Jie Yang receives the Centrale Innovation 2020 Thesis Prize

His research work focused on numerical analyses of the multi-physics problem of sinkholes in the vicinity of a dyke or a linear geo-structure, and led to numerous publications and presentations at international conferences, thus promoting the transfer of knowledge to academic and industrial communities.

See the thesis: https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-02443260/document

Abstract:

Geo-structures such as dams and levees or dikes are subjected to seepage varying in time and space. The water flowing through these porous media can lead to the detachment and transport of part of the soil particles within the structures or their foundations. This problem is usually called internal erosion. The term suffusion, one type of internal erosions, refers to the detachment and transport of finer particles through a coarser porous soil matrix due to seepage flow. Suffusion can modify with time the hydraulic and mechanical properties of the soils and may trigger significant damage on such structures and lead eventually to their collapse.
This research attempts to contribute to the design and sustainability of geotechnical and hydraulic engineering structures, with a particular focus on embankment dams, levees, and dikes. It aims to develop a numerical model of suffusion by introducing, on the one hand, the coupling of the hydraulic and mechanical phenomena and, on the other hand, the coupling of erosion and filtration.
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Centrale Innovation - a subsidiary of the Écoles Centrales of Lyon, Nantes, Marseille and the École Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Saint-Étienne - awards each year a prize for the best thesis, carried out in conjunction with industry. Its objective is to recognise the best research work carried out in the framework of a PhD.