ISRM 2015: short course, Rocha medal, plenary lecture and presentations

Geomechanica is looking forward to presenting its latest research findings and simulation software developments at the 13th International Congress on Rock Mechanics , to be held at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, Québec, Canada, from May 10 to 13, 2015.

On Sunday May 11, 2015, Dr. Andrea Lisjak and Dr. Bryan Tatone will be offering a short course on the use of the hybrid finite-discrete element method (FEMDEM) to simulate fracture processes in rocks. The course will cover the theoretical principles of the numerical method and will offer the opportunity to gain valuable “hands-on” experience using Geomechanica’s soon-to-be-released Irazu FEMDEM software . We encourage petroleum, mining, geological and geotechnical engineers, graduate and post-graduate students with an interest in brittle rock behaviour to attend this short course.

On Monday May 12, Dr. Andrea Lisjak will be awarded the prestigious 2015 ISRM Rocha Medal and deliver a plenary lecture about his doctoral thesis entitled ‘Investigating the influence of mechanical anisotropy on the fracturing behaviour of brittle clay shales with application to deep geological repositories’. On Tuesday May 13, during the Shale Symposium chaired by Prof. Herbert Einstein, Andrea will also be presenting Geomechanica’s latest results regarding the numerical analysis of the excavation damaged zone in Opalinus Clay. Finally, Dr. Bryan Tatone will present some recent developments in the field of rock support modelling and rock-reinforcement interaction analysis. The technical program of the conference can be found here .

We hope to see you in the congress. Don’t miss the early-bird registration deadline: April 3!