Synergistic Working Mechanism of Geotechnical Mass-Infrastructure Systems in Energy Development

Energy Geotechnics has emerged as a critical discipline at the intersection of geotechnical engineering and the global energy transition. As the world shifts toward Clean Energy Development, infrastructure systems are increasingly deployed in challenging environments; deep underground mining for residual resources, offshore wind farms on soft seabeds, geothermal exploitation, and repurposed mines for energy storage. In all these scenarios, the safety and long-term performance of energy infrastructure are governed by how geological materials and engineered structures interact as an integrated system. Yet current understanding of this interaction remains fragmented across sectors, with limited cross-fertilization between the deep mining and offshore renewable energy communities. This fragmentation not only hinders theoretical advancement but also impedes the development of unified approaches to system-level design and risk management.

The goal of this Research Topic is to address the insufficient understanding of the Synergistic Working Mechanism of Geotechnical Mass-Infrastructure Systems, and to translate this understanding into reliable design and risk-assessment frameworks for clean energy development. Although recent advances have been made in constitutive modeling, physical testing, large-deformation simulation, and field monitoring, current research remains fragmented across application domains, focusing on specific loading conditions, isolated components, or single energy sectors. Recent studies have also introduced multi-physical coupling frameworks, digital twin concepts, and data-driven prediction tools, but the links among interface behavior, system-level response, progressive failure, and practical design remain incomplete. This Research Topic therefore aims to promote integrated studies that combine field observations, physical and laboratory testing, constitutive theory, numerical simulation, and data-driven methods. Particular attention will be given to cross-sector knowledge transfer, bridging the gap between deep mining, offshore renewables, geothermal energy, and underground storage, with the objective of advancing both fundamental understanding and practical engineering applications for resilient and sustainable energy infrastructure.

This Research Topic focuses on the Synergistic Working Mechanism of Geotechnical Mass-Infrastructure Systems in the context of energy development, a fundamental scientific issue that cuts across deep underground mining, offshore renewable energy, geothermal exploitation, and underground storage. It aims to provide a platform for studies on interface mechanics, coupled system response, progressive failure, multi-physical coupling, and advanced characterization methods, addressing the challenges posed by extreme and complex loading conditions including high in-situ stresses, cyclic wind and wave actions, thermal disturbances, and long-term creep. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, experimental investigation, constitutive modeling, interface interaction, system-level load transfer, progressive instability analysis, Thermal-Hydro-Mechanical-Chemical coupling, physical modeling (centrifuge and 1g tests), large-deformation numerical simulation, field monitoring, data-driven approaches, and risk-assessment methodologies for system-level resilience. This Research Topic seeks to engage researchers in geotechnical engineering, rock mechanics, marine engineering, and energy infrastructure, and to promote the integration of mechanistic understanding, advanced characterization, and practical risk assessment for next-generation resilient and sustainable energy infrastructure.

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

- Brief Research Report
- Editorial
- FAIR² Data
- FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
- Hypothesis and Theory
- Methods
- Mini Review
- Opinion
- Original Research
- Perspective
- Review

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review

Keywords: Energy Geotechnics, Soil-Structure Interaction, Clean Energy Development, Deep Mining Geotechnics, Testing and Simulation, Risk Assessment

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