Critical Issues in Selecting Conventional and Mechanized Tunnelling Methods

Nuh Bilgin obtained his Ph.D. at Newcastle upon Tyne University, UK, and was later appointed as a full-time professor at Istanbul Technical University (ITU). He worked at Colorado School of Mines, USA, in 1994 as a visiting professor and Fulbright scholar and at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, in 1989 as a visiting professor. He served as the head of the Mining Engineering Department at Istanbul Technical University. He currently works as a consultant at several mining and tunneling companies and serves as a chairman of the Turkish Tunneling Society. He has published over 150 papers on tunneling and mining, including one book in Turkish and five books in English. His research interests include rapid excavation technologies, tunnel boring machines, road headers, continuous miners, impact hammers, tunneling, mine mechanization, and rock drilling.

Cemal Balci obtained his Ph.D. at ITU Mining Engineering Department. He joined the research group at Earth Mechanics Institute, Colorado School of Mines, USA, between 2001 and 2004 as a researcher. He has authored over 100 publications including three books in English. He has been carrying out many national and international implementation and research projects funded by national organizations including The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkiye (TUBITAK). He currently serves as a full professor and teaches mechanization in mining and tunneling excavations at ITU.