Public Thesis Defense of Masoumeh EBRAHIMI - IMMC
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Embankment breaching by overtopping: laboratory and field experiments monitored by photogrammetry
Monday June 1st, 2026 - 4:15pm - Auditorium BARB91 - Place Sainte-Barbe 1, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
This thesis investigates the erosion and breaching of earthen embankments due to overtopping, a leading cause of flood disasters exacerbated by climate change. This research develops a methodological framework for monitoring these failure processes, quantifying erosion, and tracking breach progression under wave overtopping and overflowing loads.
A major innovation of the study is the focus on enhanced Structure from Motion (SfM) Photogrammetry. It was first applied to in-situ experiments conducted on a prototype levee at the Living Lab Hedwige Prosperpolder, in the frame of the Interreg Polder2C’s and regional Lime in Clay projects. Then, this research adapted and validated this enhanced photogrammetric technique to highly dynamic experiments in laboratory environments, specifically during small- and medium-scale sand embankment breaching.
To bridge the critical gap between small-scale laboratory tests and full-scale reality, the research features novel medium-scale (1-m-high, conducted at the Hydraulics Research Laboratory of SPW MI at Châtelet, Belgium) and small-scale (0.2-m-high, conducted at the UCLouvain LEMSC Laboratory) experimental modeling of sand embankments, allowing to identify and quantify scale effects, especially regarding the dike material. It proves that apparent cohesion in fine soils and disproportionate reservoir volumes systematically distort breach widening rates and peak outflow predictions.
By providing high-resolution benchmark datasets across multiple scales, this work establishes a refined framework for calibrating advanced numerical models and improving global flood risk management.
Jury members
Prof. Sandra Soares-Frazão (UCLouvain), Supervisor
Prof. Grégoire Winckelmans (UCLouvain), Chairperson
Prof. Hadrien Rattez (UCLouvain), Secretary
Dr. Myron van Damme (Rijkswaterstaat WVL)
Dr. Kamal El Kadi Abderrezzak (CNR, CESAME)
Dr. Didier Bousmar (SPW MI)
Dr. Sylvie Van Emelen (ECAM)