Story of RocDyn
The RocDyn conference series can trace its beginning to the 4th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium in Singapore in 2006, where a Workshop on Rock Dynamics was organised in conjunction with the Symposium. At the workshop, participants discussed and supported the idea of establishing a Rock Dynamics Commission under the International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (ISRM).
After more than one year of preparation, the ISRM Board in 2008 approved the formation of a new ISRM Commission on Rock Dynamics. The Commission set out the following long-term goals. 1) Provide a forum for the sharing and exchange of knowledge in rock dynamics research and engineering applications. This includes organizing Commission meetings, as well as Workshops, Seminars and Short Courses in connection with ISRM-supported events. 2) Co-ordinate rock dynamics research activities within the ISRM community, as well as with other research and professional organizations; 3) Produce reports and guidelines on the study and engineering applications of rock dynamics covering fundamental theories, dynamic properties of rock and rock mass, testing methods, tunnel response, and dynamic support design.
The Commission has been led by Yingxin ZHOU (2008-2011), Kaiwen XIA and Omer AYDAN (2011-2019), and Jianchun LI (2019 – present). Information on the Commission can be found at ISRM website.
The introduction by the late Prof John Hudson and the then ISRM President on page 60 of the ISRM News Journal (Volume 12, Dec 2009) provides a good introduction to the significance of rock dynamics and the work of the Commission. The News Journal also included a few articles presented at the 1st Commission Workshop in 2009 hosted by the Rock Mechanics Laboratory (LMR) of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).
The 2009 Workshop proved to be an important event and led to the publication of the first major book on rock dynamics, Advances in Rock Dynamics and Applications (eds Zhou & Zhao) in 2011 and the first ISRM Suggested Methods for dynamic strength testing of rock materials in 2012. It also paved the way for the First International Conference on Rock Dynamics and Applications (RocDyn-1) in 2013, the birth of the RocDyn conference series. Past RocDyn conferences are summarised below.
| RocDyn Year | Venue City | Main Organiser | Chair | Link to Proceedings |
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RocDyn-1 2013 |
Lausanne | Rock Mechanics Laboratory (LMR), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) | Jian Zhao |
|
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RocDyn-2 2016 |
Suzhou | Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics (IRSM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) |
Haibo Li, Jianchun Li |
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RocDyn-3 2018 |
Trondheim | Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) |
Charlie Li, Kristoffer Vik-Langlie, Zongxian Zhang |
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Main milestones in the ISRM Commission on Rock Dynamics and the RocDyn Conference Series
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2006
Workshop on Rock Dynamics at the 4th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium in Singapore.
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2008
Approval of ISRM Commission on Rock Dynamics, with Yingxin ZHOU as its first president.
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2009
In June 2009, Prof Jian ZHAO hosted the 1st ISRM Workshop on Rock Dynamics, at EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland. The 2-day workshop brought together 35 participants from 13 countries and included 18 presentations. The workshop presentations also formed the basis for an edited book on rock dynamics. It was at this workshop that discussions took place on drafting ISRM Suggested Methods for Rock Dynamic Testing.
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2010
In December 2010, Prof Haibo Li hosted the 2nd ISRM Workshop on Rock Dynamics at the Wuhan Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics in Wuhan, China. This workshop focused on the proposed “Suggested Methods for Determining the Dynamic Strength Parameters and Fracture Toughness of Rock Materials”
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2011
Publication of the edited book,Advances in Rock Dynamics and Applications (eds, Y ZHOU & J Zhao), CRC Press
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2012
Publication of the ISRM Suggested methods for determining the dynamic strength parameters and mode-I fracture toughness of rock materials, International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 49 (2012) 105–112. These were the first ISRM Suggested Methods for dynamic strength testing of rock.
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2013
RocDyn-1: State of the Art
The first International Conference on Rock Dynamics and Applications was held in Lausanne, Switzerland. RocDyn-1 was organised by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne (EPFL), with Jian ZHAO as conference chair.
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2016
RocDyn-2: From Research to Engineering
The 2nd International Conference on Rock Dynamics and Applications was held in Suzhou, China. RocDyn-2 was organised by the Wuhan Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, with Haibo LI & Jianchun LI as conference chairs.
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2018
RocDyn-3: Experiments, Theories, and Applications
The 3rd International Conference on Rock Dynamics and Applications was held in Trondheim, Norway. RocDyn-3 was organised by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway, and the University of Oulu, Finland, with Chunlin LI, Kristoffer Vik-Langlie, and Zongxian ZHANG as conference chairs.
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2022
RocDyn-4: Progress and Outlook
The 4th International Conference on Rock Dynamics and Applications will be held in Xuzhou, China. RocDyn-4 will be organised by the China University of Mining and Technology, with Jianchun LI and Xiaozhao LI as conference chairs. We invite you to join us and continue the story of RocDyn . . .