European Underground Laboratories Association EUL – An International Partner for Underground Research Opportunities

<p>Underground experimental sites and laboratories are rare and offer unique opportunities for research, development, innovation, education and training, among other usages due to their special boundary conditions. Each underground facility is highly unique in its geological and geophysical characteristics. These sites can be either dedicated infrastructures built for specific usage or mines and parts of mines freed from underground extraction. Since they are usually isolated from environmental influences and, conversely, shield experiments as far as possible from the environment, they offer unique research conditions and possibilities compared to surface laboratories.</p><p>However, the sustainable operation of such underground experimental sites is not an easy task. Hence, to foster and accommodate the use, scientific collaboration and interdisciplinary scientific research among European underground research facilities, a specialized association has been set up by a number of European partners under the name European Underground Laboratories Association EUL.</p><p>This association defines its purpose by forming a network between the underground laboratories and client organizations from business, science and administration sectors. The goal is to bundle and develop existing competencies, and thus providing a common platform for members and prospective researchers and costumers on order to share and exchange information and experience, and in turn to contribute to the development and implementation of new research projects. As an Europe-wide and internationally active association comprising EU members and non-members, EUL also supports and promotes European integration and international cooperation.</p><p>This paper provides an overview over the structure and the organisation of EUL, its member institutions and associated underground research laboratories as well as the possibilities the association may offer for its members and interested partners in the fields of:</p><ul><li>providing a comprehensive overview of the research possibilities and conditions at the different underground sites to clients and the public</li> <li>infrastructure development at the research locations and improvement of research conditions in each underground facility</li> <li>execution of joint research proposals and respective project planning</li> <li>setting up and extending the spread of advertising materials and publications</li> <li>education and training of students, researchers and professionals,</li> <li>enabling the exchange of researchers, professionals and/or students among partnering facilities</li> </ul>

ASPECTS OF THE RESTORATION OF THE CAVE TEMPLES AND MONASTERIES

The research problem lies in the urgent need to preserve the historical, cultural, and architectural and urban planning heritage of cave monasteries due to the risk of their loss. Natural and anthropogenic factors of the destruction of cave temples and monasteries were formulated. Ways to preserve cave temples and monasteries were considered. Principles for the development of design solutions for the revitalization of the adjacent territory and the cave monastery were proposed, such as functional, urban planning, infrastructural, the principle of the identity of the environment. The following algorithm for revitalizing cave monasteries was proposed: a study of the place and history of the emergence of the cave monastery; a study of the resource potential of the object; identification of problems of further development of the territory and underground facility; development of a conceptual proposal for adapting the facility to modern operating conditions.

Cautions blasting in vicinity of underground laboratories

<p>Development of the new mining technologies is inherently connected with scientific researches. In many cases, there must be done in very specific and demanding conditions what is possible in underground laboratories only. These facilities can be located in tunnels or chambers deep below the surface. In this kind of underground objects very specific and sophisticated scientific devices are often used. Modern technical equipment is frequently very sensitive and must be protected from various undesirable factors e.g. vibrations. During the lifetime of some underground facilities, located in the hard rocks there  could be the necessity to perform works where explosives have to be applied. One of the unwanted effects of explosives usage in rock is generation of the seismic waves.Vibrations inducted by seismic wavescan generate additional seismic load on the support of the underground facility and damage sensitive scientific devices. In this kind of blasting works, called caution blasting, there are strict restrictions for maximum vibration level that cannot be exceeded. In these kind of situations there must be used explosives and technologies that ensure fulfilling these kinds demands and restrictions. In this paper, prepared in the framework of in The Baltic Sea Underground Innovation Network (BSUIN) project, there are shown some solutions that could be applied during blasting works perform in the vicinity of protected facilities.</p>