1. Wireless
sensors for blast monitoring and slope stability
- Development of compact, inexpensive wireless sensor
networks
- For mining, monitor ppv, ppa, frequency spectrum, scaled
distance relationships
- For mining, highways and railways, monitor stability using
resonant frequencies
- Interface with point cloud software for visualization and
stability calculations
2. Hyperspectral imaging for material tracking and rock
characterization
- Use of push-broom technologies along moving conveyor belts
containing rock fragments
- Interface with fragmentation delineation algorithms to
determine rock type for each rock fragment
- Development of material tracking algorithms for use in mine-to-mill
optimization
3. LIDAR
for rock mass characterization and change detection
- Use of LIDAR and Digital Image
Processing to image rock faces.
- Development of software to
automatically extract fracture information from LIDAR and digital images.
- Field case studies to
determine accuracy and best-practices
- Development of software for
accurate change detection
- Inputting detailed point
clouds into three-dimensional FEM/DEM programs
4.
Time-dependent rock fracture mechanics
- Lab tests to determine subcritical
crack growth properties for tensile and shear crack growth
- Implementing time-dependent
fracture mechanics into FEM/DEM programs
- Studying very slow subcritical
crack growth at the nano scale using the Atomic Force
Microscope (AFM)
- Study of time-dependent limestone
cave degradation as an analog for long-term rock behavior
- Underground nuclear waste
storage geomechanics
5.
Digital image processing applied to rock fragments and rock fragmentation
- Software for delineating rock
fragments and estimating the size distribution
- Application of the software in
blasting, crushing and grinding
- Use of image processing and
drill monitoring for blast modeling and optimization
- Mine-to-mill optimization
6. Teaching
rock mechanics in the 21st century
- Novel ideas for web-based learning
- MS and PhD degrees for distance students
- Short courses and classroom teaching aimed at both
students and professionals
7.
Other Topics in Geomechanics and Fracture Mechanics
- State-of-the-art testing,
fracturing and sensing rock mechanics laboratory
- The next generation of 3D
numerical modeling software