Special Publication on “Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste in Deep Clay Formations: 40 Years of RD&D in the Belgian URL HADES”

Over the past four decades, research in the HADES underground research laboratory has made a major contribution to the assessment  that geological disposal of radioactive waste in clay can provide a safe and feasible solution for the long-term management of high-level and long-lived waste in Belgium. On the occasion of the 40st anniversary of the HADES underground research laboratory, EIG EURIDICE, SCK CEN and ONDRAF/NIRAS prepared a Special Publication on “Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste in Deep Clay Formations: 40 Years of RD&D in the Belgian URL HADES“, edited by X.L. Li, M. Van Geet, C. Bruggeman and M. De Craen. This Special Publication presents the main contributions of the HADES laboratory to Belgian and international research into geological disposal. This Special Publication is available in open access. It can be accessed via EURIDICE website (www.euridice.be “in the spotlight” – “HADES40 Special Issue”), by clicking the image below or directly at the webpage of the Geological Society Special Publications (https://www.lyellcollection.org/toc/sp/536/1). It is also possible to buy a print book via this website.  

Registration for the ALERT Workshop and School 2023 is OPEN!

Dear ALERT community,

I am pleased to inform you that the registration for the ALERT Geomaterials Workshop and School 2023 is now open! The preliminary programs of the Doctoral School is available here, the programme of the Workshop should be posted soon.

In the continuity of last year edition, a remote access to the doctoral school is proposed at the same price as the on-site option. However, this remote option only gives access to the passive attending of the presentations, and no questions could be asked.

This year, the ALERT Bureau has decided to offer one day of accomodation to:

  • all PhD students attending the doctoral school and belonging to an ALERT member institution (in a double room only);
  • all retired researchers attending the workshop.

Please read the hints in the registration form! After filling the form and pressing the button “Register”, a window will open with your invoice. Please print the window with the invoice for your records! You will also get an email with the registration data afterwards. If you are an ALERT members, the corresponding representative of your ALERT institution will receive the registration data too.

Click here to register for the ALERT Workshop and School 2023.

The deadline for the registration is the September 08th! The accommodation in Aussois will be processed in the order of the registrations (see the hints in the registration form). Please note that the number of rooms in the CNRS “Centre Paul Langevin” is limited.
See also hints on how to get to Aussois.

Looking forward to meeting you in Aussois!

ALERT Poster Session 2023


The ALERT Poster session will be held during the ALERT Workshop from September 25 to September 27, 2023 in Aussois.

Those who are interested are asked to submit their abstracts (both word/openoffice and pdf files are required) by email to the coordinators Nadia Benahmed (nadia.benahmed@inrae.fr) and Antoine Wautier (antoine.wautier@inrae.fr) using the attached abstract form (Template).

This year, the ALERT Committee has decided to award a prize (€500) to the poster that demonstrates the greatest originality, aesthetics and clarity, as well as the best scientific content, both in the poster and the abstract.

The deadline for the submission of the abstract is the September 10, 2023. For those wishing to participate to the competition, please send your poster (in pdf format) at the same time as your abstract.

ALERT Workshop 2023 – EXTENDED Call for abstracts

The Call for Abstract for the ALERT Workshop 2023 (33rd Edition) is extended until the 19th of June. Please submit your abstracts by email directly to the coordinators using the Workshop abstract form (doc). If you wish to publish your presentation after the Workshop on the ALERT website, do not forget to agree by ticking the corresponding box in the abstract form.

Here is a reminder of the workshop sessions for which the call for abstract is open, as well as a short description of each of them:

  • Session 1: “Energy geomechanics
    Organizers: Jean-Michel PereiraCarlos Santamarina and Diego Manzanal.

    The use of the geological subsurface is gaining interest in various energy-related applications, covering energy recovery and storage. In these applications, the physical phenomena at play in the encountered porous materials include -often in a coupled manner- heat and mass transfers, multiphase flow, reactive transport of fluids, mechanics, etc.
  • Session 3: “Anisotropy in geomaterials: theory, experiments and modelling”
    Organizers: Eleni GerolymatouCino Viggiani, and Angelo Amorosi.

    Anisotropy, i.e. the variation of any given property of the material with direction, can have a significant effect on the material response to loading. It is present in most types of geomaterials, ranging from granular soils to hard rocks.
    Due to the significant effort required to determine in the laboratory the internal variables of the material and the additional difficulties linked to its constitutive description, it is in most applications ignored as a matter of fact. However, in the last years significant efforts have been made in both directions.
    With the present topic suggestion the organizers would like to invite contributions from researchers working on anisotropy in geomaterials in the fields of constitutive law development, experimental testing and numerical simulation. The aim is to increase awareness of the significance of anisotropy, to stimulate scientific exchange and to provide a first exposure to its intricacies for younger researchers.

13th ALERT Olek Zienkiewicz course – 28th August to 1st September

The 13th ALERT Olek Zienkiewicz course 2023: 

Multiphysics and multiscale coupled processes in geomaterials
Focus on thermal effects and gas transfer impact on the behaviour of geomaterials

jointly organised by the Alliance of Laboratories in Europe for Education and the GAS/HITEC EURAD projects, will be held in the buildings of the ULiège (Sart-Tilman campus) in Liege, Belgium between 28 August and 1 September 2023.

More information on the organisation of the course in this attachment.

Registration is free of charge and possible on the following website: https://euradschool.eu/event/gashitec-training-course/
A maximum of 80 participants will be able to join the school. Priority will be given to researchers involved in EURAD and members of ALERT Geomaterials until 1 July 2023.

IS-Grenoble 2024 – Call for abstracts

IS-Grenoble 2024 will be the fifth quadrennial international symposium organized under the auspices of Technical Committee 105 (Geomechanics from Micro to Macro) of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE).

The call for abstracts is open, looking forward to receiving your abstract (and to seeing you here!)

Save the date: September 23 – September 27, 2024

More information on the website: is-grenoble2024.sciencesconf.org

Seminar Prof. Alexander Puzrin at Politecnico di Bari

Dear Colleagues,

on Thursday 4 May 2023, at 15:30 CET, Prof. Alexander Puzrin, Head of the Institute of Geotechnical Engineering at ETH Zurich, will deliver a seminar entitled:

“Has science solved one of hystory’s greatest adventure mysteries?”

The seminar is organised by the Geotechnical Research Group of DICATECh, Politecnico di Bari, Italy, and will be held in presence at Politecnico di Bari.

Please see the attached file for further details.