Publications related to Rock mass assessment and corresponding TBM operation optimization for TBM tunneling at depth - a case study of Jinping II hydropower station

Mechanics, Modeling, and Upscaling of Biocemented Soils: A Review of Breakthroughs and Challenges

Lyesse Laloui, Dimitrios Terzis, Ray Harran

Biogeotechnical research has inspired revolutionary ideas to claim the status of a distinctive branch of geotechnical engineering. Most notably, underground carbonate mineralization, most commonly referred to as microbially induced carbonate precipitation ...

ASCE-AMER SOC CIVIL ENGINEERS2023

Probabilistic simulations of TBM Tunnelling in highly fractured and faulted rocks

Jean-Paul Dudt, Federica Sandrone, Jian Zhao, Erika Paltrinieri

Despite the potential excellent performance of TBMs in favourable ground conditions, the presence of fault zones or heavily jointed rocks represent important geological hazards encountered during tunnel excavation. The effects of these challenging environm ...

Elsevier2016

Design Optimization of Round Strands Made by Twisted Stacks of HTS Tapes

Rainer Wesche, Pierluigi Bruzzone, Davide Uglietti

Atwisted stack of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes soldered into copper profiles was used as a strand in the fabrication of the 60-kA/ 12-T HTS cable prototype at the Center for Research in Plasma Physics (CRPP). Considering the strand in gener ...

IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers2016

Analysis of TBM tunnelling performance in faulted and highly fractured rocks

Erika Paltrinieri

The thesis focuses on the study of the performance of TBMs in highly jointed and faulted rocks. Despite the great production rates recorded in favourable ground conditions, the TBM advance can be significantly slowed down in limiting geological situations ...

EPFL2015

Unified Detection and Tracking of Instruments during Retinal Microsurgery

Raphael Sznitman

Methods for tracking an object have generally fallen into two groups: tracking by detection and tracking through local optimization. The advantage of detection-based tracking is its ability to deal with target appearance and disappearance, but it does not ...

Ieee Computer Soc2013

Laboratory Investigation on Seismic Response of Rock Fractures Filled with Granular Materials

Wei Wu

Filling materials may exist in all scales of rock fractures, not only influencing seismic wave attenuation, but controlling rock mass instability. The objective of this study is to experimentally investigate the seismic response of rock fractures filled wi ...

EPFL2013

Coupled Hydrogeological and Geomechanical Modelling for the Analysis of Slowly-Moving Landslides

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari

Slow movements of natural slopes are quite frequent in mountainous or hilly areas. They may display occasional crises, mostly related to the increase of pore water pressures induced by exceptional climatic conditions. A methodology consisting of combining ...

ASCE2011

Effect of Groundwater on Landslide Triggering

Cornelia Sara Brönnimann

Landslides belong to the most important natural hazards in all mountainous regions. It is wellknown that water is one of the major triggers of landslides. Numerous landslide studies discuss different effects that water may have on slope stability: decreasi ...

EPFL2011

Modeling the Onset of Shallow Landslides in Partially Saturated Slopes Subjected to Rain Infiltration

Lyesse Laloui, John Eichenberger, Mathieu Nuth

Heavy rainfall can lead to shallow slips on slopes which are often initially in a state of partial water saturation. A multiphysics approach and advanced constitutive modeling are necessary to take into account the physical key processes in partially satur ...

ASCE2011

The Ovuscule

Philippe Thévenaz, Michaël Unser, Ricard Delgado Gonzalo

We propose an active contour (a.k.a. snake) that takes the shape of an ellipse. Its evolution is driven by surface terms made of two contributions: the integral of the data over an inner ellipse, counterbalanced by the integral of the data over an outer el ...

IEEE2011

Hydro-Mechanical Modelling of a Natural Slope Affected by a Multiple Slip Surface Failure Mechanism

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari

A coupled hydro-mechanical formulation is presented for the analysis of landslide motion during crisis episodes. The mathematical formulation is used to model a natural slope affected by a multiple slip surface failure mechanism, in which pore water pressu ...

Tech Science Press2010

Hydro-mechanical modelling of a natural slope affected by a multiple slip surface failure mechanism

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari

A coupled hydro-mechanical formulation is presented for the analysis of landslide motion during crisis episodes. The mathematical formulation is used to model a natural slope affected by a multiple slip surface failure mechanism, in which pore water pressu ...

2009

Using geotypes for landslide hazard assessment and mapping: a coupled field and GIS-based method

Aurèle Parriaux, Séverine Bilgot

Switzerland is exceptionally subjected to landslides; indeed, about 10% of its area is considered as unstable. Making this observation, its Department of the Environment (BAFU) introduces in 1997 a method to realize landslide hazard maps. It is routinely u ...

Copernicus GmbH2009

Geomechanical modelling of a natural slope affected by a multiple slip surface failure mechanism

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari

This paper presents a geomechanical model that was developed to investigate the behaviour of a natural slope located on the bank of the Rhine between the towns of Stein and Mumpf in Switzerland. The slope, affected by a large landslide, constitutes a relev ...

INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR COMPUTATIONAL ENGINEERING (IC 2E)2009

Geological characterization of cataclastic rock samples using medical X-ray computerized tomography : towards a better geotechnical description

Pierre Guillaume Christe

Technical difficulties associated with tunnelling operations in tectonized geological settings are frequently encountered. They may include instantaneous and delayed cavity convergence, sudden collapse of walls or roof of a gallery, outpouring of fault-fil ...

EPFL2009

After 10’000 years of movements, is the La Frasse landslide stabilized? Numerical modeling of the crises of a large landslide and of its mitigation measures

Lyesse Laloui, Hervé Péron, Jacques Planchat

Using advanced hydro-geological and geo-mechanical finite element simulations, it has been possible to model the behavior of a large slope movement, namely the La Frasse landslide in Switzerland. The slide experiences a permanent movement of about 10 to 15 ...

CIMNE2009

Constitutive modelling of unsaturated soils with hydro-geomechanical couplings

Mathieu Nuth

Even though the saturation in water of most natural and engineered soils is partial, constitutive models in geotechnical engineering have long made the assumption of complete saturation. The increasing knowledge of the rheological behaviour of unsaturated ...

EPFL2009

Geological heterogeneity in landslides : characterization and flow modelling

Boris Matti

Significant progress has been made these last decades in the development of hydrogeological numerical flow modelling for describing the hydrodynamic behaviour of landslides. However, these new sophisticated methods are still very seldom used in the problem ...

EPFL2008

Méthodologie pour la conception et la gestion des aménagements hydrauliques à buts multiples par une analyse systémique

Philippe Heller

Repeated failures as well as difficulties related to the implementation of new hydroelectric powerplants in industrialized countries illustrate the paradigm evolution which manages relationship between human society and nature. Problems resulting from thes ...

EPFL2007

Analytical design and optimization of ultrasonic vibrational transducers for spinal surgery

John Murphy

Just about every other technical publication you pick up these days makes sweeping statements concerning the pressures on scientists, engineers, and industries as a whole to get to market in less time, with an improved, less expensive product. I am reminde ...

EPFL2007