Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering

Top Research Topics at Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering?

The concepts of Geotechnical engineering, Rock mass classification, Composite material, Rock mechanics and Stress (mechanics) are tackled in Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering. The studies in Geotechnical engineering featured incorporate elements of Shear (geology), Compressive strength, Brittleness and Ultimate tensile strength. The works on Shear (geology) deal in particular with Direct shear test.

While work presented in Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering provided substantial information on Rock mass classification, it also covered topics in Mining engineering, Joint (geology), Structural engineering, Excavation and Classification of discontinuities. The study on Structural engineering featured in it expounds on the topic of Finite element method in particular. Fracture toughness, Elastic modulus and Porosity are all subfields of Composite material research that were featured in it.

It explores topics in Rock mechanics which can be helpful for research in disciplines like Mineralogy and Computer simulation. Topics in Stress (mechanics) explored in Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering were investigated in conjunction with research in Acoustic emission, Overburden pressure and Deformation (engineering). Hydraulic fracturing, Mechanics and Fracture mechanics are some topics wherein Fracture (geology) research discussed in Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering have an impact.

• Geotechnical engineering (46.71%)
• Rock mass classification (17.78%)
• Composite material (15.36%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

• A Review of Dynamic Experimental Techniques and Mechanical Behaviour of Rock Materials (481 citations)
• Characterizing rock joint geometry with joint system models (444 citations)
• Crack Coalescence in Molded Gypsum and Carrara Marble: Part 1. Macroscopic Observations and Interpretation (382 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering:

The journal articles investigate areas of study like Geotechnical engineering, Rock mechanics, Structural engineering, Rock mass classification and Composite material. The journal papers hold forums on Geotechnical engineering that merge themes from other disciplines such as Shear (geology), Stress (mechanics), Brittleness and Ultimate tensile strength. Issues in Rock mechanics were discussed in the published articles, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Acoustic emission, Compressive strength, Mineralogy and Mechanics, Computer simulation.

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

Top authors and change over time

The top authors publishing in Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (based on the number of publications) are:

• Xia-Ting Feng (58 papers) published 6 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
• Louis Ngai Yuen Wong (33 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 2 less than at the previous edition,
• Jian Zhao (33 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
• Feng Dai (27 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
• Xibing Li (26 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Top affiliations and change over time

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (based on the number of publications) are:

• China University of Mining and Technology (218 papers) published 34 papers at the last edition, 3 less than at the previous edition,
• Chinese Academy of Sciences (208 papers) published 30 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
• Wuhan University (87 papers) published 12 papers at the last edition, 6 less than at the previous edition,
• Chongqing University (87 papers) published 12 papers at the last edition, 6 less than at the previous edition,
• Central South University (81 papers) published 10 papers at the last edition, 2 less than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 9.47% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 33.24% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 11.53% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 18.77% of all publications and 36.46% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

• Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
• Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
• Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
• Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
• Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.