Special issue on Bio-inspired and Intelligent Underground Geomechanics and Geoengineering
Published 31 July, 2023
Introduction:
Living organisms have developed an array of remarkable biological strategies to accomplish specific functions, presenting a rich repository of principles and design concepts that can help develop the new discipline of bio-inspired geotechnics to solve engineering problems. The interactions between diverse organisms (e.g. encompassing plants, mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, insects, molluscs, microbes, and fungi) and soils play a pivotal role in their growth, survival, and reproduction. These interactions involve activities like penetrating hard materials, anchoring in soft soils, navigating through loose granular materials, and managing mass and thermal transport within granular substances. Given the shared underlying physical principles governing these tasks between natural and engineered environments, drawing inspiration from nature can spark a wellspring of innovative engineering solutions and optimization algorithms.
This special issue focuses on the theme of "Bio-inspired and intelligent underground geomechanics and geoengineering” and relevant contents are welcomed.
Topics covered include, but are not limited to:
Bio- and nature-inspired solutions for underground geomechanics and geoengineering problems, such as:
- Site investigation
- Drilling
- Tunneling
- Excavation
- Earthworks
- Ground improvement
- Pollutant containment, mass and thermal transfer
- Soil reinforcement
- Retaining structures
- Terramechanics
Bio-inspired evolutionary optimizations such as Ant Colony Optimization and Grey Wolf Optimizer applied in the discipline of underground geomechanics and geoengineering are also welcomed.
Important dates:
- Submissions close: 31 October 2023
- Final decision: 30 April 2024
Submission instructions:
Please read the Guide for Authors before submitting. All articles should be submitted online; please select the special issue “Bio Intelligent Underground”.
Guest Editors:
- Prof. Wengang Zhang, Chongqing University, China. Email: zhangwg@cqu.edu.cn
- Prof. Matteo Ciantia, University of Dundee, UK. Email: m.o.ciantia@dundee.ac.uk
- Dr. Ningning Zhang, RWTH Aachen, Germany. Email: n.zhang@gut.rwth-aachen.de