Insight07_eng

} Research on the cut-ting edge: Observation ofSystem Earth from Space

} Call for proposals:Mineral Surfaces - from ato-mic processes to application

} Exhibition »RestiveEarth« a major success,Berlin venue still to come

} Quality managementby interdisciplinary and inter-national evaluation

Insight 2007

Changes

… come about all the time. The newslet-

ter of the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN R&D pro-

gramme is no exception in this respect.

After five issues in the format familiar to

date we have now given name and layout

a slight facelift. With »Insight« we want to

give you, our readers, a still more compre-

hensive picture of the research programme

and to communicate what needs to be

known in an attractive, broadly-based and

overviewable manner. Relatively brief con-

tributions enable information to be passed

on rapidly and create space for new items,

for example »Who's who«. Here we wish

to give you brief portraits of individual

scientists at regular intervals. Together with

the proven interview format, this will enab-

le a fuller picture to be given of the diffe-

rent research projects. We hope that you

will find informative and interesting rea-

ding in this first issue of »Insight«.

Your

GEOTECHNOLOGIEN

Co-ordination Office

Multi-facetted and interdisciplinary –Research portfolio of the R&D programme isbeing continuously extended

Development of early-warning systems Since April 2007, the Federal German Ministryfor Education and Research has been furthe-ring 11 new co-operation projects betweenthe scientific and industrial sectors within theframework of its R&D programme GEOTECH-NOLOGIEN. In the coming three years, scien-tists from universities and non-universityresearch institutes together with their coun-terparts in industry will be developing techno-logies and methods aimed at providingimproved early-warning of geological naturalhazards. The focal points lie in the provisionof early-warnings of earthquakes, volcaniceruptions and landslides. The kick-off mee-ting will take place in Karlsruhe on 10thOctober, 2007, on the occasion of the UN'sInternational Day for Natural Disaster Reduc-tion. At this meeting future opportunities forco-operation will also be sounded out with

the German Research Council College-of-Graduates METRIK (http://casablanca.infor-matik.hu-berlin.de/grk-wiki/). This will repre-sent a further step in the integrative promo-tional concept of the German ResearchFoundation (DFG) and the Federal GermanMinistry for Education (BMBF) and Research inthe realization of the GEOTECHNOLOGIENaims. The projects in the GEOTECHNOLOGIENR&D programme will be carried complemen-tarily to the projects as already started onflood risk management within the frameworkof the RIMAX programme (www.rimax-hoch-wasser.de/) and on the establishment of a tsu-nami early-warning system for the IndianOcean (www.gitews.de). In this way they willaugment the comprehensive efforts of theBMBF to lessen the risk of and the hazardsfrom natural catastrophes in the future.

Highly underestimated:

The risk from mass-move-

ment. Here: The Randa-

Rockfall, Switzerland

Lank

enau

Newsletter_engl_07.qxd 24.10.2007 9:26 Uhr Seite 6

Attractive research – Technological developmentsincrease the reliability of climate models To provide climate models with initial datathat is as exact as possible satellite missionssuch as CHAMP, GRACE and GOCE are essen-tial. Because: »Only measurements are reliab-le«, according to Prof. Dr. Rothacher of theGeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam. What hemeans is that the reliability of climate modelscan only be assessed when the first actualchanges have been observed. With the aid ofthe CHAMP and GRACE satellites the dataneeded can now be analyzed in a series ofmeasurements carried out over a period offive years. For this eight projects are beingfinanced by the BMBF at the present time wit-hin the framework of the GEOTECHNOLO-GIEN R&D programme. In an initial promotio-

nal phase the foundation work in the form ofthe technological and methodological know-how had previously been laid. This put theparticipating institutions at the top of theworld table in the field of gravitational andmagnetic field analysis. No other satellite or-bits so close to the earth and delivers data onthe earth's gravitational force and magneticfield that is so detailed. The sensors are ableto record the very smallest variations in theaccelerations of 10-12m/s2 - an almost unima-ginable degree of precision in relation to theacceleration due to earth’s gravity of 9.8 m/s2.In addition there is spatial resolution between100 and 200 km. In this way the geoid (ascientific description of the earth's surface in

relation to gravitational acceleration) can nowbe represented a good 5 to 10 times moreprecisely than was previously possible.Thus, for example, the scientists can nowdetermine the quantities of water transportedin the world's oceans significantly more accu-rately. »The water masses being moved are upto one third greater than previously believed«,states Prof. Dr. Ilk of the University of Bonn.These observations represent valuable foun-dations for new and more precise climateforecasts. To increase their reliability evenmore the satellite mission GOCE – to start inMarch, 2008 – has been planned. With thismission the spatial resolution of the measure-ments will be improved still further. ¢

Atomic processes on mineral surfaces andtheir technological application 34 project sketches have been submitted tothe GEOTECHNOLOGIEN co-ordination officefollowing the public announcement on thistheme. The research themes attracted greatinterest and not just from the scientific sector.In addition to 50 research institutions, 40companies are also engaged in the co-opera-tive ventures. At the present time all the pro-jects are at the international evaluation stage.

Visionary programme planning - geolo-gical storage of CO2

Early this year the Federal German Ministryfor Education and Research (BMBF) took overthe responsibility for one of the greatest ener-gy-policy themes of the future, namely thegeological storage of CO2. In a closing of theranks between science and industry, the con-tribution that this key technology can maketo the reduction of anthropogenic CO2 emis-sions will be investigated in two parallel lines

of promotion. All future activities will be car-ried out within the framework of the GEO-TECHNOLOGIEN R&D programme. Importantfoundation work has already been done inthis area in the form of the BMBF's suppor-ting for just three years now of nine researchprojects within the framework of the GEO-TECHNOLOGIEN. These projects have made asignificant contribution to strengtheningGermany's know-how in this field and repre-sent a further example for the forward-loo-king research planning embodied in GEO-TECHNOLOGIEN. The public call to submitlocation-independent R&D project applicati-ons was made at the end of June, 2007. Thedeadline here is 31st August, 2007. In additi-on location-related pilot or, as the case maybe, demonstration projects are planned totest the feasibility of storing CO2 in gas-con-ducting sandstone and deep-lying, salt-water-carrying strata.

Current figures from the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN R&D programme Since the programme was started in the year2000, 143 co-operative projects have beenpromoted in 9 different priority thematicfields. Participating in this co-operative workare experts from 42 universities, 21 non-uni-versity institutes and 33 companies. Up to thepresent time more than 90 million euros have

been invested by theFederal German Minis-try for Education andResearch (BMBF) andthe German ResearchFoundation (DFG) inthe different projects. ¢

Currently, research drilling is conducted at the

CO2-storage pilot site Ketzin, Germany

CHAMP – Challenging Minisatellite Payload

Start: 15th July, 2000

Orbit height: 460 km, 93 minutes per earth orbit

Weight: approx. 500 kg

GRACE – Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment

Start: 17th March, 2002

Orbit height: 500 km, 95 minutes per earth orbit

Weight of the GRACE satellites: 2 x 500 kilograms

GOCE – Gravity Field and steady-state Ocean

Circualtion Explorer

Start: March, 2008

Orbit height: 250 km

Weight: approx. 1000 kg

GFZ

GO

CE-

Proj

ektb

üro

DLR


Restive earth – natural hazards and their risks fascinate visitorsGEOTECHNOLOGIEN exhibition has already attracted more than 100,000 visitors

Earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides and meteorites stand centre stage inthe travelling exhibition »Restive Earth« which was conceived by theGEOTECHNOLOGIEN co-ordination office. Present in Frankfurt to cele-brate the opening of the exhibition, which was arranged in close co-ope-ration with the Iceland Tourist Board, was an audience of well-knownpersons and experts. Words of greeting from Prof. Dr. Volker Mosbrug-ger and Dr. Irmgard Schwaetzer as well as Sturla Bödvarsson, Iceland'sMinister for Transport, Tourism and Telecommunication, and Ministerial-dirigent Hartmut Grübel introduced the official opening ceremony. The fact that more than 100,000 persons have visited the exhibition(since its opening in October, 2006) underlines its attractiveness andthe great public interest in the theme of »Natural hazards andresearch into these«. In addition the programme of public lecturesaccompanying the exhibition has given around 11,000 visitors a lookinto current geo-research on 12 evenings up to the present time.Alone in Frankfurt's Senckenberg Nature Museum and Munich's Manand Nature Museum more than 160 guided tours have been organizedin close co-operation with each museum's pedagogical staff. The media too has reported very positively on the exhibition. Thus theexhibition testers of Bavarian Radio found that the exhibition offeredgreat entertainment value for children from 8 to 10 years. Up to thepresent time numerous spots on radio and television as well as morethan 30 newspaper articles (in newspapers ranging from theSüddeutsche to Bild Zeitung) have drawn attention in connection withthe GEOTECHNOLOGIEN exhibition to the work being carried on in thefield of geo-risk-research. ¢

Impressions from the exhibition at the Museum Man and Nature, Munich

Quality management: Interdisciplinary, international and independentAssessment of applications for the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN

The two-stage application and assessment pro-cess for the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN R&D pro-gramme makes a decisive contribution to thehigh quality of the research projects. The outli-nes of the research proposed and the relatedapplications as submitted following the parti-cular public announcement are assessed byindependent and high-calibre researchers from

Germany and abroad. The core of the assess-ment are the two meetings of the panel ofexperts selected for the particular thematicarea. Here - following individual evaluation -not only the outlines of the proposed researchbut also the related applications are discussed.Only the direct discourse of experts from diffe-rent disciplines and their comparative evaluati-

on enables well-considered judgements to bereached on research projects of the interdisci-plinary type being furthered in the GEOTECH-NOLOGIEN. Being furthered are research insti-tutions and companies which as a rule jointogether in co-operative ventures. To promotescientific newcomers, each promotional an-nouncement mentions the possibility of apply-ing for a new blood group.The expertise of the assessors represents themost important decision-making foundationfor the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN steering commit-tee when passing on promotion recommenda-tions to the BMBF. The chairperson of the panelis appointed by the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN stee-ring committee. Together with the co-ordinati-on office he or she puts together the panel ofexperts. Up to the present time 63 researchersfrom 12 countries have cast their vote as panelmembers on project applications submitted toGEOTECHNOLOGIEN. ¢

ei.a

t


The interdisciplinary spectrum of research within GEOTECHNOLOGIENopens up a wealth of new fields of technology. Preference is given toresearch applications in which co-operation is envisaged between com-panies and research institutions in order to facilitate the passing on ofthe results in a targeted manner to the relevant application. However,a further organizational challenge lies in the integration of corporateentities, in particular in substantive participation of small and medium-sized enterprises. Accordingly, potential users are brought into the pro-cess of agreeing on new themes for research right at the beginning,for example by the participation of company representatives in the pre-paratory meetings of experts. Innovative fields of technology can beeasily identified at an early stage in this way while market requirementsand opportunities for commercial realization can be taken into accountin a concrete manner. Through the active addressing of companies,targeted information-disseminating events and regular announce-ments in the relevant trade association journals it has been possible toincrease the participation of industry partners significantly.

»Bottom Up« instead of »Top Down« Innovations cannot be decreed, they must grow! Accordingly only the-matic areas are set and targets formulated in the GEOTECHNOLOGIENco-ordination committee. They are oriented on scientific requirementsbut also reflect justified economic, political and societal interests andexpectations. However it is the scientists and their counterparts inindustry who actually carry out the innovation processes. Accordingly,new research initiatives are worked out in the course of meetings ofexperts, for which the participants are selected in a broadly basedmanner not only in respect of their particular field of expertise but alsoin respect of the institutional field to which they belong. The funda-mentals for the public announcements of promotional support are laiddown at these meetings. Since the interests and targets of the corpo-rate sector should also be taken into account in the offers to submitapplications, around one third of the participants at this »round table«come from industry as a rule.

Innovations pay for themselves – Companies engage within GEOTECHNOLOGIEN

Prof. Dr. Torsten Schlurmann

When at his place of work, the Franzius

Institute for Hydraulic Engineering and

Coastal Engineering, Professor Schlurmann

talks about the so-called freak waves, then

he does this for deeply grounded interest.

Torsten Schlurmann completed his doctora-

te at the Bergische University, Wuppertal in

1999 on these monster waves - which are

not tsunamis. His research work on unusual

ocean waves led him to - amongst other

places - the University of Madras in India

and the UN-University in Bonn. Since 2007

Torsten Schlurmann has been director of the

Franzius Institute at the University of Hanno-

ver and at the same time project co-ordina-

tor of »LAST MILE«, a co-operative project

that has been being promoted within GEO-

TECHNOLOGIEN since April, 2007. In additi-

on to the question of how one can most

effectively pass on warnings to the general

public, the research in this project is focus-

sed on the detailed modelling of the dyna-

mics of floods and flooding.

Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Ilk

Almost every day Professor Ilk looks down

at our planet from the depths of space whe-

reby - besides admiring the beauty of earth

- he is interested in the effects of the proces-

ses taking place inside it. As co-ordinator of

the DFG priority programme »Mass trans-

port and mass distribution in System earth«.

Professor Ilk, who originally trained as a land

register technician - wants to make use of

the gravitational field of the earth in order

to learn more about the structures of and

processes taking place within the earth's

interior. After studying structural enginee-

ring at the Technical University, Munich, his

research work led him finally - after spells in

Canada and Indonesia - back to the TU

Munich as non-tenured professor. Today in

his function as Professor for Geodesy at the

University of Bonn he devotes himself to the

analyzing and interpretation of the gravita-

tional field data from the CHAMP and

GRACE satellite missions as well as to the

upcoming GOCE mission.

Prof. Dr. Claus-Dieter Reuther

Professor Reuther's advice is often sought

when the earth moves under Hamburg. As

Professor for General and Regional

Geology, he investigates above all salt tec-

tonics and neotectonics and the hazards

resulting therefrom for man and the envi-

ronment. As leader of the GEOTECHNOLO-

GIEN project »Hamburg - A Dynamic Un-

derground«, he is concerned with the

potential for economic utilization of the

earth's interior beneath Hamburg and the

possible risks in this geologically active and

at the same time densely populated region.

In addition the geologist, who has worked

at the University of Hamburg since 1993, is

participating intensively on various research

studies on the tectonics of the Australian

continent as well as of the south of South

America. Here the experience with the

methods of applied geophysics acquired by

this researcher in his time as exploration

geologist is of great value.

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Bohrmann

Since the time of his »appearance« in Frank

Schätzing’s novel »The Shoal«, Gerhard Bohr-

mann has been swamped with requests to

give lectures and make other public appea-

rances. Like few others, this geologist is able

to combine public relations work with top

quality scientific research. As co-ordinator of

the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN project »METRO«,

he concerns himself with the composition,

structure, dynamics and interactions of gas

hydrates in marine sediment. Several times a

year his work takes him to the most remote

regions of the earth. Born in the Saarland

and a graduate of the Technical University,

Darmstadt, his career has taken him via the

IFM-GEOMAR in Kiel (formed from the mer-

ging of the Institute for Marine Science (IfM)

and the Research Centre for Marine Geo-

sciences (GEOMAR) and the Alfred Wegener

Institute in Bremerhaven to the Research

Centre for Ocean Margins at the University

of Bremen where he has held the post of

Professor for General Geology since 2002.

Who is Who – Under this new heading we would like to present a number of the players involved in the R&D programme. We make a start here with four project-coordinators from current research focal points.


News} New science reportsNr. 7 »Gas Hydrates in the Geosys-tem«, Nr. 8 »Information Systemsin Earth Management«, Nr. 9»First French-German Symposiumon Geological Storage of CO2«Order your copy per E-mail ordownload the PDF files fromwww.geotechnologien.de.

} VisitorsOver 80,000 visitors informedthemselves on the R&D pro-gramme via the web pages atwww.geotechnologien.de duringthe last 12 months.

} BilateralRated a great success was the 1stFrench-German Symposium onthe Geological Storage of CO2 inPotsdam with around 170 partici-pants including some 80 scientistsfrom France. (http://www.geotechnologien.de/FG_CO2_Symposium.html)

} StartedSince June, 2007 graduate geo-grapher Werner Dransch has beenresponsible in the GEOTECHNO-LOGIEN co-ordination office forthe intensification of the dialoguebetween the scientific and busi-ness sectors.

Dates} 2nd - 5th October, 2007Status seminar »Gas hydrates«within the framework of the an-nual conference of the GeologicalAssociation, Bremen

} 10th October, 2007Kick-Off-Meeting »Early-warningsystems for natural hazards«,Karlsruhe

} 15th/16th November, 2007Status seminar »Exploration, utili-zation and protection of theearth's interior«, RWE-DEA,Hamburg

} 21st/22nd November, 2007Status seminar »Observation ofSystem Earth from space«, Bava-rian Academy of the Sciences,Munich

} 20. bis 22. November 2007CHINA GEOTECH 2007 Shanghai, China

} 28th, November, 2007Opening of the travelling exhibiti-on »Restive Earth«, German Tech-nical Museum, Berlin

Imprint: GEOTECHNOLOGIEN coordination office, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany, Phone: +49 (0)331 1071, www.geotechnologien.de The R&D-programme GEOTECHNOLOGIEN is supported by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Tunnelling with exploration from and ahead of tunnel boring machines –BMBF promotes innovative technologies for increasing the efficiency of tunnelling

Leading straight through the Alps, in metropo-litan underground railways or under water-ways - tunnels are omnipresent. Their impor-tance as transport and traffic ways grows fromday to day. Over 470 new tunnel-kilometresare planned in Germany by the year 2010.Included in this total are sophisticated projectssuch as the around 30 tunnel-kilometres forthe new Stuttgart-Munich ICE line. Today not only in fine sediment but also in thesolid bedrock of mountains modern tunnelboring machines permit rapid tunnelling pro-gress. However, should such a tunnel boringmachine hit an obstruction, substantial dama-ge can be done to the boring head. But time is

money! And in addition each disruption of thistype endangers safety in the galleries. Used todetect obstructions before they are reached areabove all seismic exploration methods. Heresound waves are transmitted through the rockin the direction planned for the tunnel duringintervals in boring. If these waves meet disrup-ting bodies or interfaces they are reflected likean echo. These echoes are recorded by geo-phones and then analyzed by geo-scientists.To increase safety in tunnelling and the effi-ciency of the boring machines, the furtherdevelopment of such seismic exploration tech-nologies are being promoted as focal points inthree research projects being furthered by the

Federal German Ministry for Education andResearch within the framework of the GEO-TECHNOLOGIEN R&D programme. The pro-jects are aimed at making it possible for theexploration to be carried out ahead of andfrom the cutting wheel during the actualboring operations. The rapid online represen-tation of the structures lying ahead of the tun-nel boring machine should put the machinedriver in a position to introduce suitable mea-sures rapidly in order to prevent damage.Whereas with the conventional techniques thetunnel boring machine had to be halted atregular intervals, this innovative technologycan permit tunnel driving to be acceleratedsignificantly.The structure of the R&D programme helps togenerate the appropriate networking of thedifferent projects. In this way multilateral,interdisciplinary research capable of satisfyingthe most stringent scientific and technologicaldemands will be made possible. ¢

Projects: ONSITE, COMEXTEC, AUTOSEISRunning time: : 3 years, start autumn 2006Promotional sum: Around 3.3 million euros(BMBF) + 1.3 million euros (partners from thecorporate sector)

Tunnel Driving Machine of superlatives:

15.2 meters Diameter

Currently in use in Madrid, Spain

Her

renk

nech

t


In just 25 years Herrenknecht has advancedfrom being a »garage operation« (quotation:Martin Herrenknecht) to an enterprise withclose to 1800 employees. Annual turnover,2006: around 650 million euros. The companyis rated one of the world leaders in the field oftunnel driving. For this Herrenknecht AG hasto thank amongst other things its consequentand intensive furtherance of research. In dis-cussion with GEOTECHNOLOGIEN ThomasEdelmann, Departmental Manager for Re-search and Development at Herrenknecht, un-derlined the value of R&D programmes forcompanies such as Herrenknecht.

GEOTECHNOLOGIEN: Mr. Edelmann, youare the manager of the research depart-ment of the world's largest manufacturerof tunnel driving machines (TBM). Couldyou give a brief insight into the latestR&D projects of Herrenknecht AG.EDELMANN: By reason of the interacting ofmany different disciplines involved in a tunneldriving system, the themes for the R&D de-partment are also very varied. In addition todevelopment projects such as for explorationahead of and parallel to tunnel driving, thereis also detailed work focussed on improvingkey components of a TBM, such as the cut-ting wheel drive.

GEOTECHNOLOGIEN: What role does theco-operation with universities and non-university research institutions on R&Dprojects play at Herrenknecht? Howmuch value is attached to this co-operati-on and could you give us one or two con-crete examples?EDELMANN: Traditionally great importance hasbeen attached to R&D at Herrenknecht AGwhereby further development is not carriedout exclusively by the company's R&D Depart-ment. Intensive co-operation with universities

is very important. In practice this functions bybeing in regular contact with universities, insti-tutes and engineering offices. In addition tothe AUTOSEIS project, Herrenknecht is partici-pating in the development of a special annula-te fissure mortar in co-operation with the uni-versities of Bochum and Wuppertal.

GEOTECHNOLOGIEN: Do you see syner-gies from such co-operations, not onlyfrom an economic point of view but alsofor the research side?EDELMANN: R&D of this type make possibledevelopment steps which could not be achie-ved by individual parties or could only becovered in part. The co-operation enables theproduct as developed or improved to reachthe application phase immediately. Moreoverthe co-operations enables the universities tocarry out close-to-practice research. In thisway and with its eye on inter-university com-petition a university can offer its studentsinteresting and challenging tasks.

GEOTECHNOLOGIEN: R&D programmessuch as GEOTECHNOLOGIEN are aimed atincreasing co-operation between thescientific and business sectors. How muchvalue do such promotional measures havefor an enterprise like Herrenknecht AG?EDELMANN: In addition to the gain inknowledge and experience it naturally meansfinding the solution oriented on the problemthat offers the greatest economic efficiency. Inthis way Herrenknecht products are optimizedfrom different standpoints and remain STATEOF THE ART in the long-term.

GEOTECHNOLOGIEN: Are your expectati-ons from such programmes fulfilled andif not where would you like to see impro-vements?EDELMANN: The combination of science andbusiness brings together standpoints that arein part very different. Such programmes canbe designed in a highly effective way throughthe ideas of the scientific side and the practi-cal experience of the industrial side. Some-times however the zest for action is braked bythe priorities set by the research programmesso that time delays come about.

GEOTECHNOLOGIEN: In the co-operativeproject AUTOSEIS your company togetherwith the Technical University Brunswick isdeveloping and testing new methods ofcarrying out exploration from and aheadof TBMs. How do you see the develop-

ment of this technology up to the presenttime and what expectations have you forits introduction on the market?EDELMANN: Exploration-ahead is an impor-tant component in increasing safety. Todaytunnel projects are carried out that earlierappeared impossible. The unique techniqueof seismic exploration ahead of and from thecutting wheel requires the use of high-techinstruments under the most difficult of condi-tions. At the same time these systems shoulddeliver precise location data online to theTBM driver. The improvements being made tothis hardware and software will speed up thedistribution of the product.

GEOTECHNOLOGIEN: World-wide the uti-lization of the earth's interior is increa-sing. In Germany alone around 470 tun-nel-kilometres are in the concrete plan-ning stage. Where in your opinion do theinnovative fields of research lie that couldbe commanded by German companiesand research institutions in the future? EDELMANN: The requirements being set inrespect of human mobility are increasing allthe time. At the same time today's megacitieshave the greatest difficulty in coping with thehindrances of large construction sites. Accor-dingly tomorrow's research fields will also liein finding ways of carrying out large city-cen-tre projects such as constructing road andunderground railway tunnels with a minimumof disruption for traffic and inhabitants. Herenew technologies must be found to get stillbetter in this area. At the same time thespeed of executing such projects must increa-se drastically in order to permit the require-ments to be met. ¢

GEOTECHNOLOGIEN in conversation… with Thomas Edelmann, Herrenknecht AG

Thomas Edelmann

Graduate engineer Thomas Edelmannmanages the R&D department ofHerrenknecht AG. For more than 16years he has concerned himself withthe production logistics of the supplierindustry as well as with the designingand development of tunnel drivingsystems. In this position he has beeninvolved in - amongst other things -the project management of the AUTO-SEIS research project.


Insight07_eng

Documents

Transcript of Insight07_eng