Research
- Coupled multi-physical analyses of porous media. Application to radioactive waste disposal. (PIs: Antonio Gens and Sebastià Olivella)
- Development of constitutive and numerical formulations for the analysis coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical problems (THM). Application to the analyses of large-scale field experiments carried out in underground laboratories.
- Numerical analysis of large-scale infrastructure projects. (PI: Antonio Gens)
- Performance of numerical analyses using advanced constitutive models and computational techniques to assist the design, construction and monitoring of large-scale infrastructure projects.
- DEM and PFEM modelling of penetration problems in Geomechanics. (PIs: Antonio Gens and Marcos Arroyo)
- Development of Discrete Element Methods (DEM) and Particle Finite Element Methods (PFEM) for the analysis of geomechanical problems involving large displacements, large strains, contacts and strain localisation. Special application to penetration problems.
- Advance image analysis techniques for laboratory experiments in soils including large displacements and deformations. Measurements of degree of saturation based on infrared-images. (PI: Núria M. Pinyol)
- Thermal-hydro-mechanical large deformation problems in porous media. Development of a Material Point Method open source code. (PI: Núria M. Pinyol)
- Thermal accelerated seismic-induced-landslides. MPM modelling of earthquake-induced rapid landslides including frictional-induced thermal effects by means the Material Point Method and Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical formulation approach. Implementation in Anura3D (Open-source code) and application in real cases.
- MPM modelling of flow-landslides. Modelling real cases. Implementation of an advanced constitutive model to simulate flow-like landslides involving static liquefaction in saturated and partially saturated soils.
- Unsaturated Soil Mechanics. Experimental and theoretical advances. Application to embankments, dams and radioactive waste disposal. (PI: Eduardo Alonso)
- Research in unsaturated soil mechanics covers the development of constitutive models, specialized testing, numerical analysis and application to a variety of Geotechnical and Environmental problems.
- Rockfill Mechanics. Particle breakage. Relative humidity effect. DEM modelling. (PI: Eduardo Alonso)
- Work in progress: (Alvarado, Romero, Alonso): Time dependent compressibility of coarse granular aggregates. Effects of hydro-mechanical history and aggregate size.
- Multi-scale experiments and analyses of geomaterials. (PIs: Enrique Romero and Laura González-Blanco)
- Multi-scale analyses of geomaterials are essential to provide a more in-depth understanding of processes at the microstructural level affecting the macroscopic behaviour. These analyses allow validating multi-scale constitutive models used in geotechnical applications.
- References: González-Blanco et al. (2020); Nguyen et al. (2020); Yuan et al. (2020).
- Multi-physics experiments and modelling of geomaterials. (PIs: Enrique Romero and Laura González-Blanco)
- This research line is devoted to performing highly coupled multi-physics and boundary value experiments to support innovative modelling approaches dealing with multi-physics processes in geomaterials and related materials.
- References: Torres-Serra et al. (2020); Spagnoli et al. (2020); Alcantara et al. (2020); Fraccica et al. (2020); Sau et al. (2020).
- Cracking in desiccating soils. (PIs: Alberto Ledesma and Pere Prat)
- Crystal Growth in Anhydritic Rocks. Swelling and structure interaction. (PI: Anna Ramon)
- This research line is based on the study of swelling behaviour in sulphated rocks and compacted soils induced by crystal growth. The research encompasses laboratory investigations and the development of a computational tool capable to reproduce, in a coupled manner, the hydraulic, mechanical and chemical processes involved in expansions.
- Analysis and modelling of tailings dams. (PIs: Marcos Arroyo, Daniel Tarragó and Antonio Gens)
- Multi scale analysis of low-carbon soil binders. (PIs: Alessandro Fraccica, Enrique Romero and Marcos Arroyo)
- DEM and PFEM modelling of soil structure interaction. (PIs: Marcos Arroyo, Lluís Monforte and Antonio Gens)
