Welcome

We are pleased to announce that the 10th Conference on the Mechanical Behavior of Salt (SaltMech X) will take place on July 6 – 8, 2022 at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. The icebreaker, with a technical tour of the High Pressure and Temperature (HPT) Laboratory, and possibly other nearby laboratories, will be on the 5th of July 2022.

It will be organized jointly by the Experimental Rock Deformation group, the Structural Geology and Electron Microscopy group and the Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development at the Faculty of Geosciences.

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.

Note that in the event of continued travel restrictions, we will make hybrid (mixed online-on site) options available. We look forward to welcoming you to Utrecht in 2022!

Preliminary topics

  • Laboratory Testing
  • Field Investigations
  • 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 (methane, compressed air, hydrogen) and Hazardous Waste
  • Mining

Important Dates

  • Abstract submission deadline: Friday August 6, 2021
  • Full paper submission deadline: Friday December 3, 2021
  • Final paper submission deadline: March 4, 2022
  • Registration deadline: May 20, 2022
  • Conference dates: July 6-8, 2022
  • Notification of abstract acceptance: Friday September 17, 2021
  • Comments to authors: February 4, 2022
  • Registration opens: February 18, 2022
  • On-site registration, ice-breaker, technical tours: 5 July 2022

Present Advisory Committee

  • Prof. Dr. Pierre Bérest (École Polytechnique, France)

  • Dr.-Ing. Sandra Fahland (BGR, Germany)

  • Dr. Frank Hansen (Respec, USA)

  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Karl-Heinz Lux (TU Clausthal, Germany)

  • Dr.-Ing. habil. Wolfgang Minkley (IfG Leipzig, Germany)

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

  • Dr. Leo Van Sambeek (Respec, USA)

  • Prof. Dr. Janos Urai (RWTH Aachen, and Geostructures Consultancy for Structural Geology and Geomechanics, Germany)

Organising Committee

contact us via: info@saltmech.com

  • Dr. Suzanne Hangx (HPT Lab, Utrecht University – UU)

  • Dr. André Niemeijer (HPT Lab, UU)

  • Dr. Matteo Gazzani (Copernicus Institute, UU)

  • Prof. Christopher Spiers (emeritus, HPT Lab, UU)

  • Prof. Hans de Bresser (HPT Lab, UU)

  • Prof. Martyn Drury (Structural Geology & EM, UU)