Jens T. Birkholzer, Bastian J. Graupner, Jon Harrington, Rick Jayne, Olaf Kolditz, Kristopher L. Kuhlman, Tara LaForce, Rosie C. Leone, Paul E. Mariner, Christopher McDermott, Carlos Plúa, Emily Stein, Yutaka Sugita, Elena Tamayo-Mas, Kate Thatcher, Jeoung Seok Yoon, Alexander E. Bond
{"title":"DECOVALEX-2023: An international collaboration for advancing the understanding and modeling of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes in geological systems","authors":"Jens T. Birkholzer, Bastian J. Graupner, Jon Harrington, Rick Jayne, Olaf Kolditz, Kristopher L. Kuhlman, Tara LaForce, Rosie C. Leone, Paul E. Mariner, Christopher McDermott, Carlos Plúa, Emily Stein, Yutaka Sugita, Elena Tamayo-Mas, Kate Thatcher, Jeoung Seok Yoon, Alexander E. Bond","doi":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100685","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100685","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The DECOVALEX initiative is an international research collaboration (<span><span>www.decovalex.org</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>), initiated in 1992, for advancing the understanding and modeling of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes in geological systems. DECOVALEX stands for “DEvelopment of COupled Models and VALidation against EXperiments”. The creation of this international initiative was motivated by the recognition that prediction of these coupled effects is an essential part of the performance and safety assessment of geologic disposal systems for radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. DECOVALEX emphasizes joint analysis and comparative modeling of the complex perturbations and coupled processes in geologic repositories and how these impact long-term performance predictions. The most recent phase of the DECOVALEX Project, here referred to as DECOVALEX-2023, started in early 2020 and ended in late 2023. More than fifty research teams associated with 17 international DECOVALEX partner organizations participated in the comparative evaluation of eight modeling tasks covering a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, geological formations, and coupled processes. This Virtual Special Issue on DECOVALEX-2023 provides an in-depth overview of these collaborative research efforts and how these have advanced the state-of-the-art of understanding and modeling coupled THMC processes. While primarily focused on radioactive waste, much of the work included here has wider application to many geoengineering topics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56008,"journal":{"name":"Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100685"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144271274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Aditi Rana , Ashutosh Kumar , Arash Azizi , Ashraf S. Osman , David G. Toll
{"title":"Assessment of an amended soil as a climate adaptive barrier: Element testing and physical modelling","authors":"Aditi Rana , Ashutosh Kumar , Arash Azizi , Ashraf S. Osman , David G. Toll","doi":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100693","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100693","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper demonstrates the effectiveness of using waste from a drinking water treatment plant (water treatment residue WTR) to amend a natural soil and develop a climate-adaptive barrier layer (CABL) that can limit water migration into underlying layers, thereby mitigating climate risks for geotechnical infrastructure. Experimental results showed adding WTR to silty sand recovered from an active landslide site improved the soil’s engineering properties. In particular, a 5 % WTR amendment significantly enhanced water retention capacity and reduced saturated permeability, thereby improving its overall performance as a protective cover. Following this, a medium-scale physical model was developed to monitor water migration and suction evolution in a soil column with and without a CABL made from the WTR amended soil under atmospheric drying and artificial rainfall conditions. The amendment allowed the soil to store more water compared to unamended silty sand, delaying water infiltration into the underlying layers. Over 250 days of monitoring, the physical model indicated the effectiveness of the CABL in slowing the wetting and drying processes of the underlying soil. The enhanced water retention capacity of the CABL, combined with the contrasting unsaturated permeability values between the CABL and the natural soil, formed a barrier that slowed water infiltration and postponed the breakthrough point. Although the CABL did not entirely prevent breakthrough under simulated rainfall, the observed delay and increased water retention present clear advantage for developing more comprehensive mitigation systems. Vegetating the CABL or using multi-layered systems can enhance water loss through evapotranspiration or drainage, further reducing the risk of breakthrough. The outcome of this study not only contribute to the development of an effective soil cover system but also offers a sustainable pathway for the reuse of water treatment waste.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56008,"journal":{"name":"Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article 100693"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144241044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Liang Zhou , Chao Deng , Xin Zhang , Shuguang Xiao , Kai Ji , Changyu Fan , Xiaofang Yang
{"title":"Current in-situ stress field and its controlling factors of the Bozhong 19–6 structure in the offshore Bohai Bay Basin, Eastern China","authors":"Liang Zhou , Chao Deng , Xin Zhang , Shuguang Xiao , Kai Ji , Changyu Fan , Xiaofang Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100688","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100688","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study established a comprehensive geomechanical model using the latest exploration well data to evaluate the present-day in-situ stress field of the Bozhong 19–6 (BZ19–6) structure, located in the offshore Bohai Bay basin of Eastern China. Interpretation of drilling-induced tensile fracture strikes and borehole breakout azimuths from borehole imaging logging indicates that the direction of maximum horizontal stress (SH<sub>max</sub>) is oriented from NE to sub-EW (45°–110°). By establishing a mud weight–pore pressure (P<sub>p</sub>) conversion model, the calibrated mud weight serves as a proxy for P<sub>p</sub>. Constraints from formation leak-off tests were applied with Huang's model and the poroelastic strain model to quantify the minimum (SH<sub>min</sub>) and SH<sub>max</sub> components, which vary continuously with burial depth. Vertical stress (SV) is determined by integrating density logs. The relative magnitudes of the three stress components suggest a transitional stress regime between normal and strike-slip faulting (SH<sub>min</sub> < SH<sub>max</sub> ≈ SV), where SV and SH<sub>max</sub> are comparable in magnitude. Analysis of factors influencing stress magnitude—including burial depth, Young's modulus, and P<sub>p</sub>—reveals a strong linear correlation with horizontal stress magnitude. A coupling relationship exists between P<sub>p</sub> and SH<sub>min</sub>, with a coupling ratio of 0.66. A wellbore trajectory model was employed to calculate parameters for the optimal well trajectory direction and analyze wellbore stability. Fault reactivation potential in the reservoir was evaluated using stress polygons derived from friction limit theory, indicating a low likelihood of fault reactivation due to P<sub>p</sub> increases from hydraulic fracturing. This research enhances understanding of the present-day in-situ stress field, which is critical for applications in drilling design, wellbore stability analysis, and fault reactivation potential assessment. Such insights are particularly significant for hydrocarbon reservoir exploration and development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56008,"journal":{"name":"Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100688"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144168017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andrea Ciancimino , Trishala Daka , Liliana Gramegna , Guido Musso , Giorgio Volonté , Gabriele Della Vecchia
{"title":"A constitutive framework for caprocks accounting for viscoplastic cyclic degradation and coupled geo-chemo-mechanical processes","authors":"Andrea Ciancimino , Trishala Daka , Liliana Gramegna , Guido Musso , Giorgio Volonté , Gabriele Della Vecchia","doi":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100689","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100689","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper provides an extension of an existing elasto-plastic framework originally proposed by Gens & Nova (1993) for modelling the response of structured soils and soft rocks. The model is enhanced to reproduce not only the mechanical response of caprocks under standard monotonic triaxial loading, but also the effects of the environmental and hydraulic loading induced by modern energy applications, including gas/hydrogen storage and geological carbon storage. The novelty of these applications, compared to the more usual ones developed by the oil and gas industry over decades, lies in the complex pore fluid and stress pressure histories applied and in the strong geochemical interaction of the rock formations with non-native fluids. Cyclic pore pressure histories due to seasonal gas storage may result in a mechanical degradation of the caprock material, while chemical degradation may occur due to pore water acidification resulting from the rock-water-CO<sub>2</sub> interaction. To cope with the cyclic mechanical degradation, the framework is first coupled with the extended overstress theory, so to satisfactorily reproduce the time-dependent behaviour of caprocks, which presents inelastic strains even within the yield surface. Such an extension is shown to be essential to reproduce the strong strain-rate dependence and the increase in the number of cycles to failure with the amplitude of cyclic loading observed in experimental data obtained on intact specimens of an Italian stiff carbonatic clay. The elasto-plastic model is then enhanced to account for chemical degradation, using the calcite mass fraction dissolution as a variable controlling damage evolution. Combined with a geochemical reactive transport model, this extension satisfactorily reproduces the progressive degradation of a Chinese shale due to CO<sub>2</sub> exposure, showing the ability of the framework to model coupled geo-chemo-mechanical processes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56008,"journal":{"name":"Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100689"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144168018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
June-Ho Park , Jinwoo Kim , Gyeol Han , Tae-Hyuk Kwon , Chang-Ho Hong , Jin-Seop Kim
{"title":"Laboratory evidences on accelerated fatigue failure in brittle granitic rock by coupled thermal and mechanical cyclic loading: Acoustic emission monitoring and implication to underground hydrogen storage","authors":"June-Ho Park , Jinwoo Kim , Gyeol Han , Tae-Hyuk Kwon , Chang-Ho Hong , Jin-Seop Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100686","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100686","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In underground hydrogen storage (UHS), injecting and recovering hydrogen in response to fluctuating energy supply and demand introduces unique challenges associated with thermal and mechanical cyclic loadings, leading to potential fatigue failure of the host rock. However, the effect of thermal cycles on the fatigue of crystalline rocks remains poorly understood. This study presents laboratory evidences on accelerated fatigue failure in brittle granitic rock by coupled thermal and mechanical cyclic loading, using acoustic emission (AE) monitoring. A series of uniaxial compression tests were conducted to characterize fatigue damage evolution under cyclic loading at a constant temperature of ∼8°C (CYC) and cyclic loading with temperature variations of ∼8–80°C (CYC-T). The results show that thermal cycles accelerate fatigue damage, with CYC-T specimens failing after an average of 3.3 cycles compared to 5.8 cycles for CYC specimens. This accelerated fatigue damage was corroborated by their systematically different increasing patterns of cumulative AE counts, which indicates that thermal cycles facilitate coalescence of fatigue microcracks leading to more abrupt and catastrophic failure. The shift in AE peak frequencies reveals the formation of a new group of cracks that differ in size and location, highlighting the complex interactions between thermally induced and mechanically induced microcracks. Young's modulus exhibits only a slight decrease while Poisson’s ratio increases markedly under both loading conditions, indicating significant dilative behavior and crack propagation. The findings in this study underscore the necessity of incorporating thermal stress management strategies in the design and operation of UHS systems for long-term stability and operational sustainability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56008,"journal":{"name":"Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100686"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144107205","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Relevance of adopting a double porosity retention curve for modelling bentonite hydration under high temperature conditions","authors":"Laura Asensio, Gema Urraca, Vicente Navarro","doi":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100684","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100684","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aims to gain a better understanding of the coupled thermo-hydraulic effects of the water retention formulation in compacted bentonites, and especially of a double porosity formulation. To this end, several thermo-hydraulic laboratory tests have been simulated with a thermo-hydro-mechanical model using three different water retention formulations: single porosity, single porosity with temperature dependence and double porosity. The results indicate that the impact of including temperature dependence in a single porosity model is limited. In addition, for the case that combines intense heating (150 ºC) with hydration, only the double porosity model produced quality results, even if it did not include a direct dependence on temperature. Differentiation between microstructural and macrostructural water is key to reproducing the thermally induced drying and exhaustion of the flow channels observed in these conditions and not under moderate heating. Therefore, double porosity formulations for the water retention behaviour of bentonites are especially advisable to represent the coupled thermo-hydraulic effects in conditions combining intense heating with hydration, as in deep geological repositories of spent nuclear fuel.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56008,"journal":{"name":"Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100684"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144084628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Roa’a AL-Masri , Camilo Sanchez-Avellaneda , Youjun Deng , Leonardo do Nascimento Guimarães , Jeffery Greathouse , Edward Matteo , Marcelo Sanchez
{"title":"Effect of pore fluid chemistry on the mechanical behavior of a divalent compacted bentonite, an experimental and constitutive study","authors":"Roa’a AL-Masri , Camilo Sanchez-Avellaneda , Youjun Deng , Leonardo do Nascimento Guimarães , Jeffery Greathouse , Edward Matteo , Marcelo Sanchez","doi":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100683","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100683","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ongoing research in isolating high-level nuclear waste and spent fuel has highlighted compacted bentonite as a suitable material for engineered barrier systems in deep geological repositories due to its extraordinary swelling and retention properties. This research focuses on the chemo-mechanical behavior of compacted bentonite exposed to different pore fluids with different concentrations and loading conditions. The study involves swelling pressure and compressibility experiments along with mineralogy analysis employing X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Cation exchange. The tests were conducted on BCV (a Mg/Ca- bentonite) compacted at a dry density of 1.48 ± .02 Mg/m<sup>3</sup>. An advanced chemical-mechanical constitutive model for unsaturated highly expansive clays was adopted to simulate the material response and better understand its behavior. The model is able to account for the main phenomena at both macro and microstructural levels and the interactions between them. The model successfully replicated experimental observations. The XRD analyses support the macroscopic observation, indicating that salinity impacts crystalline swelling as demonstrated by the reduction of basal spacing from 19.27 Å to 15.68 Å when the osmotic suction increases from 0 MPa to 33 MPa. The results suggested that the osmotic pressure generated by the concentration in the pore fluids promotes a reduction in swelling pressures, swelling strains, and crystalline swelling of clay minerals. Also, it affects the pre-consolidation stress and the compressibility of the compacted samples. It was also observed that both solution type and solution concentration impact the clay swelling pressure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56008,"journal":{"name":"Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100683"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144090427","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jinquan Shi , Lei Zhang , Kebin Ren , Hao Cui , Yang Yang , Yuanjian Liu , Lin Ye , Jianwei Zhang
{"title":"Experimental investigation on biocementation materials in earthen heritage reinforcement","authors":"Jinquan Shi , Lei Zhang , Kebin Ren , Hao Cui , Yang Yang , Yuanjian Liu , Lin Ye , Jianwei Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100682","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100682","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The reinforcement and repair materials for earthen sites have high requirements for strength, resistance to deterioration, and aesthetic coordination. In this study, the enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) and the microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) techniques were used to reinforce the earthen site soil. The applicability of EICP and MICP for stabilizing earthen sites soil was investigated through static contact angle tests, disintegration tests and colorimetry tests. In addition, the improvement of mechanical properties of biotreated earthen sites soil was examined by unconfined compression strength tests. The tests results show that MICP and EICP techniques could improve the mechanical characteristics and water-stability properties of the earthen sites soil. With the increase in cementing solution concentration, the effectiveness of EICP was enhanced, while the water-stability and hydrophobicity of MICP-treated soils increased first and then decreased due to the influences of organic matter and soluble salts. EICP and MICP techniques showed different performance in reinforcing effects on calcium carbonate content, shear wave velocity, unconfined compressive peak strength, total disintegration time, and static contact angle. This study is expected to contribute valuable insights to the conservation of earthen heritage site using bio-based methods.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56008,"journal":{"name":"Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100682"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143936640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andrew Minto , Anthony K. Leung , Jonathan A. Knappett
{"title":"The effect of climate change on the behaviour of thermo-active diaphragm walls","authors":"Andrew Minto , Anthony K. Leung , Jonathan A. Knappett","doi":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100681","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100681","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Energy geo-structures are becoming more common as a renewable energy solution which utilises shallow geothermal energy to provide heating and cooling to buildings and civil infrastructure projects. Previous studies have shown that diaphragm walls subjected to combined thermo-mechanical loading show overall increases in lateral displacements, bending moments, shear forces, axial forces, and settlements on the retained side with thermal cycles. This study uses a variation of a validated numerical model to predict the behaviour of thermo-active diaphragm walls in the longer-term including accounting for the influence of climate change under contrasting RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 scenarios. This numerical model also assesses the impact of different modelling assumptions on the model output by comparing a simplified (isothermal boundary condition) model with a more complex model where atmospheric temperatures affecting ground temperatures are included, to inform the interpretation of physical model test data which typically use isothermal (simplified) boundary conditions. The results from this study show increases in lateral displacement, maximum bending moments, positive and negative shear forces and axial forces (compressive and tensile). Significantly, the RCP2.6 model shows that these increases begin to stabilise over the 50-year period modelled, while under RCP8.5, values continue to increase linearly at the end of the modelling period. The study also demonstrates the importance of capturing realistic model boundary conditions in long term studies. The more simplified model underestimates lateral displacements and internal stresses. The underestimation of lateral displacements is significant as this is the main driver of settlements on the retained side of the wall and has been identified as one of the most critical factors affecting long term performance of thermo-active embedded retaining walls.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56008,"journal":{"name":"Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100681"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143911510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Guillermo A. Narsilio , Enrique Romero , Jose Alvarellos , Anne-Catherine Dieudonné , Farimah Masrouri , Vincenzo De Gennaro
{"title":"Bridging knowledge between unsaturated geomechanics and energy geotechnics","authors":"Guillermo A. Narsilio , Enrique Romero , Jose Alvarellos , Anne-Catherine Dieudonné , Farimah Masrouri , Vincenzo De Gennaro","doi":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100680","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100680","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The crucial interaction between lessons learned from the study of unsaturated soil mechanics and energy geotechnics was highlighted at the recent third edition of the International Symposium on Energy Geotechnics (SEG23), held in Delft, the Netherlands. This short communication summarises the discussion that revolved around handling the many issues raised by the current energy transition from fossil fuels to more sustainable and renewable resources, and the need to integrate unsaturated soil knowledge into energy geotechnics. The panel discussion at the symposium emphasised how crucial it is to use the fundamental concepts of unsaturated soil mechanics for a range of energy applications to be able to characterise key underlying multi-phase processes and enable efficient design. With representatives from around the world, the panel discussion’s goal was to close the gap between theoretical research and real-world applications by fostering a dialogue between academics and industry, thereby advancing creative and sustainable geotechnical solutions. The understandings generated from this conversation highlighted the necessity of ongoing cooperation and knowledge sharing to propel area developments and successfully address the urgent energy and environmental challenges of our time.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56008,"journal":{"name":"Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100680"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144068550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}