Webinar on “Microstructural changes underlying the compression behaviour of clays of different sensitivity”

Dear Colleagues,

On Thursday 22 July 2021, at 15:30 CET, Dr. Simona Guglielmi, Post-doctoral researcher at University of Naples “Federico II”, will be delivering the following webinar:
“Microstructural changes underlying the compression behaviour of clays of different sensitivity”

The webinar is organised by the Geotechnical Research Group of DICATECh, Politecnico di Bari, Italy, and will be held on Microsoft Teams. No registration is required, participants can join the event by clicking on the following link:
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NzQyZjBiNGEtMDczNS00ZjFhLWE3MzgtMTRlM2ZmZDFiOWYx%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%225b406aab-a1f1-4f13-a7aa-dd573da3d332%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22666815db-736a-4f9c-9ba1-db1bb4921368%22%7d

Please see the attached file for further details.

PhD opportunity: “Experimental and numerical investigations of puncture failure of geomembranes lining systems”

Laboratory experiments dealing with interactions between granular materials and geomembranes will be conducted in the project. Then DEM modeling of the experiments will be designed following a “digital twin” approach. The objective of the PhD is to precise the local processes of geomembrane failure subjected to puncturing actions and precise the design of protective layers of geotextiles. More information in the attached proposals (french and english).

The PhD project will be conducted at INRAE in Aix-en-Provence (France) and may start as early as October 2021 (with some flexibility).

Applications (CV and cover letter) should be sent to Guillaume Stoltz (guillaume.stoltz@inrae.fr) and Antoine Wautier (antoine.wautier@inrae.fr).

Position: ATER at Centrale Nantes

L’École Centrale Nantes recherche un.e Attaché.e Temporaire d’Enseignement et de Recherche pour l’équipe de Géomécanique – Génie Civil.

Activités d’enseignement :

Le (la) candidat(e) devra enseigner dans les matières liées au Génie Civil et à la Mécanique des géomatériaux. Il (elle) interviendra notamment dans les différents Unités d’Enseignement liées avec la Géomécanique/Géotechnique et en général le Génie Civil dans les différents parcours de la formation Génie Civil au sein de Centrale Nantes (ingénieur (sous statuts étudiant et apprenti), master). La capacité d’enseigner en anglais est un plus. Le (la) candidat(e) retenu(e) participera à la vie de l’École et de l’équipe pédagogique.

Activités de recherche :

Le (la) candidat(e) mènera ses activités de recherche au sein de l’Equipe Matériaux – Environnement Ouvrages – du GeM.

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CALL for Powders & Grains 2025

To all PG2021 participants, subscribers to the AEMMG-Mail-List, AEMMG members, and friends, everyone if the field of Powders & Grains.

The scientific committee AEMMG of the Powders and Grains conference series asks for proposals, who would be willing to organize the next Powders&Grains in 4 years, in 2025. (No special format required, just make sure you address and commit yourself to the points below – which should be possible within 2-3 pages).

You can send your proposal by e-mail to: s.luding@utwente.nl

Deadline for proposals is July 30th 2021, and the decision should be announced on August 06th 2021, during the closing ceremony of PG2021.

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ALERT Poster Session 2021

The ALERT Poster session will be held during the ALERT Workshop from September 27 to September 29, 2021 in Aussois.

Those who are interested are asked to submit their abstracts (both word/openoffice and pdf files are required) by email to the coordinators Nadia Benahmed (nadia.benahmed@irstea.fr) and Antoine Wautier (antoine.wautier@irstea.fr) using the attached abstract form (Template).

The deadline for the submission of the abstract is the September 10, 2021.

PhD Opportunity: “Development of novel grouting technology for subsurface engineering & the net-zero carbon revolution”

The University of Strathclyde is currently recruiting for a funded PhD project in subsurface engineering.

This lab-based project will focus on developing micron- and nano-scale technology to create novel grouts for enhancing the hydro-mechanical properties of the subsurface. During the project, different subsurface engineering applications will be scoped with the aim of targeting net-zero carbon related opportunities such as energy storage (compressed air, hydrogen), geothermal energy, and carbon sequestration. The candidate will be joining a research group with a track record in developing novel grouts, and in using advanced techniques such as X-ray micro CT and bespoke designed mechanical testing equipment to characterise and evaluate the grout effectiveness.

The deadline for the application is the 13 August 2021. For more details or information on how to apply, please see this file.

Presentations of the ALERT Doctoral School 2021

ALERT Doctoral School 2021
30th September to 2nd October 2021, Aussois, France (or online)

Constitutive Modelling in Geomaterials
Coordination: prof. Claudio Tamagnini [CT] and prof. David Mašín [DM]
Lecturers: prof. Ivo Herle [IH], prof. Cristina Jommi [CJ] and prof. Claudio di Prisco [CDP]

Foreword

Irrespectively of fast development of approaches for the analysis and design in geomechanics based on the methods for discontinuum (such as discrete element method), analysis of continua based on mesh or fast developing particle-based meshless methods still represents major means of numerical analysis in geomechanics. At the very core of such an analysis is a constitutive model: mathematical relationship converting the peculiar behaviour of particulate material, governed by the interactions between individual particles, into the behaviour of continua. As such, a properly selected and calibrated constitutive model has a critical effect on the outcomes of geotechnical simulations.

This school aims to introduce the students into the broad field of constitutive modelling of particulate materials with special emphasis on the behaviour of soils: after the introduction consisting of summary of basic features of soil behaviour, they will be introduced into fundamentals of constitutive modelling, followed by more detailed description of various modelling approaches – from the basic elastic and elasto-plastic models to more advanced frameworks of hardening plasticity, bounding surface plasticity, generalised plasticity and hypoplasticity. The second day will be focused on various specific more-advanced topics, such as simulation of small strain stiffness and cyclic loading, modelling of unsaturated soils, meta-stable structure, breakage, thermal effects, chemical effects and time and rate dependence, including formulation of finite-deformation plasticity and macroelement modelling. The last day is devoted to steps needed for adoption of models in numerical analysis tools, namely to their implementation in finite element codes. Finally, in practical hands-on sessions, students will train calibration using real experimental data themselves, using both manual and automatic freely-available calibration tools.

Day 1

  • Basic features of soil behaviour and soil testing [CJ]
  • Fundamentals of constitutive modelling for soils [IH]
  • The theory of plasticity in constitutive modelling of rate-independent soils [CT]
  • Hypoplasticity and other incrementally non-linear modelling approaches [DM]

Day 2

  • Modelling non-linearity, small-strain stiffness and cyclic loading [DM]
  • General overview on modelling the coupled behaviour of unsaturated soils [SJ]
  • Meta-stable structure, breakage and thermal effects [DM]
  • Time and rate dependence [CDP]
  • Finite deformation plasticity [CT]

Day 3

  • Numerical implementation of constitutive models [CT]
  • Macroelement modelling [CDP, Luca Flessati]

Registration for the ALERT Workshop & School 2021 is open!

Dear ALERT community,

I am pleased to inform you that the registration for the ALERT Geomaterials Workshop and School 2021 is now open! The preliminary program of the School is available here, and the one of the Workshop should soon be posted online.

As sanitary conditions are improving, it was decided to propose you two alternatives for your registration to the workshop and doctoral school: either you can come and participate in Aussois, or you can attend those remotely. Don’t worry, your choice can always be modified later on, as the sanitary conditions may change. As a reminder, the restrictions for entering France will depend on your country of departure and your vaccination status (more information here).

Please read the hints in the registration form! After filling the form and pressing the button “Register”, a window will open with your invoice. Please print the window with the invoice for your records! You will also get an email with the registration data afterwards. If you are an ALERT members, the corresponding representative of your ALERT institution will receive the registration data too.

Click here to register for the ALERT Workshop and School 2021.

The deadline for the registration is the September 17th! The accommodation in Aussois will be processed in the order of the registrations (see the hints in the registration form). Please note that the number of rooms in the CNRS “Centre Paul Langevin” is limited.
See also hints on how to get to Aussois.

Looking forward to (safely) meeting you in Aussois!

Webinar “A multiscale approach for the characterization of bio-chemo-mechanical processes in contaminated marine sediments”

A webinar on “A multiscale approach for the characterization of bio-chemo-mechanical processes in contaminated marine sediments” will be held online the 9th of July 2021 from 15:30 to 16:30.

The webinar is organised by the Geotechnical Research Group of DICATECh, Politecnico di Bari, Italy, and will be held on Microsoft Teams. No registration is required, participants can join the event by clicking on the following link: Teams link.

Please see this file for further details.