When Wulf Schubert retires from his active leadership position at the Institute in October 2018, experienced consulting engineer Thomas Marcher will take charge of the Institute of Rock Mechanics and Tunnelling. Like his predecessor, he was actively involved in tunnel construction when he was called to the Graz University of Technology. In addition to alpine tunnelling he also wants to focus on shallow tunnelling, which is increasingly important in metropolitan areas.
Technically, the challenges associated with this type of tunnel construction differ starkly from those that apply to tunnel structures at extreme depth. What we have to deal with here is not so much the stresses on the rock, but primarily the special mechanical properties of less firm ground in the shallow strata. Apart from loose material, the so-called transitional rock plays an important role. Its special characteristic is that while it cannot be described as classical soil material any more, the common rock classifications no longer apply either. The institute intends to develop a special laboratory testing device to analyse these special materials. Furthermore, it is also planned to develop models to come up with new or advanced material laws for this kind of material behaviour.
Another field in which Thomas Marcher wishes to conduct intensive research at the institute is digittization and tunnelling. He wants to find out how BIM (Building Information Modelling) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) can be used optimally in tunnelling, and which new possibilities this can offer.