I am a geomechanics researcher with a focus on investigating the mechanical behavior of Earth's materials under conditions pertinent to the shallow Earth and upper mantle. My research integrates laboratory-based geomechanics and x-ray techniques with advanced constitutive modeling and theories of material instability.

I am currently a Marie Curie EPFLeaders4Impact Postdoctoral Fellow at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). Before joining EPFL, I served as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University. My credentials include a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University, a joint Erasmus Mundus master's degree in Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology from the University of Grenoble-Alpes and the School of Advanced Studies-Pavia, and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Damascus University.
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Multiscale and Multiphysics Characterization of Volcanic Rocks

Multiscale and Multiphysics Characterization of Volcanic Rocks

Geothermal energy harvesting has gained renewed momentum in recent years following the discovery of high-temperature resources exceeding 400°C in volcanic systems. This emerging industry has highlighted our limited understanding of these types of rocks, particularly in our ability to predict their deformation behaviors under the complex thermo-hydro-chemo-mechanical conditions relevant to geothermal reservoirs. This project is designed to address this critical knowledge gap. We employ advanced geomechanics testing methods and modeling frameworks to develop novel insights and predictive capabilities for volcanic rocks that support the safe and efficient exploitation of underground geothermal resources. This project aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including Affordable and Clean Energy, Climate Action, Sustainable Cities, and Responsible Production and Consumption. It is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation through an Ambizione Fellowship awarded to Ghassan Shahin. The project fosters collaborations between EPFL, the Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Strasbourg, leveraging expertise in geomechanics, geosciences, and volcanology.

EPFLRock4CCS: Quantifying chEmo-hydromechanical Properties and FaiLure mechanics of reservoir ROCKs for Carbon Capture and Sequestration

EPFLRock4CCS: Quantifying chEmo-hydromechanical Properties and FaiLure mechanics of reservoir ROCKs for Carbon Capture and Sequestration

The geological sequestration of CO2 entails the injection of high-pressure fluids deep into subsurface porous reservoirs. Such procedures can induce significant stress and chemical disturbances, potentially leading to irreversible deformations within and surrounding the injection sites. Here, via a laboratory pilot study, mimicking injection into a reservoir on a miniature scale, we will characterize, through a multi-scale approach, the effect of pressurized water and weak acids on the deformation behavior of porous rocks. This project supports a range of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Affordable and Clean Energy, Climate Action, Sustainable Cities, and Responsible Production and Consumption. This project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship and the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. The project bridges collaborations between EPFL and Ecole Normale Superieure-Paris, Ecole des Ponts, and the Johns Hopkins University bringing together expertise in geomechanics, geosciences, and geotechnology.

Micromechanics and Strain Localization in Sand in the Ductile Regime

Laboratory study providing an in-depth analysis of the micro-mechanical processes (i.e., contact sliding and grain breakage) that drive yielding and deformation mechanism of sand deformed in the ductile regime.

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Quantifying the hierarchy of structural and mechanical length scales in granular systems

Based on X-ray tomography and X-ray diffraction measurements, this fundamental study investigates the transition from heterogeneous to homogenous scale revealing scale hierarchy in geometry, stress and energy dissipation

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HP-TACO: A high-pressure triaxial compression apparatus for in situ x-ray measurements in geomaterials

Technical paper reporting, with demonstrations, features of a new load-frame designed by the Authors and installed at Johns Hopkins University to test geomaterials under high pressures with the aid of in-house and synchrotron x-ray tomography.

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The Role of Stratigraphy and Loading History in Generating Complex Compaction Bands in Idealized Field‐Scale Settings

Numerical investigation into the origin, causes, and sequences of complex compaction band structures observed in the dessert of Utah, combining geological history, field stratigraphy, material theories, and finite element computations.

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Experimental study of compaction localization in carbonate rock and constitutive modeling of mechanical anisotropy

Laboratory investigation combined with theoretical developments to explain the divergent anisotropic responses in yielding-stresses and post-yielding deformation in the highly porous rock of Maastricht Tuffeau.

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Simulation of emergent compaction banding fronts caused by frictional boundaries

The role of boundary effects in promoting heterogeneous deformation fields is assessed in the context of examining the bias that boundary friction could introduce on the characterization of compaction localization in predominantly softening and hardening porous rocks.

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Simulating spatial heterogeneity through a CT-FE mapping scheme discloses boundary effects on emerging compaction bands

The natural heterogeneity of porous rocks is integrated in numerical simulations to quantify its interplay with interfering boundary effects in the context of the triggering and the propagation of compaction band.

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Numerical simulation of localized compaction creep in heterogeneous porous rock

Studies of the role played by spatial heterogeneities in triggering delayed compaction bands under moderated levels of creep stress.

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Simulation of localized compaction in Tuffeau de Maastricht based on evidence from X-ray tomography

Illustration of elastoplastic modeling and validation of compaction banding in a highly-porous limestone tested mechanically in concurrence with in-situ x-ray computed tomography.

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Viscoplastic Interpretation of Localized Compaction Creep in Porous Rock

Constitutive modeling and theoretical developments of instability indices for compaction creep in porous rocks susceptible to strain localization, and the example here is: Bleurswiller sandstone.

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Assessment of statistical homogeneity in chemically treated granular materials

The theory of geostatistics is used to assess through metrics the intensity of spatial heterogeneity in granular systems subjected to chemically-induced mineral precipitation.

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A study of the influence of REV variability in double‐scale FEM× DEM analysis

Within the framework of Multiscale modeling of FEMxDEM, this work examines the effects of incorporating spatially varying simulations of granular assemblies on the modes of strain localization.

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Marie Violay

EPFL

Ryan Hurley

Johns Hopkins University

Giuseppe Buscarnera

Northwestern University

Cino Viggiani

University of Grenoble-Alpes

John Rudnicki

Northwestern University

Mike Heap

University of Strasbourg

Jacques Desrues

University of Grenoble-Alpes

Anita Torabi

University of Oslo

Stefano Dal Pont

University of Grenoble-Alpes

Gael Combe

University of Grenoble-Alpes

Jean-Michel Pereira

Ecole Des Ponts

Ferdinando Marinelli

Northwestern University

Dawei Xue

Northwestern University

Mehmet Cil

Northwestern University

Albert Argilaga

University of Grenoble-Alpes

Athanasios Papazoglou

University of Grenoble-Alpes