The 4th EURO:TUN conference “Computational Methods in Tunnelling and Subsurface Engineering” took place in April 2017 in Innsbruck, Austria, as part of a series of successful ECCOMAS (European Community on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences) thematic conferences, which started in 2007 in Vienna and continued in 2009 and 2013 in Bochum. The University of Innsbruck must take credit for this year’s excellent organisation and for selecting an exceptional venue at Villa Blanca offering amazing views of the old city of Innsbruck which also happened to be covered with snow at the time!

In total, the conference had 122 attendants and 97 lectures, with the majority coming from the organising and founding countries of Austria and Germany. There was also a strong representation from the United Kingdom, China, Japan, the USA and several European countries. I was impressed by the quality and the balance between theory and application of the plenary lectures: Prof. M. Barla from Politechnico di Torino, introducing us to the theory and application of tunnel linings equipped with thermal exchangers for energy harvesting. Prof. B. Pichler from TU Vienna presented on the use of multiscale analysis (structural, dynamic, and thermomechanical performance from material to structure scale) for the Hong Kong – Zuhai – Macao submerged tunnel. K. Bergmeister, professor at the BOKU Vienna and CEO of the Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT SE), talked about the design optimization of the Brenner Base Tunnel using advanced numerical models, with particular focus on the 200 years life cycle performance of the structure. Prof. R. Galler from Montanuniversität – Leoben presented results on the long-term stability and strength of primary liners, derived by observations, in-situ measurements and laboratory tests on samples taken from existing tunnels. Finally, Prof. K. Soga from UC Berkeley (previously Cambridge University) gave an overview of new generations of sensor technology for underground assets and their implementation on, among others, the Royal Mail tunnel during the construction of Crossrail.

The conference had 12 main session categories (mini-symposia) covering every aspect of numerical modeling and computational technologies in modern underground construction. The sessions looked at specific sub-topics in detail, including the settlements and damage due to tunneling, the stability of tunnels and underground openings, the constitutive modelling of soft soils and hard rock, case studies, back analyses and inverse engineering, the design of sprayed concrete and segmental linings, tunnels under extreme actions (seismic, impacts, fire), multiscale tunnel analyses, and the use of computational methods in various aspects of mechanized tunneling, as for example combinations of geomechanical considerations, cutter-head maintenance, excavation and transfer logistics, and BIM. The conference was concluded with a very insightful excursion at the construction site of the Brenner Base Tunnel, visiting the Ahrental access tunnel, the completed exploratory tunnel, and the intersection of the TBM logistics cavern with the main rail tunnels.

Like the previous conferences, EURO:TUN 2017 provided an excellent overview and very vivid technical and scientific discussions on the current state in the industry and research, and – most importantly – on the future perspectives of underground construction.