Josef Underground Research Laboratory

The Centre of Experimental Geotechnics (CEG) is an experimental department of the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University (CTU) in Prague. The CEG operates the Josef Underground Laboratory (the Josef UL) situated in a former exploration mine (the Josef Gallery) that was excavated in connection with potential gold mining. This facility provides practical courses for students and also provides a unique location for the conducting of experimental and research projects. The Josef Gallery was substantially reconstructed to form the Josef Underground Laboratory in 2007. The most important role of this underground research facility is to provide practical in-situ training in the fields of geotechnical engineering, geology, geochemistry, radiochemistry, radioecology etc. The training of future experts in this authentic underground setting involves the participation of several other Czech universities and numerous experienced specialists from outside the academic sphere. The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has added the Josef UL to its prestigious list of international training centres and the Josef Underground Laboratory is a member of the Underground Research Facilities network.

The Josef underground complex provides excellent opportunities for both the conducting of in-situ research and teaching. The advantages of the facility include its varied geological conditions (tuffs, tuffites and granitic rocks) and excellent infrastructure which, together, form a modern and unique research and teaching facility. The total length of the reconstructed and ready-for-use galleries is currently over 5 km and the rock cover varies from 0m to 170m. Support for the experimental research conducted in the underground complex is provided by an experimental hall, laboratories and administration facilities that are housed in a specially-reconstructed surface building located near to the entrance to the Josef Gallery.

The Josef complex has been designed as a multi-disciplinary rather than a single topic-oriented facility. The size of the Josef underground gallery and its unique geological diversity make it ideal for the conducting of experimental research across a wide spectrum of scientific disciplines.

The research projects in which CEG staff participate and which are conducted or partially conducted at the Josef Underground Laboratory fall under the areas of underground and surface structures, modern tunnelling technologies, crash testing, ecology, waste storage and disposal, gas and heat storage, underground architecture and robotics.