Welcome to the Intelligent Tunneling and Engineering Modeling (ITEM) Research Group, led by Dr. Chao LIU, Associate Professor at the School of Civil Engineering and Transportation, Guangzhou University.

Our research team is dedicated to advancing the frontiers of underground and tunnel engineering through the integration of smart construction and advanced disaster prevention technologies. We primarily focus on the theoretical and practical development of intelligent control systems for tunnel construction, dynamic disaster early-warning mechanisms during operation, and structural health assessment technologies. To achieve these goals, our methodology integrates advanced numerical simulations (such as FEM and CFD-DEM) with cutting-edge artificial intelligence. Specifically, we leverage hybrid deep learning architectures (such as CNN-Transformer) and develop technologies for the autonomous positioning of mobile equipment in complex tunnel environments, advanced path planning, and intelligent obstacle recognition and avoidance.

Our group actively collaborates with leading academic institutions and industry partners to translate research into practical engineering solutions. Currently, our research is supported by several major funding programs (selected):

1. Outstanding Youth Project of the Guangdong Natural Science Foundation (No.2026B1515020022 ): "Intelligent Health Assessment Theories and Grouting Repair Technologies for Cross-Fault Subsea Shield Tunnels", 2026–2029.
2. National Key Research and Development Program of China (No.2023YFB2603902 ): "Intelligent Construction and Multi-Machine Cooperative Technology for Construction Perception and Equipment Operation Parameter Feedback Control"— Sub-Project: Intelligent Equipment Obstacle Recognition and Avoidance Technology, 2023–2026.
3. General Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.52178385 ): "Multi-scale coupling mechanism and intelligent early warning of undersea shield tunneling disasters under complex geological conditions", 2022-2025.
4. Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.51808150 ): "The macro-micro mechanism of solid-fluid coupling effect during synchronized grouting of shield tunneling in sandy-cobble strata", 2019-2021.
5. General Program of Guangdong National Natural Science Foundation (No. 2018A030313132 ): "Multiscale modeling for the soil responses during failure process in tunneling", 2018-2021.