Video Testimonial: Kamal Harb, Ph.D. student at the Medelia Chair
Project leaders :
- Ph.D. student: Kamal HARB
- Academic Supervision (Grenoble INP – UGA | ED I-MEP²): Julien BAROTH (3SR Laboratory)
Rafael Estevez (SIMaP Laboratory) - Industrial Supervision (SPRETEC | Artelia Group): Arnaud ISAAC
Vincent MICHAUD
Organisations associated with the project :
The organizations involved in the project mainly include private partners, research laboratories, and specialized institutions:
- SPRETEC (Artelia Group)
- Grenoble INP Foundation
- 3SR Laboratory (Soils, Solids, Structures, Risks)
- SIMaP Laboratory (Science and Engineering of Materials and Processes)
- Grenoble INP – Ense3, UGA (The Engineering School for Energy, Water, and the Environment)
- Grenoble INP – Phelma, UGA (The School of Engineering in Physics, Electronics, and Materials)
- GCCD, IUT1, UGA (Department of Civil Engineering and Sustainable Construction at the Institute of Technology)
Research focus :
The Medelia Chair’s research focuses on several areas related to improving the safety and sustainability of hydraulic structures, with an emphasis on probabilistic fatigue analysis of steel structures.
Here are the main areas of research:
- Structural Reliability: A study of the reliability of hydraulic structures to ensure their proper functioning and resistance to stress.
- Fracture Mechanics: An exploration of the fracture mechanisms of metal structures, particularly those used in hydraulic structures.
- Stochastic Finite Element Method: Use of advanced finite element methods to account for variability in structural analysis.
- Probabilistic Fatigue Analysis: Development of new fatigue analysis methods to improve the prediction of the service life of steel structures.
- Eurocode 3: Application and adaptation of the Eurocode 3 standards, which define the design rules for steel structures, in the specific context of hydraulic structures.
Project description :
This innovative research project proposes a methodological approach to addressing the challenges inherent in the aging of hydraulic structures. Its primary objective is to provide managers with tools for assessing residual service life (RSL) in order to inform decisions regarding maintenance scenarios. The methodology adopted is based on probabilistic fatigue analysis, specifically applied to the hydromechanical components of gate structures, drawing on fracture mechanics and the stochastic finite element method. The study focuses on the examination of aging mechanically welded structures, highlighting uncertainties related to loads, material properties, geometry, and construction quality. This study thus enables a probabilistic characterization of damage and residual service life, thereby promising a more in-depth assessment. These results open up new avenues for the scientific understanding of the durability of steel structures under fatigue conditions and provide decision-making support for managers.
Project objectives :
SPRETEC, an applied mechanics company and member of the Artelia Group, has launched the Medelia Chair in collaboration with the Grenoble INP Foundation and with the support of two laboratories (3SR and SIMaP at the University of Grenoble Alpes). The goal of this Chair of Industrial Excellence is to advance knowledge regarding fatigue, failure, and the durability of hydromechanical structures over an initial four-year period.
Across all industrial sectors, operators such as the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR), Electricité de France (EDF), and Les Voies Navigables de France (VNF) are facing an increasing number of problems related to the aging of their equipment, particularly with regard to fatigue. This is because these industries expanded significantly in the two or three decades following World War II; as a result, this equipment has now been in use for 50 to 60 years. This is the case in the nuclear, hydropower, and civil engineering sectors.
In the field of hydromechanics, changes in operating conditions can also lead to load variations or startup and shutdown costs that were not initially anticipated (Savin et al. 2020). Vibration phenomena related to machinery or hydrodynamic effects can also cause fatigue failure. Finally, climate change and its effects (droughts, more frequent and severe floods, high temperature gradients, etc.) could also lead to greater variability in equipment load conditions. The equipment in question includes lock gates, pipelines, valves, turbines, reservoirs, etc. Initially, we are focusing on mechanically welded structures such as lock gates, but the chair’s objective is to develop a methodology that can be applied to other types of equipment.
Expected results :
Methodological Considerations for Fatigue Analysis
Publications associated with the project :
[CI] Baroth J., Michaud V., Estevez R., Isaac A., Remaining Useful Life of hydraulic steel structures under high-cycle fatigue, Proceedings – 63th ESReDA Seminar, Ispra, Italy, October 25–26, 2023.
