The large number of upcoming tunnelling conferences in Europe, North America and Asia this autumn presents engineers from far and wide with plenty of opportunities for consultants, contractors, manufacturers, suppliers and owners to discuss technical and business developments on projects large and small, in ground hard or soft.

Both September and October and packed out with key gatherings.

Events in September include: ­

  • BTSYM Conference, in London, on 13 Sep;, ­
  • India will host ISRM’s International Symposium and 13th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium, in New Delhi, 22-27 Sep; and, ­
  • InnoTrans is in Berlin, 24-27 Sep.

In October, the list of events includes: ­

  • BTS Conference, in London, 8-9 Oct; ­
  • Canada’s TAC 2024 Conference, in Montreal, 6-8 Oct; ­
  • Austria’s Tunnel Day and Geomechanics Colloquium, in Salzburg, 9-11 Oct; ­
  • Again in Canada, No-Dig North 2024, at Niagara Falls, ON, 28-30 Oct; and, ­
  • ISRM’s 1st International Mass Classification Conference, in Oslo, 30-31 Oct.

There is more than enough to say on the different events, each having their particular focus and some with regional interests, and core audiences – but interesting information is available to all along with openness to deep discussions on lessons from projects, designs, construction, research, and challenges faced and overcome. Perhaps some still being addressed, or anticipated may come.

With so much to say and so little space, we offer a spotlight glimpse to the events. And, would highlight – again from the lists above, across September and October – the BTS events (conferences by BTSYM and BTS) to be held in London.

Then there are more events before the year is out, in Norway and also the ITA Tunnelling Awards.

Not too early, either, for tunnellers to start planning for the international big one – the World Tunnel Congress (WTC) next year, in Stockholm. Not so long to go, as it’ll no doubt turn out, as the WTC 2025 host city – the Venice of the North – will be enjoying long summer days by then. Something to look forward to, as the northern hemisphere slips into shorter days of autumn and indoors. Just as well there are so many events offered.

BTS CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION

The BTS Conference and Exhibition 2024 is the largest gathering of tunnelling professionals in the UK and will taking place on 8-9 October, at the QEII Conference Centre, in Westminster, London.

In addition to exhibition area with stands to gather information and have discussions over the two days, the gathering also features a packed ]programme of presentations, as follows:

8 October
Keynotes ­

  • Building and maintaining low-carbon infrastructure: Keith Bowers ­
  • Innovation – a force for change: Nick Sumption ­
  • AI and related technologies in tunnel design and construction: Prof Mike Mooney

Innovation in Action ­

  • Developments and innovations in TBM technology: Prof. Dr. Gerhard Wehrmeyer ­
  • Not-a-Boring Competition Winner 2024 – Swissloop Tunneling: Eugenio Valli ­
  • BEVs in tunnelling – is mining ahead?: Ross Dimmock ­
  • Showing the way forward: Dr Renalt Capes

Sustainability and the Environment ­

  • Sustainable tunnelling in the face of climate change: Dr Panos Spyridis ­
  • Low carbon concrete linings: Dr Benoit Jones ­
  • Panel Discussion – Innovation for a sustainable environment: Chairs, Ken Kwok and Crystal Moore

Innovation Construction Materials and Lining Technology ­

  • Codes and standards for lower carbon FRC tunnel linings: Chris Peaston ­
  • Ultra-low carbon precast linings in practice: Bruno Paul-Dauphin ­
  • Stress distribution in composite linings: case studies with numerical modelling: Jiang Su

Following the Day 1 talks is the BTS monthly meeting will be held in the evening, at the usual time (1800-1930), at the venue.

Day 2 follows with another packed schedule

9 October
Keynotes ­

  • David Wallis Paper: BTS Chair, John Corcoran ­
  • Tunnelling through the Chilterns: Ben Bryant ­
  • Woodsmith Mine project – optimised ground support design: Sebastian Kumpfmueller ­
  • Tunnelling the Scandinavian way, in Gothenburg: Tom Crabtree

Projects ­

  • Tunnelling 100m under a metropolis: LEE Ka Leung ­
  • BIM whispers from Stockholm Blue Line: Alejandro Cantarero ­
  • Tideway – acceleration at Carnwath Rd: Alexei Bond ­
  • Advanced InSAR for urban tunnelling: Blanca Payas Puigarnau

Small Bore Spotlight ­

  • Multiple under-track culverts installation: Jim Kirby ­
  • Single pass pipejacked pressure pipes: Bryn Phillips ­
  • Revised design guide for CDM Duty holders: Sean Martin

Inclusivity ­

  • Being a female leader in tunnelling today: Sharon Strugnell ­
  • Panel Discussion

Closing Remarks: Conference Chair, Daniel Garbutt
For more, go to: www.btsconference.com

AUSTRIA – 14TH TUNNEL DAY & 73RD GEOMECHANICS COLLOQUIUM

Over 9-11 October, the Austrian Society for Geomechanics (OGG) will hold the 14th Tunnel Day & 73rd Geomechanics Colloquium, in Salzburg.

The Tunnel Day takes place on 9 Oct, the first of the three days, and the remainder of the period is for the Colloquium, mostly, and a half-day of optional site visits.

A packed programme is lined up for the Tunnel Day with presentations across four themes: major projects; contracts; digital; and, regulations.

Under the major projects theme a key focus will have three presentations on Brenner Base Tunnel, the cross-border rail tunnel link being built by Austria and Italy in the Alps. Other projects to be presented include A10 Tauern highway where the Ofenauer and Hiefler tunnels are being renovated; the Semmering Base Tunnel; and, Fehmarn immersed tube tunnel, which will link Denmark and Germany.

The contracts theme will have a number of papers on Alliance contract experience in different transport projects, and also comparison between Austria and Germany.

Brenner project comes up again under the digitisation theme, which also is to have a presentation on formworks and possibilities around automation.

The fourth theme, on regulatory frameworks, will have presentations on reuse of spoil and dealing with quartz dust during conventional tunnelling, respectively.

The following day begins the Colloquium, lasting 1.5 days – before the site visits. Themes are diverse in the Colloquium, notes OGG President, Robert Galler – they range from rock slope stability to geothermal energy, climate-related natural hazards, and the assessment and repair of infrastructure.

On the latter, presentations are to be heard on strategic handling of old rail tunnels, and the challenges and new approaches in asset safety management of rail tunnels. The Tauern Tunnel refurbishment is to be a project example. There is also to be a presentation of standardisation and maintenance strategies for infrastructure.

The conference languages at the Colloquium are German and English, and simultaneous translation facility will be provided.

After the Colloquium, the afternoon is for site visit options with journeys to projects about an hour’s bus drive from Salzburg. Offered this year are visits, of a few hours, to either Ebensee pumped storage hydro project or the rehabilitation tunnels (Ofenauer, Hiefler) on A10 Tauern highway, respectively.
See: www.oegg.at

ISRM – ROCK MECHANICS CONFERENCES

ISRM’s International Symposium 2024 and the 13th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium will be held in New Delhi, 22-27 September.

The theme of the Symposium is ‘Advances in rock mechanics – infrastructure development,’ and in that context holding the event in India is very apt with so much construction – and planning – for road, rail and hydropower.

Keynote lectures are to be given by Dr Nick Barton, prof Omer Aydan, and Prof Krishna Panthi. The ISRM Franklin Lecture is to be delivered by Dr Vikram Vishal.

Themes for the Symposium are: ­

  • Advancement in Site Investigations and Characterization of Rocks & Rock Masses; ­
  • Application of Advance Geophysical Investigation Techniques; ­
  • Constitutive Modelling of Rocks and Soils; ­
  • Rock Excavation Techniques – Drilling, Blasting; ­
  • Mechanical Cutting, Rock and Dump Slope Stability and Foundation Analysis; ­
  • Rock Supports, Instrumentations & Ground Improvement; ­
  • Design Methods and Analysis – Analytical and Numerical Modelling; ­
  • Preservation and Restoration of Ancient Monuments; ­
  • Deep Underground Mining Methods & Instrumentation; ­
  • Underground Space Development for Storages etc;
  • Innovations and Applications of IOT in Rock Engineering; ­
  • Structural Health Monitoring and Rehabilitation; ­
  • Advancement in Laboratory Testing Techniques; ­
  • Geo-hazards and Risk Management; ­
  • Green Technologies for Zero Waste Generation and Sustainable Development; and, ­
  • Case Studies

In addition, there will be short courses and workshops run over two days (22-23 September), covering:

  • ­Advances in numerical analysis in rock engineering (full day); ­
  • Smart mining and rock engineering (full day); ­
  • Rock grouting (full day); ­
  • Integrating rock mass classification techniques and tunnelling technology (half day); ­
  • Rockfall protection and landslide stabilisation, with IoT (full day); ­
  • Rock mechanics in tunnelling techniques (full day); and, ­
  • Numerical analysis with FLAC2D/FLAC3D (full day).

The Symposium main presentation will run over 24-26 September., the visits on 27 September.
For more detail, see: https://arms2024.org