BEGIN:VCALENDAR
PRODID:-//eluceo/ical//2.0/EN
VERSION:2.0
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:d9f9e62ad3211b2b6a43db82157b14c2
DTSTAMP:20260819T080913Z
SUMMARY:PhD Defence: Influence of impurities and additives on the combustio
 n of micron-sized iron particles: Experimental and numerical approach by Z
 akarie BRUYR (TFL)
DESCRIPTION:Future energy systems require efficient and safe storage and tr
 ansport solutions to integrate intermittent renewable energy sources. Iron
  powder is a promising energy carrier because it is abundant\, safe\, inex
 pensive\, and recyclable: after combustion\, iron oxides can be reduced ba
 ck to metallic iron using renewable energy\, closing a sustainable energy 
 cycle.This thesis investigates the combustion of iron particles and the in
 fluence of impurities on their behaviour. Single-particle experiments were
  conducted in an electrodynamic levitator using different powder compositi
 ons.For pure Fe particles\, results revealed the coexistence of liquid iro
 n and iron oxide phases at the particle surface during combustion. They al
 so identified hydrogen\, originating from hydroxide layers formed during s
 torage\, as a key contributor to micro-explosions.Beyond high-purity iron 
 powders\, impure iron powders were also tested. Metallic impurities such a
 s aluminum and silicon significantly modify combustion behaviour by alteri
 ng particle morphology\, oxidation rate\, evaporation dynamics\, and ignit
 ion temperature. Oxide impurities have a more limited effect but can still
  influence combustion mechanisms and oxide formation. Overall\, the result
 s demonstrate that impure iron powders can ignite and fully oxidize in the
  liquid state\, supporting their potential use as sustainable metal fuels 
 and highlighting the need for burner designs adapted to variable feedstock
  quality.Membres du jury :Prof. Francesco Contino&nbsp\; (UCLouvain)(Promo
 teur)Prof. Paul Fisette&nbsp\; (UCLouvain) (Président)Prof. Pascal Jacque
 s&nbsp\; (UCLouvain) (Secrétaire)Prof. Fabien Halter (CNRS Orléans) (Co-
 promoteur)&nbsp\;Dr. Laurine Choisez (UCLouvain)Dr. XiaoCheng Mi (TU Eindh
 oven)Dr. Arne Scholtissek (TU Darmstadt)Soutenance publique également via
  le lien (TEAMS) :&nbsp\;https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/31436901782842?p
 =vA5eJVIXn06nwytoqI&nbsp\;
URL:https://uclouvain.be/en/calendar/immc
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260917T163000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260917T183000
LOCATION:Place Ste Barbe 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:c338a4fe2dadb7c64344cb6deddff345
DTSTAMP:20260819T080913Z
SUMMARY:PhD Defence: Processing and characterization of dissimilar titanium
  - aluminum welds joined by Friction Melt Bonding by Sanjay Channappa KRIS
 HNAMURTHY (IMAP)
DESCRIPTION:The increasing demand for lightweight structures in the aerospa
 ce industry\, driven by fuel-efficiency and sustainability requirements\, 
 has intensified interest in dissimilar material systems such as titanium -
  aluminum alloys. These combinations offer high specific strength and corr
 osion resistance but remain difficult to join using conventional fusion we
 lding because of their dissimilar physical properties and the formation of
  brittle intermetallic compounds (IMCs)\, residual stresses\, and heat-aff
 ected zone softening. Solid-state welding processes provide a promising al
 ternative\, although their effects on joint integrity and long-term perfor
 mance are not yet fully understood.This thesis advances the understanding 
 of dissimilar Ti/Al joints produced by a modified semi-solid-state Frictio
 n Melt Bonding (FMB) process through microstructural\, mechanical\, residu
 al stress\, and corrosion investigations. The evolution of weld microstruc
 ture and mechanical behavior was characterized\, while residual stresses w
 ere quantified using large-scale diffraction techniques and compared with 
 Refill Friction Stir Spot Welding (RFSSW). The influence of IMC thickness 
 was examined through post-weld heat treatment\, establishing its relations
 hip with local mechanical properties\, residual stress\, and joint strengt
 h. Finally\, localized electrochemical techniques were employed to evaluat
 e the galvanic corrosion behavior of FMB Ti/Al joints and the role of IMC 
 evolution. The findings provide new insights into the relationships betwee
 n processing\, interfacial microstructure\, residual stress\, and the resu
 lting mechanical and corrosion performance of dissimilar Ti/Al joints.&nbs
 p\;Membres du jury :Prof. Aude Simar (UCLouvain)(Promoteur)Prof. Renaud Ro
 nsse&nbsp\;(UCLouvain) (Président)Prof. Pascal Jacques&nbsp\;(UCLouvain) 
 (Secrétaire)Prof. Sylvain Dancette (INSA Lyon)Prof. Eric Charkaluk (Ecole
  Polytechnique Paris)Dr. Thaneshan Sapanathan (Curtin University\, Perth)S
 outenance publique accessible par TEAMShttps://teams.microsoft.com/meet/31
 0100664978864?p=KggYj10HHWgWLwBePg
URL:https://uclouvain.be/en/calendar/immc
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260821T161500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260821T181500
LOCATION:Place Ste Barbe 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:93746f1d7390e29e36f03e9ebcb425d9
DTSTAMP:20260819T080913Z
SUMMARY:PhD Defense : « Design\, control et validation préliminaire d'une
  prothèse externe de hanche » par Louis DEVILLEZ (MEED)
DESCRIPTION:La désarticulation de hanche et l'hémipelvectomie sont des am
 putations où l'entièreté de jambe est retirée. Ces interventions rares
  et mutilantes ne permettent qu'à une minorité de patients de marcher av
 ec une prothèse\, au prix d'un coût métabolique élevé et d'une asymé
 trie importante de la marche. Si les prothèses actives de cheville et de 
 genou ont connu des avancées remarquables\, l'articulation de la hanche e
 st restée largement inexplorée\, en raison de contraintes mécaniques sp
 écifiques et de l'absence de signaux volontaires issus du membre manquant
 .Cette thèse aborde ces défis à travers la conception et le contrôle d
 'une prothèse de hanche active\, développée du concept mécanique jusqu
 'aux tests sur utilisateur. Sur le plan mécanique\, une nouvelle articula
 tion prothétique est introduite\, basée sur un mécanisme à double para
 llélogramme incliné qui positionne le centre de rotation prothétique à
  l'emplacement anatomique de la hanche. Sur le plan du contrôle\, un esti
 mateur cinématique temps réel infère le mouvement prothétique requis 
 à partir de trois IMU placés sur le bassin et le membre intact\, en fusi
 onnant deux approches complémentaires\, la CLME et les oscillateurs adapt
 atifs\, via une fonction de pondération logistique. Une étude de cas pr
 éliminaire avec un sujet porteur d'une désarticulation de hanche suggèr
 e une réduction du coût métabolique de la marche par rapport à une pro
 thèse passive.L'ensemble de ces contributions forme AUHRA (Active Unit fo
 r Hip Robotic Assistance)\, un système complet de prothèse de hanche act
 ive\, posant les bases d'une restauration de la locomotion physiologique p
 our les personnes ayant perdu totalement une jambe.Membres du jury :Prof. 
 Renaud Ronsse (UCLouvain)(Promoteur)Prof.&nbsp\;Aude Simar (UCLouvain) (Pr
 ésident)Prof. Bruno Dehez&nbsp\;(UCLouvain) (Secrétaire)Dr. Benoît Herm
 an (UCLouvain)Prof. Herman van der Kooij&nbsp\;(University of Twente\, The
  Netherlands)Prof. Heike Vallery (RWTH Aachen\, Germany)Soutenance publiqu
 e accessible par visio-conférence :&nbsp\;https://teams.microsoft.com/mee
 t/356969346824814?p=xohWhbJ5qp6FZ2109t
URL:https://uclouvain.be/en/calendar/immc
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260930T161500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260930T181500
LOCATION:Place Croix du Sud 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:89a1e52d5ee0d8300739bef2cdb35ce7
DTSTAMP:20260819T080913Z
SUMMARY:PhD Defence: Large Eddy Simulations of controlled Airborne Wind Ene
 rgy Systems flying in turbulent flows by Jean-Baptiste CRISMER (TFL)
DESCRIPTION:Wind energy is expected to play a central role in the energy tr
 ansition to carbon-neutral energy system\, with installed capacity project
 ed to increase substantially in the coming decades. To this end\, the size
  of horizontal-axis wind turbines is continuously increasing\, which raise
 s structural challenges and requires increasing material resources. Those 
 challenges have triggered interest in alternative technologies. Airborne w
 ind energy systems (AWES) show great potential and has recently gained a g
 reat deal of interest. However\, AWESs development is still at an early st
 age\, and their ability to operate reliably under turbulent wind condition
 s and within wind farms requires further investigation. This thesis presen
 ts a computational framework based on large eddy simulation (LES) to study
  AWES operating in ambient turbulence and in waked conditions representati
 ve of wind farms. Within the LES flow solver\, the kites are represented u
 sing a model based on an actuator line for the main wing with its ailerons
 \, and complemented with models for the tail control surfaces (rudder and 
 elevator). The flow solver is coupled\, via a two-way coupling\, to a cont
 rol module based on model-predictive control (MPC)\, to track optimal traj
 ectories. The first part of the thesis investigates the wakes generated by
  curved- and straight-wing AWES\, representative of soft- and rigid-wing c
 oncepts\, and demonstrates that the wake structure depends on the kite geo
 metry. The subsequent chapters focus on straight rigid-wing kites. The rob
 ustness of the MPC controller is then evaluated under turbulent inflow con
 ditions\, showing its ability to maintain accurate trajectory tracking des
 pite atmospheric turbulence. The framework is subsequently applied to more
  complex operating scenarios. When flying within the wake of another kite\
 , the controller successfully tracks the prescribed trajectory. Depending 
 on the spacing and synchronization between the two systems\, the downstrea
 m kite either avoids the wake and experiences negligible wake effects or f
 lies within it\, resulting in power losses of up to 6%. Finally\, the kite
  is simulated within a realistic atmospheric boundary layer and in the wak
 e of a wind turbine. Even when traversing the wind turbine wake\, the cont
 roller maintains trajectory tracking\, although with reduced accuracy and 
 power losses of approximately 5–10%. Overall\, these results quantify th
 e performance of AWES under realistic farm-like operating conditions\, dem
 onstrate both the robustness and the limitations of the proposed control s
 trategy\, and show that wake interactions can significantly affect power p
 roduction and trajectory-tracking performance while also highlighting oppo
 rtunities for wake mitigation.Membres du jury :Prof. Grégoire Winckelmans
 &nbsp\;(UCLouvain)(Promoteur)Prof. Aude Simar&nbsp\;(UCLouvain) (Présiden
 t)Prof. Francesco Contino&nbsp\;(UCLouvain) (Secrétaire)Dr. Denis-Gabriel
  Caprace (UCLouvain)&nbsp\;Prof. Joris Degroote (UGent)&nbsp\;Dr. Filippo 
 Trevisi (Politecnico di Milano)Soutenance publique également via le lien 
 (TEAMS) :&nbsp\;https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/348458816083316?p=AGSrIPf
 3fQPgiv2n3C
URL:https://uclouvain.be/en/calendar/immc
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260827T161500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260827T181500
LOCATION:Place Ste Barbe 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:314675f29ac44d7b20894fad7e6b8ef3
DTSTAMP:20260819T080913Z
SUMMARY:PhD defense: Thermal conductivity measurement methods for dispersio
 n MTR fuel characterization by Tommy MAI (IMAP)
DESCRIPTION:The thermal characterization of HALEU composite fuels\, such as
  U₃Si₂-Al dispersion fuels for MTR applications\, requires advanced te
 chniques to evaluate thermal conductivity across multiple length scales an
 d burnup conditions.This work developed and evaluated two thermoanalytical
  methods for characterizing the thermal conductivity of MTR fuel specimens
 : an adapted MALDONADO pulse-heating approach for bulk measurements and a 
 dedicated microelectromechanical systems thermal suspended bridge (MEMS-TS
 B) device for microscopic characterization.The investigation demonstrated 
 that the MALDONADO measurement principle could\, in principle\, be adapted
  to a planar sample geometry\, representing a first-of-its-kind implementa
 tion. Furthermore\, the applicable temperature range could theoretically b
 e extended to temperatures exceeding 200 °C. The analytical framework und
 erlying the method was described in greater detail than previously reporte
 d in the literature. However\, the developed prototype did not enable quan
 titatively reliable measurements due to several identified design limitati
 ons.For the microscopic thermal conductivity characterization\, a MEMS-TSB
  platform was newly designed and fabricated at the WINFAB facility of UCLo
 uvain. A simplified yet comprehensive manufacturing process was establishe
 d\, including the novel implementation of XeF₂ dry etching as an improve
 d release strategy\, together with a compatibility assessment of suitable 
 SiNₓ materials. The resulting batch-fabrication and backend-processing r
 oute yielded highly robust devices with a manufacturing yield approaching 
 100%\, ultimately leading to an off-the-shelf like measurement platform. I
 n support of the implementation of the system\, a specimen preparation rou
 te for micro-rod samples derived from bulk reference materials was also de
 veloped at SCK CEN. Experimental measurements were successfully performed 
 on a 316L stainless steel specimen\, thereby demonstrating the functionali
 ty of the developed MEMS-TSB device. Nevertheless\, precise quantitative m
 easurements could not yet be achieved due to limitations associated with t
 he vacuum environment of the utilized test stand.Membres du jury :Prof. Th
 omas Pardoen (UCLouvain)(Promoteur)Prof. Renaud Ronsse (UCLouvain) (Prési
 dent)Prof. Jean-Pierre Raskin (UCLouvain) (Secrétaire)Prof. Denis Flandre
  (UCLouvain)Dr. Ann Leenaers (SCK CEN)Dr. Sven Van den Berghe (PanTera &am
 p\; Ghent University)Dr. Tsvetoslav Pavlov (Idaho National Laboratory)Jare
 d Wight (SCK CEN)Soutenance publique également via le lien (TEAMS) :https
 ://teams.microsoft.com/meet/373129363532854?p=IJZfSUxyBMvTxfQISD
URL:https://uclouvain.be/en/calendar/immc
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260831T161500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260831T181500
LOCATION:Bâtiment Lavoisier 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:9ef42863f9a922df5edbed20a83d6ef6
DTSTAMP:20260819T080913Z
SUMMARY:PhD Defense: Design and characterisation of a new healable high-str
 ength aluminium alloy manufactured by Powder Bed Fusion – Laser Beam by 
 Sophie DE RAEDEMACKER (IMAP)
DESCRIPTION:Additive manufacturing enables the fabrication of lightweight a
 luminium components with complex geometries but often introduces microvoid
 s and microcracks that degrade mechanical properties. Healing ability of h
 igh-strength Al alloys offers a promising strategy to mitigate these defec
 ts.A proof of concept was first established using mechanically mixed powde
 r\, producing an AlMg6.7Zr alloy. Synchrotron X-ray nano-holo-tomography (
 nano-CT) demonstrated that a Healing Heat Treatment (HHT) (540 °C for 30 
 min) achieved complete closure of 65% of submicrometric voids\, healing vo
 ids up to 3.7 μm. The healing mechanism was primarily driven by Mg diffus
 ion. Combining heat and pressure treatments drastically enhanced healing e
 fficiency\, enabling complete closure of voids at least up to 100 μm.Buil
 ding upon these results\, pre-alloyed powder was used\, leading to the AlM
 g9.3Zr alloy. Repeated tensile loading and thermal treatment cycles (540 
 °C\, 20 min) were monitored by in-situ synchrotron X-ray nano-CT. Voids u
 p to 1 μm were healed and remained closed during subsequent tensile loadi
 ng.Finally\, the PBF-LB/M processing parameters were optimised using pre-a
 lloyed powder\, resulting in the AlMg10Zr alloy. The increased Mg content 
 promoted β-Al3Mg2 precipitation\, which further coarsened during HHT and 
 reduced ductility from 16% in the AB state to 4% after HHT. This AlMg10Zr 
 alloy also exhibited a fatigue life comparable to that of high-strength Sc
 almalloy®.Overall\, Almazium® demonstrates that a high-strength aluminiu
 m alloy can exhibit intrinsic\, repeatable healing ability when processed 
 by PBF-LB/M. These results open new pathways for the design of healable al
 uminium alloys and provide a foundation for developing next-generation lig
 htweight structural materials with extended service life.&nbsp\;Membres du
  jury :Prof. Aude Simar (UCLouvain)(Promotrice)Dr. Florent Hannard (Cherch
 eur indépendant) (Promoteur)Prof. Hadrien Rattez (UCLouvain) (Président)
 Prof. Hosni Idrissi&nbsp\;(UCLouvain) (Secrétaire)Dr. Julie Gheysen (EPFL
 )Dr. David Tingaud (Université Sorbonne Paris Nord)Prof. María Teresa P
 érez-Prado (IMDEA Materials Institute)&nbsp\;Soutenance publique égaleme
 nt accessible par visio-conférence via le lien (TEAMS) :&nbsp\;https://te
 ams.microsoft.com/meet/39197112513221?p=A3vAQLjtjmnHvbR9si
URL:https://uclouvain.be/en/calendar/immc
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260908T161500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260908T181500
LOCATION:Place Ste Barbe 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:413e925f1a33d683a060636076380819
DTSTAMP:20260819T080913Z
SUMMARY:PhD Defense : Modélisation des forces hydrodynamiques sur les bât
 iments en zone urbaine by Charles RYCKMANS (GCE)
DESCRIPTION:L'augmentation de la fréquence et de l'intensité des inondati
 ons mondiales\, accentuée par le changement climatique et l'expansion urb
 aine\, rend cruciale l'évaluation des dommages structurels. Cependant\, l
 es forces hydrodynamiques exercées par l'eau en mouvement sur les bâtime
 nts restent complexes à anticiper. Pour répondre à ce défi\, cette th
 èse propose une double approche\, combinant volets expérimentaux et num
 ériques. Des essais en laboratoire sur des configurations de bâtiments i
 solés et obstrués ont d'abord révélé les limites des méthodes d'éva
 luation basées uniquement sur la seule hauteur d'eau\, tout en mettant en
  lumière l'influence majeure des obstacles situés en amont sur les struc
 tures physiques.En parallèle\, le volet numérique a permis de tester la 
 capacité de modèles bidimensionnels à reproduire ces écoulements compl
 exes. Les résultats démontrent que la précision des estimations dépend
  fondamentalement de la prise en compte de la constriction des flux\, de l
 a dispersion et des pertes d'énergie. Sur cette base\, un nouveau cadre d
 e modélisation fondé sur la porosité urbaine a été développé. Test
 é avec succès sur le cas réel des inondations de Pepinster (2021) en Be
 lgique\, ce modèle réduit drastiquement les coûts de calcul tout en pr
 édisant fidèlement les hauteurs d'eau\, les vitesses d'écoulement et le
 s forces exercées. Ces travaux offrent ainsi de nouvelles perspectives ph
 ysiques et des outils opérationnels plus fiables pour la gestion des risq
 ues et la résilience de nos villes.Membres du jury :Pr. Sandra Soares-Fra
 zão (UCLouvain)(Promotrice)Dr. Didier Bousmar (SPW) (Promoteur)&nbsp\; &n
 bsp\;Pr. Pascal Finaud-Guyot (Université de Montpellier)Dr. Petra Van Itt
 erbeeck (Buildwise)Pr. Gabriella Petaccia (University of Pavia)Pr. Nicolas
  Moës (UCLouvain) (Président)Pr. Eric Deleersnijder (UCLouvain) (Secrét
 aire)Soutenance publique également accessible par visio-conférence via l
 e lien (TEAMS) :&nbsp\;https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/394059254362731?p=
 LK3lnBVYilnY2NYXY7
URL:https://uclouvain.be/en/calendar/immc
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260826T161500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260826T181500
LOCATION:Place Ste Barbe 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:2fec549c6e978027ba8e64924ef7eef0
DTSTAMP:20260819T080913Z
SUMMARY:PhD Defense: Prediction of the conducted emissions in the supraharm
 onic range in low-voltage grid by Erzen MUHAREMI (MEED)
DESCRIPTION:En 1807\, Joseph Fourier présente un travail qui révolutionne
 ra durablement les sciences\, tant l'outil mathématique introduit connaî
 tra de nombreuses applications et permettra la description d'un nombre con
 sidérable de phénomènes physiques. Cette contribution majeure\, connue 
 sous le nom de série de Fourier\, a depuis connu de nombreuses extensions
 . Parmi celles-ci figure notamment la double série de Fourier\, formulée
  en 1953 par Harold S. Black\, qui généralise l'analyse harmonique à pl
 usieurs dimensions. Aujourd'hui\, ses principes sont exploités dans de no
 mbreux domaines\, notamment en traitement d'image et en imagerie médicale
 \, comme dans l'analyse des images issues de l'imagerie par résonance mag
 nétique (IRM).Cette thèse propose une extension des travaux de Leroy Car
 oline consacrés à la modélisation des appareils à électronique de pui
 ssance\, en s'appuyant notamment sur l'utilisation de la double série de 
 Fourier pour caractériser analytiquement les phénomènes d'émission hau
 te fréquence.Ainsi\, ce travail de thèse vise à répondre à la problé
 matique de la modélisation des appareils à électronique de puissance vi
 s-à-vis de leurs émissions haute fréquence\, communément appelées sup
 raharmoniques (Supraharmonics\, SHs)\, dans les réseaux basse tension. Un
 e attention particulière est portée à l'établissement du lien entre le
 s émissions supraharmoniques et la puissance nominale des appareils. Une 
 formulation mathématique originale permet notamment de montrer l'absence 
 de relation directe entre ces deux grandeurs.L'influence des filtres élec
 tromagnétiques (Electromagnetic Interference filters\, EMI) sur les émis
 sions supraharmoniques est également étudiée en profondeur\, permettant
  d'apporter une nouvelle compréhension de leur rôle et de leur potentiel
  en tant que moyen de réduction des perturbations conduites dans cette ga
 mme fréquentielle.Enfin\, cette thèse introduit une nouvelle approche de
  modélisation des émissions supraharmoniques\, appelée Analytically Gen
 erated Signals (AGS)\, basée sur une représentation analytique des signa
 ux générés par les convertisseurs statiques. Au-delà de cette contribu
 tion\, le travail propose une réflexion plus générale sur l'évolution 
 des représentations fréquentielles multidimensionnelles\, en explorant l
 'extension de la double série de Fourier vers la triple série de Fourier
 \, ainsi qu'une formulation généralisée permettant l'extension à un no
 mbre arbitraire de dimensions pour la description de systèmes complexes.D
 es développements complémentaires présentés en annexe mettent égaleme
 nt en évidence certains liens conceptuels entre les descriptions mathéma
 tiques issues de la physique et certains phénomènes observés dans les s
 ystèmes biologiques.Membres du jury :Prof. De Jaeger Emmanuel (UCLouvain)
 (Promoteur)Prof. Simar Aude (UCLouvain) (Président)Prof. Oestges Claude (
 UCLouvain) (Secrétaire)Prof. Meyer Jan&nbsp\;Prof. Knockaert JosProf. Bek
 emans MarcSoutenance publique également accessible par visio-conférence 
 via le lien (TEAMS) :&nbsp\;https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3614048422953
 51?p=mTuGFKNajPCWYXREIW
URL:https://uclouvain.be/en/calendar/immc
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260903T161500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260903T181500
LOCATION:Place Ste Barbe 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:706054e716d43d37f4b48f87314a6911
DTSTAMP:20260819T080913Z
SUMMARY:PhD Defense: How biomechanics helps interpret fingertip deformation
  by Guillaume DUPREZ (MEMA)
DESCRIPTION:Our fingertips are remarkable sensory organs that let us intera
 ct safely with our environment. Tactile sensors embedded below the skin su
 rface encode the deformation of the surrounding tissues into neural signal
 s. These signals travel to the brain to allow dexterous object manipulatio
 n. Capturing subsurface strains in the fingertip is therefore key to under
 standing touch. Such strains\, however\, are difficult to probe in vivo&nb
 sp\;at the depth where the tactile sensors are located.The numerical model
  of fingertip deformation developed in this thesis accounts for the contra
 sted mechanical responses of cutaneous and subcutaneous tissues. The aniso
 tropy induced by collagen fiber networks had not been considered in previo
 us fingertip models\, despite substantial histological and experimental ev
 idence. Both features were described within an anisotropic hyperelastic fr
 amework. The 2D simulations were run under generalized plane-strain or axi
 symmetric conditions\, depending on the targeted experimental observations
 .The model was assessed against experimental measurements of fingertip con
 tact at two length scales. At the macroscale\, collagen anisotropy improve
 s the reproduction of the contact area\, the pulp expansion\, and the surf
 ace deflection profile. At the microscale\, anisotropy and tissue heteroge
 neity influence the development of the surface strains. Optical coherence 
 tomography images capturing the deformation of the outermost skin layer sh
 ow that the model also yields a realistic prediction of the skin thickness
  evolution during contact. The results identify the collagen fiber network
 s as structural components that shape the mechanical response of the finge
 rtipMembres du jury :Prof. Laurent DELANNAY&nbsp\; (UCLouvain)(Promoteur)P
 rof. Benoit DELHAYE&nbsp\; (UCLouvain)(Co-Promoteur)Prof. Hadrien RATTEZ&n
 bsp\; (UCLouvain) (Président)Prof. Philippe LEFÈVRE&nbsp\; (UCLouvain) (
 Secrétaire)Prof. Cédric LAURENT (Université de Lorraine\, France)&nbsp\
 ;Prof. Hannes SAAL (University of Sheffield\, United-Kingdom)&nbsp\;Souten
 ance publique également accessible par visio-conférence via le lien (TEA
 MS) : https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/390266644685261?p=NMwUPQGJEC62oJ9pn
 o&nbsp\;
URL:https://uclouvain.be/en/calendar/immc
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260916T163000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260916T183000
LOCATION:Place Ste Barbe 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
