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Bifurcations, instabilities and degradation in geomechanics

2006; Wiley; Volume: 31; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/nag.580

1096-9853

I. Vardoulakis, G. Exadaktylos,

Geotechnical Engineering and Soil Mechanics

The 1st International Workshop on ‘Localisation of Soils’ was held in Karlsruhe, Germany on 22–25 February 1988. It was followed by the 2nd International Workshop in Gdansk, Poland on 25–30 September 1989. The first two events emphasized fundamental aspects of bifurcation theory applied to soil mechanics, and they were sponsored by the German and Polish Research Councils. The 3rd International Workshop on ‘Localisation and Bifurcation’ was held in Aussois, France on 6–9 September 1993, and the topics were extended to accommodate rock mechanics; generous support was provided by the French Research Council. The 4th and 5th workshops were held in Gifu, Japan and Perth, Australia. The University of Minnesota was selected as the place for the 6th International Workshop on ‘Bifurcations and Instabilities in Geomechanics’. The event was hosted at the St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, U.S.A. on 2–5 June 2002 and was supported by a grant from the NSF and had received generous corporate support (BP Amoco–Houston, Schlumberger–Houston–Cambridge, Shell–Houston, MTS–Minneapolis, Itasca–Minneapolis). This special issue of the International Journal of Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics contains a number of selected papers that were presented during the 7th International Workshop on Bifurcation, Instabilities and Degradation in Geomechanics, which took place in Chania Crete on 13–16 June 2005 under the auspices of the Technical University of Crete and the National Technical University of Athens. The objective of all these workshops has been to bring together international researchers and practitioners dealing with bifurcations and instabilities in geomechanics. The focus was to collect and debate the developments and applications that have taken place since the first workshop in 1988. The topics covered included modelling of bifurcation, structural failure of geomaterials and geostructures, advanced analytical, numerical and experimental techniques, application and development of generalized continuum models, etc. The scope of these workshops included analytical solutions, numerical methods, experimental techniques and case studies. Besides the presentation of fundamental research findings, applications in geotechnical, petroleum, mining, and bulk materials engineering were emphasized. These workshops have provided a forum for researchers and practitioners to present their findings, interact formally and informally on a person-to-person basis, and exchange ideas on problems and solutions with colleagues from other countries. Exchange of ideas is an important ingredient in the professional growth and development of engineers. Our workshop has offered excellent opportunities for such growth. The papers presented in this special issue give the picture of the state of the art in the area of contemporary geomechanics. At this point the guest editors of this special issue of the IJNAMG and Organizers of the 7th IW BIDG would like to acknowledge the support of the following contributors and sponsors: Technical University of Crete (TUC), National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), EDRASIS S.A., Hellenic Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, DIGA Research Training Network, A.L.E.R.T. Geomaterials, TC34 of ISSMGE and the Technical Chamber of Greece.