研究室紹介

Rock engineering as well as rock mechanics is a truly interdisciplinary subject, with applications in geology and geophysics, mining, petroleum, and civil engineering. It relates to energy recovery and development, construction of underground spaces for transportation, water resources and defense facilities, prediction of earthquakes, and many other activities of greatest importance.
Practitioners in this field have made important contributions in mining and civil engineering possible by accumulated practical experience, engineering judgment and often by a trial-and-error approach. In essence, the rock engineering practice has traditionally been an art rather than an engineering science. Despite this fact, the rock engineering science has been advanced by the devoted efforts of many scientist, researchers and engineers.
Today, many workers in the rock engineering field tend to use comprehensive numerical modeling to study and solve complex issues. Although these models are powerful, it is difficult and rather impossible to obtain the necessary input data. It should be emphasized that field observations and measurements could play an important role in solving the issues. It has been pointed out that there is a big gap between theories and practice.