Welcome

We are pleased to announce that the 12th Conference on the Mechanical Behavior of Salt (SaltMech XII) will take place on May 16 – 18, 2028.  It will be held at Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris, conveniently located in the city center of Paris, France. An icebreaker will be organized on the evening of May 15, and field trips will be proposed on May 19.

Please visit the new website for SaltMech XII, https://saltmechxii.sciencesconf.org/  regularly, as information will be added progressively. We expect the abstract submission to start in February 2027.

Launched in 1981, the SaltMech Conferences series serves to exchange research findings and practical experiences regarding the mechanical behavior of rock salt in the context of safe use in mining, energy storage and waste disposal. Hydrogen storage in salt will also be a featured topic at SaltMech XII.

As of 2025 July 13, the Conference Proceedings for SaltMech XI are available to anyone via Open Access. The link may be found on the Conference Volume page.

Preliminary topics

  • Laboratory Testing
  • Monitoring and Site-Specific Studies
  • Constitutive Modeling
  • Modeling and Simulation
  • Micromechanics and Microstructures
  • Geology of Salt Formations
  • Salt Caverns, Cavern Abandonment and Long-term Integrity
  • Geological and Geotechnical Barriers
  • Geological Storage of Energy (oil, methane, compressed air, hydrogen) and Hazardous Waste
  • Mining

Important Dates

  • !!Abstract submission deadline: Friday August 16, 2024!!

  • Full paper submission deadline: Friday November 15, 2024

  • Final paper submission deadline: January 31, 2025

  • Registration deadline: May 1, 2025

  • Conference dates: July 8-10, 2025

  • Notification of abstract acceptance: Friday September 13, 2024

  • Comments to authors: December 31, 2024

  • Registration has closed!

  • Badge, conference bag and conference volume collection, ice-breaker: July 7, 2025

  • Technical tour/field trip: July 11, 2025

     

     

Present Advisory Committee

  • Dr. Marta Adamuszek (Polish Geological Institute – National Research Institute, Poland)

  • Dr. Laura Blanco-Martin (Mines ParisTech, France)

     

  • Dr. Jan Thiedau (BGR, Germany)

     

  • Mr. Stuart Buchholz (RESPEC, USA)

  • Mr. Cody Vining (RESPEC, USA)

  • Dr Benjamin Reedlunn (Sandia National Laboratories, USA)

  • Mr. Steven R. Sobolik (Sandia National Laboratories, USA)

  • Prof. Dr. Christopher Spiers (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)

  • Dr. Till Popp (IfG Leipzig, Germany)

  • Mr. Sam Voegeli (RESPEC, USA)

Organising Committee

contact us via: info@saltmech.com

  • Mr. Steven R. Sobolik (Sandia National Laboratories, USA)

  • Donald M. Conley (Sandia National Laboratories, USA)

  • Dr. Mathew Ingraham (Sandia National Laboratories, USA)

  • Dr. Edward Matteo (Sandia National Laboratories, USA)

  • Irene Trujillo (Sandia National Laboratories, USA)

  • Prof. Dr. John Stormont (University of New Mexico, USA)

  • Melissa Mills (Sandia National Laboratories, USA)

  • Tonya Ross (Sandia National Laboratories, USA)

  • Lily Shain (Sandia National Laboratories, USA)

  • Clare Amann (Sandia National Laboratories, USA)