Publications related to Hydraulic Constructions Platform

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Flow and Hydrochemistry in Drainage Networks

Despite their high ecological value, non-perennial streams have received less attention than their perennial counterparts. This doctoral thesis addresses this disparity by advancing knowledge on the dynamics of the drainage density and hydrologic processes ...

EPFL2024

Study of flexible operating conditions in variable-speed hydraulic turbines : advanced models and experimental validation

Martin Seydoux

The global imperative to transition from fossil fuel-based energy sources to renewable alternatives has become increasingly urgent in the pursuit of sustainable and renewable power generation. This paradigm shift necessitates innovative approaches to manag ...

EPFL2024

Noise-induced transitions past the onset of a steady symmetry-breaking bifurcation: The case of the sudden expansion

François Gallaire, Edouard Boujo, Yves-Marie François Ducimetière

We consider fluid flows, governed by the Navier-Stokes equations, subject to a steady symmetry-breaking bifurcation and forced by a weak noise acting on a slow timescale. By generalizing the multiple-scale weakly nonlinear expansion technique employed in t ...

2024

Stochastic Simulations and Machine Learning Modeling to Predict Bedload Transport and Bed Topography

Mehrdad Kiani Oshtorjani

In computational hydraulics models, predicting bed topography and bedload transport with sufficient accuracy remains a significant challenge. An accurate assessment of a river's sediment transport rate necessitates a prior understanding of its bed topograp ...

EPFL2024

Quantifying the Unknown: Data-Driven Approaches and Applications in Energy Systems

Paul Scharnhorst

In light of the challenges posed by climate change and the goals of the Paris Agreement, electricity generation is shifting to a more renewable and decentralized pattern, while the operation of systems like buildings is increasingly electrified. This calls ...

EPFL2024

Advanced control strategies to exploit the hydropower potential enhancing ancillary services provision to the power system

Francesco Gerini

The European Union's Green Deal aims for a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. To reach this goal, a massive integration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) into the power grid is necessary. As RES become a large part of the electricity genera ...

EPFL2024

On the prediction of the induced damage by the start-up sequence of Francis turbines: On operational resilience framework

Mario Paolone, Christophe Nicolet, Elena Vagnoni, Martin Seydoux

The number of transient operations in hydraulic machinery connected to power grid, notably start-ups and shut-downs, has observed a substantial increase in recent decades, primarily driven by the global shift toward intermittent renewable energy sources. S ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2024

Adaptive Finite Elements with Large Aspect Ratio. Application to Aluminium Electrolysis

Paride Passelli

The goal of this work is to use anisotropic adaptive finite elements for the numerical simulation of aluminium electrolysis. The anisotropic adaptive criteria are based on a posteriori error estimates derived for simplified problems. First, we consider an ...

EPFL2024

A comprehensive review on geomembrane systems application in hydropower

Giovanni De Cesare, Samuel Luke Vorlet

Geomembrane systems have been used at hydropower plants as rehabilitation and mitigation technology for several decades and are now used worldwide. In the context of planning an energy transition that promotes the sustainable use of water resources for ene ...

2024

From roots to canopy: Unraveling the influence of species diversity on tree water relations under warmer and drier climates

Eugénie Isabelle Mas

The worsening of drought events with rising air temperature alters tree water relations causing severe hydraulic impairments and widespread forest mortality. Mixing tree species with contrasting hydraulic traits could reduce forest vulnerability to extreme ...

EPFL2024

Morphometry of Tidal Meander Cutoffs Indicates Similarity to Fluvial Morphodynamics

Andrea Rinaldo, Peng Gao

Sinuous channels wandering through coastal wetlands have been thought to lack lateral-migration features like meander cutoffs and oxbows, spurring the broad interpretation that tidal and fluvial meanders differ morphodynamically. Motivated by recent work s ...

Amer Geophysical Union2024

Design and assessment of an evaporating water-cooled methanation reactor for a SOE-based power-to-methane system

Philippe Aubin

The transition towards clean renewable energy sources, where wind and solar are prone to variation, requires adequate energy storage. Power-to-methane (PtM) systems can be part of the solution. Specifically, solid-oxide-electrolyser (SOE) based PtM systems ...

EPFL2024

Flood, farms and credit: The role of branch banking in the era of climate change

Seyed Javad Kashizadeh, Pejman Abedifar

Using Iran's unexpected flood in April 2019 as a natural experiment, we show that local branches bridge the time gap between the disaster and governmental aids by immediately increasing their lending for two months following the flood. Analyzing proprietar ...

Elsevier2024

Impact of CO2-rich seawater injection on the flow properties of basalts

Lyesse Laloui, Eleni Stavropoulou, Cesare Griner

Permanent CO storage in basalts through mineralisation offers a promising solution for reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change. This study focuses on the impact of potential mineralisation on the flow properties of the basaltic material. Fl ...

2024

Climate Change Contributions to Increasing Compound Flooding Risk in New York City

Monika Feldmann

Efforts to meaningfully quantify the changes in coastal compound surge- and rainfall -driven flooding hazard associated with tropical cyclones (TCs) and extratropical cyclones (ETCs) in a warming climate have increased in recent years. Despite substantial ...

Amer Meteorological Soc2024

Soil warming alters tree water use and canopy stomatal conductance in a mixed subtropical forest

Charlotte Grossiord, Christoph Bachofen

As air temperature and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) increase continuously, forests are losing more water through evapotranspiration, with large consequences for local and global hydrological cycles. In regions with high vegetation cover, soil warming can b ...

Elsevier2024

Twenty years of irrigation acclimation is driven by denser canopies and not by plasticity in twig- and needle-level hydraulics in a Pinus sylvestris forest

Charlotte Grossiord, Christoph Bachofen, Eugénie Isabelle Mas, Hervé Cochard, Alice Jacqueline Frédérique Gauthey, Alex Tunas Corzon

Climate change is predicted to increase atmospheric vapor pressure deficit, exacerbating soil drought, and thus enhancing tree evaporative demand and mortality. Yet, few studies have addressed the longer-term drought acclimation strategy of trees, particul ...

Oxford Univ Press2024

Good enough: Intermediate complexity atmospheric models improve the representation of processes affecting seasonal snow

Dylan Stewart Reynolds

Snow plays a crucial role in processes regulating ecosystems, the climate, and human development. Mountain snowpack in particular has great relevance for downstream communities. Knowledge about the distribution and properties of the snowpack thus help in p ...

EPFL2024

Structure and dynamics of liquid water from ab initio simulations: adding Minnesota density functionals to Jacob's ladder

Ursula Röthlisberger, Justin Villard, Martin Peter Bircher

The accurate representation of the structural and dynamical properties of water is essential for simulating the unique behavior of this ubiquitous solvent. Here we assess the current status of describing liquid water using ab initio molecular dynamics, wit ...

Royal Soc Chemistry2024

Turbulence and Heat exchange in the Near-Surface Boundary Layer over Patchy Snow

Michael Haugeneder

The atmospheric layer adjacent to the earth's surface is of crucial importance for weather models due to the exchange of energy between the surface and the atmosphere. This exchange is dependent on the various surface properties and influences the state of ...

EPFL2024