From October 8 to 12, 2024, Prof. Dr. Kurosch Thuro and Justin Mattheis attended this year's “EUROENGEO” conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The European regional conference of the IAEG (International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment) brought together over 250 participants from all over the world to discuss current developments in the industry and new research findings to mark the IAEG's 60th anniversary.
On Friday afternoon, Justin Mattheis presented his results on “3D-Numerical Simulation of Fracture Processes around Deep Geothermal Boreholes in SE Bavaria, Germany”.
The congress of the International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (ISRM) took place in Salzburg from October 8 to 14, 2023. In addition to Prof. Dr. Kurosch Thuro, the PhD students Tanja Sattler, Catharina Drexl, Gabriel Lehmann and Justin Mattheis took part in the conference and exchanged information about their research. In the session on deep geothermal energy, Justin Mattheis presented the current research results of the Geothermal Energy Working Group of the Chair of Engineering Geology with his lecture “Borehole stability in deep geothermal reservoirs - A combined laboratory and numerical approach”. Tanja Sattler presented her research results in the session “Challenging Rock Engineering Projects” with the lecture “Advancements in drillability prediction for conventional hard rock drill and blast tunnelling - implementing automation into the equation”.
The “TUMrocks” team (Catharina Drexl, Gabriel Lehmann and Justin Mattheis) also competed in the Rock Bowl Challenge. In this international competition, the 20 teams of doctoral students from various universities were asked specific questions on rock mechanics, which had to be answered within a time limit. By reaching the semi-finals, they were among the 10 best teams in the challenge.
From October 17 to 19, 2023, Catharina Drexl and Justin Mattheis represented the Geothermal Energy Group of the Chair of Engineering Geology at the “Geothermiekongress” in Essen. With their poster contributions on “Geomechanical effects of dissolution processes on interfaces in the vicinity of deep geothermal boreholes in the North Alpine Foreland Basin” and “Crack toughness tests on analog samples from deep geothermal reservoirs in Bavaria, Germany”, they presented their current research results from the Geothermal Alliance Bavaria.
From September 12 to 13, 2023, the Geotechnical Section Days of the German Society for Geotechnical Engineering (DGGT) took place in Würzburg. In addition to Prof. Dr. Kurosch Thuro, who led several sessions as Head of the Engineering Geology Section, the PhD students of the Chair of Engineering Geology Catharina Drexl, Tamara Breuninger, Tanja Sattler, Moritz Gamperl and Justin Mattheis also took part in the conference. The Chair's current research results were presented in a total of four talks:
Session “Challenges posed by climate change I”:
Tamara Breuninger: Preliminary geological exploration for a slope movement early warning system in the informal settlements of Medellín, Colombia
Moritz Gamperl: A new early warning system for slope movements in informal settlements: Case study in Medellín, Colombia
Session “Challenges of the energy transition I”:
Catharina Drexl: Geomechanical characterization of deep geothermal reservoirs in Bavaria, Germany
Justin Mattheis: Finite-discrete modeling of fracture processes around deep geothermal wells in the South German Molasse Basin
