as it affects profit and safety. In underground mines, these risks include rockfalls, rockbursts, collapses and loss of infrastructure. As Australian mining activities increasingly reach greater depths, the stress environments are generally higher and the geotechnical hazards are more elevated. In deep underground mines, mining activities often proceed in failing ground. As a result, the rock surfaces exposed in the drives can become heavily fractured and large amounts of deformation can be experienced. When the rock mass is competent and stiff, mine induced seismicity and rockbursts can become a dominant issue. In open pit mines, slope failures can destroy the value of a mining project. The traditional methods to assess deep slope stability are arguably inadequate as the replication of complex stress driven slope failures are still poorly understood. |
John Carter is Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment at the University of Newcastle, and Consultant Director, Advanced Geomechanics Pty Ltd, a consultancy based in Perth, Western Australia. He was educated at the University of Sydney and Kings’ College, London and he has held academic appointments at the University of Cambridge, University of Queensland, University of Sydney, Cornell University, and the Technical University of Graz. He is a former National Chair of the Australian Geomechanics Society, and is currently Vice-President of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and a Member of the Order of Australia. |
JOHN CARTERCIVIL ROCK MECHANICS Civil engineers frequently encounter rock and rock masses in many of their day-to-day design and construction activities. Whatever the challenge and whatever the scale of the proposed operation, our knowledge of the behaviour of the rock is often the key to obtaining the most economical solution to the given problem. The challenge of producing such solutions is magnified by the fact that each rock mass is unique, so that although common principles may be applied in each case, accurate characterisation of the rocks and geological structures that nature has provided on any given project is essential. It is intended that this symposium will bring together experts in the civil engineering applications of rock mechanics and rock engineering to share experiences and advance the state of knowledge in this key area of civil engineering endeavour. |
Arcady Dyskin is a Professor at the School of Civil and Resource Engineering of The University of Western Australia, Chair of the Computational Mechanics Discipline Group and Head of Rock Mechanics Group. Arcady has 30 years of research experience. His areas of expertise span the fields of rock mechanics, fracture mechanics and the mechanics of solids. Arcady established a new research area in materials and structures based on topologically interlocking elements. His personal research has contributed to the areas of rock fracture mechanics, mechanics of heterogeneous materials and materials with microstructure and multiscale modelling. |
ARCADY DYSKINFUNDAMENTAL ROCK MECHANICS Fundamental rock mechanics plays an important role in addressing the issues of structural stability and the environmental effects of mining, petroleum, waste storage and geothermal projects. It provides an understanding of deformation and failure phenomena in rock masses and is crucial in their control. Alongside failure prevention, fundamental rock mechanics underpins the development of novel and optimisation of existing rock breaking and comminution techniques. While development of new experimental techniques and equipment is one of the directions in addressing these challenges, numerical simulation is now the method of choice. Accurate modelling of interaction between the openings, faults and other features is paramount to both ensure the safety of the structures and to minimise the environmental impact. SHIRMS will provide a forum for exchanging ideas and reporting recent developments in these and adjacent areas of rock mechanics. |
After completing his degree at the University of Arizona, Dr Jeffrey joined Dowell Schlumberger and worked at their Tulsa R&D Laboratory. While there he worked on developing improved modelling methods directed at improving hydraulic fracture treatments in coalbed methane wells. He joined CSIRO in 1989 and over the next few years carried out nine small-scale fracturing tests near underground coal mine sites in Australia which were eventually mined, with the propped fractures mapped. About 10 years ago, his group introduced hydraulic fracturing into mining for the purpose of inducing caving and preconditioning rock masses for caving. This technology is now being applied at several block caving mines around the world. He is currently working on a number of research topics that include hydraulic fracture growth in naturally fractured rock, modelling of T-shaped hydraulic fractures, stimulation of horizontal in-seam gas drainage holes by sand propped hydraulic fractures, and laboratory measurement of hydraulic fracture growth. |
ROB JEFFREYPETROLEUM ROCK MECHANICS Petroleum geomechanics forms a basis for design and construction of petroleum wells and in stimulation of the reservoir. Geomechanics is being increasingly used to achieve better, sustainable reservoir production performance and to address reservoir subsidence during production. Current prices for oil and gas have dramatically increased well completion activities in recent years, resulting in a corresponding increase in demand for petroleum geomechanics solutions. In response to these demands, research and development in the field of petroleum geomechanics has emphasised issues such as wellbore stability, in situ stress measurement, drilling mechanics and bit-rock interactions, poro-thermoelasticity, sand stabilisation methods, stimulation of naturally fractured reservoirs, hydraulic fracturing of low-cohesive sands, shale stability, reservoir compaction during production, and integration of new monitoring methods into drilling, stimulation, and production operations. |