PhD thesis of Ines Haloui
2023-2026
Multi-scale and multi-physics modeling of sedimentation and erosion of a complex granular material: application to coastal hydro-sediment dynamics of sand/mud mixtures
Investigating and analyzing the influence of particle physical properties and granulometric distribution on sedimentation, the formation of deposited layers, and their erodibility.
The processes of sediment falling in the water column, the processes of sediment bed formation and erosion, depend on the physical properties of the particles and the carrying fluid, as well as the mode of transport of these particles interacting with the forces exerted by the carrying fluid.
The heterogeneity in terms of physical properties (density, fluid viscosity, fluid compressibility, etc.), geometric properties (heterometric distribution of particle sizes, concentration of particles in the water column, etc.), as well as particle-particle and particle-fluid interaction types, in addition to the forcing modes that dictate the transport and erosion dynamics, make these processes very complex and often highly nonlinear.
Although many studies have been conducted in suspension physics and sediment dynamics, the direct links between physical-geometrical properties, interactions, forcing factors, and the behavior of suspended sediments, their mobilization, or the mode of sediment bed formation remain insufficiently explored. For this thesis, a numerical modeling approach will be conducted through a coupling between the Discrete Element Method and the Lattice Boltzmann Method, allowing the effects of each physical-geometrical-forcing parameter on sedimentation processes, the structuring of deposited sediment layers, and their erodibility to be clarified.
Supervisors
Jean-Yves Delenne (IATE-INRAE Montpellier)
Funding
IFREMER