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.

Post-doc Position at the University of Southampton (UK): SEAMLESS ‘SharEd Anchor Multidirectional Load Envelopes with Strength Synthesis’

We are hiring a post-doc for a 12months project on shared anchors for floating offshore renewable energy technologies. The project will systematically investigate the cyclic behaviour of those anchors by geotechnical centrifuge modelling in the new National Infrastructure Laboratory. Centrifuge tests will be complemented by X-ray tomography to investigate the anchor failure mechanism. This is an excellent opportunity to work closely with the offshore industry on the future of offshore engineering, as the project has several industrial partners (NGI, EQUINOR, CORPOWER, Lloyds Register and ORE CATAPULT).

More details can be found in this file or on the site of the University of Southampton:

https://jobs.soton.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=1416021DA

14th Euroconference on Rock Physics and Rock Mechanics – Last call for abstract

Dear ALERT Geomaterials community,

I hope you are all keeping well!

This is a wee reminder that the abstract submission for the 14th Euroconference on Rock Physics and Rock Mechanics has been extended to the 4th of July 2021.

To submit your abstract, please follow the instructions:

https://www.euroconference2021.org/Submit

Moreover, the registration has now opened and you can register until the 20th of August 2021. You can find more info on our website:  https://www.euroconference2021.org/.

We are looking forward to meeting you virtually on the 30th of August!

Best wishes,

Elma (on behalf of the organising committee).

Website administration succession

Dear ALERT community,

After twenty months, it is time for me to leave my role as website administrator of ALERT.  In collaboration with the Director of ALERT, Frédéric Collin, it was a great honor for me to be your privileged contact and to bring you almost daily announcements related to the geomaterials field. I am happy my last announcement means the ALERT community can meet again in Aussois in September 2021. Despite the particular period we went through, I noticed many events were organized in our field. All of you who were involved in these events should be congratulated for this!

In total, with the open position announcements, I scheduled nearly 250 posts. Actually, my only regret is not staying long enough to beat my predecessor, Albert Argilaga Claramunt, who did an incredible job.

I also thank Bertrand François (ALERT PhD Prize Winner 2009) who was nice enough to forward me your emails when some of you confused us 😀  For those of you who never noticed that we were two different people, I am sure you won’t see the difference in the future. As I leave, there will always be an office in our name in Liège…

I am now handing over to my colleague Arthur Fanara who, I am convinced, will do this job with dedication.

Thanks to everyone and long life to ALERT-Geomaterials!

François Bertrand

Workshop and Doctoral School announcement

Dear ALERT community,

As sanitary conditions are improving, certainly thanks to the vaccination, we are confident that it will be possible to meet again in September 2021 in Aussois.

However, it cannot be ruled out that travel restrictions will still be in place at that time, particularly from outside the EU. The conditions for entering France will depend on your country of departure and your vaccination status (https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/coming-to-france/coronavirus-advice-for-foreign-nationals-in-france/#sommaire_1 ).

Therefore, for the first time in the history of ALERT, the decision was taken to organize the workshop and the doctoral school in hybrid mode in 2021. It means it will be possible to attend these events while being present in Aussois or remotely. This way, we hope to meet the expectations of both those eager to meet and those unwilling to travel.

In the coming weeks, you will be able to register and choosing one of these two options (which can be modified if necessary).

Keep staying safe, long life to ALERT-Geomaterials!