Researchers in Bochum want to use artificial intelligence to efficiently and precisely simulate the behavior of soils for energy transition structures, such as the foundations of offshore wind turbines. The junior research group “GINN” was set up at the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering under the leadership of Dr.-Ing. Merita Tafili.

Climate adaptation often requires extensive construction measures, including dykes, wind turbines or piles for the use of geothermal energy. The aim is to optimize these and thereby reduce costs.

The research work of the junior research group “GINN” focuses on discontinuous materials, i.e. those that consist of individual particles or grains and have little or no cohesion. “We want to use artificial intelligence, in particular machine learning and neural networks, to simulate the complex behavior of discontinuous materials more efficiently and precisely,” explains Dr.-Ing. Merita Tafili. The aim is to develop a new type of simulation model that combines geophysical and thermodynamic principles with advanced machine learning algorithms. The aim is to realistically and reliably predict the behavior of soils under different load and environmental conditions. This is made possible by using both real and synthetically generated data from experiments and simulations.

“We want to continue to use the new simulation tools to design geotechnical structures to be safe and resilient against climate-related increased impacts, for example dam and dyke structures against higher temperatures and water ingress heights,” says Dr.-Ing. Merita Tafili.

The junior research group “GINN”, headed by Dr.-Ing. Merita Tafili from the Chair of Soil Mechanics, Foundation Engineering and Environmental Geotechnics, has been funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research with one million euros since September 1, 2024.