Minisympoisum on Thermo-hydro-mechanics of porous media at the Interpore 2017 conference

The Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) behaviour of soils occupies a central role in many coupled processes in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering, such as geo-energy, nuclear waste disposal, thermo-active structures and atmospheric interaction of earthworks. In order to provide a forum for academics and practitioners in these areas to exchange their research on thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of soils, a mini-symposium on the topic is being organised as part of the Interpore 2017 conference, to be held 8-11 May 2017 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. This mini-symposium is an opportunity to present experimental research, field work and computational studies focussing both on fundamental aspects of THM behaviour and its application to engineering problems.

All participants will have the opportunity to orally present their work (15 minutes for oral contributions or 3 minutes for poster presentations, in addition to having their poster displayed).

Abstract submission will be open until November 14th, with further details available at the conference website: www.interpore.org/rotterdam . When submitting your contribution, please ensure you select this minisymposium. To enhance and foster discussion on active research, the Interpore conference and the associated mini-symposia consist of only abstract submissions and the presentations/posters at the conference (full papers are not requested).

Title of mini-symposium
MS1.14 Thermo-hydro-mechanics of porous media

Description of the mini-symposium

Changes in temperature affect the mechanical and hydraulic behaviour of porous media. Such temperature changes may be solely above the freezing point of a fluid or include cycles of freezing-thawing. Challenges exist in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering:

· geo-energy (e.g. deep and shallow geothermal)
· radioactive waste disposal
· heat sources in engineering infrastructure (e.g. power cables, pipelines, concrete curing)
· thermal-consolidation for ground improvement
· atmospheric interaction of earthworks

Short-term and long-term behaviour of soils play a fundamental role in the performance of critical geotechnical infrastructure and require accurate characterisation and modelling:

· pore pressure generation
· thermally-induced stresses and strains
· thermally-enhanced consolidation
· damage
· accumulation of permanent deformations under cycles of heating/cooling and freezing/thawing

In this mini-symposium, contributions in theoretical, experimental and computational advances in the characterisation, modelling and application of thermo-hydro-mechanical processes in porous media are welcome. Contributions including additional processes such as chemical or biological coupling are also encouraged.

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