· np activity report 2007 research...

NP activity report 2007

Research ............................................................................................................................. 3

Earth and environmental sciences .......................................................................... 5• Geosciences ........................................................................................................................ 7•Higher Institute of Environmental Engineering and Management .............................. 18

Energy and process engineering ........................................................................... 19• Energy and processes ....................................................................................................... 21

Materials sciences and engineering ...................................................................... 31• Material forming .............................................................................................................. 33• Materials ........................................................................................................................... 43• Solid mechanics ................................................................................................................ 53

Applied mathematics, computer science, systems and control ............... 55• Automatic control engineering and systems ................................................................. 57•Robotics ............................................................................................................................. 59• Computational biology .................................................................................................... 63• Applied mathematics ...................................................................................................... 65• Mathematical morphology ............................................................................................. 67• Computer science research ............................................................................................. 71

Economics, management, society .......................................................................... 73• Industrial economics ....................................................................................................... 75• Scientific management .................................................................................................... 79• Research on risks and crises ........................................................................................... 83• Sociology of innovation .................................................................................................. 85

Research was initially developed to provide the School with a breeding-ground of research academics who would be familiar with the School’s pedagogi-cal methods and in tune with latest industrial techni-ques. Research activities were rapidly developed in the 1970s and 1980s in order to respond to the needs of the economy and society. These activities now involve some 600 permanent staff, including 257 research academics, together with 412 Ph.D. students and 61 post-Ph.D. fellows. Half of the overall cost of the research labora-tories is met by research contracts. This success is linked to the ambitious objectives assigned to the School’s 15 research centres, namely academic excellence, strong links with industry and substantial participation in training programmes, with, in return, very substantial autonomy. The School brings together researchers of very diverse skills, thereby encouraging an exchange between various fields and the emergence of fields of exploration at the intersection of a variety of disciplines such as process engineering, socio-economics and inno-vation, geostatistics, the environment and the science and engineering of hazardous activities.

Aiming for academic excellence in the engineering sciencesEvery year, a hundred or more theses, 240 articles in periodicals reviewed by reading committees, and 150 to 200 other articles (approximately 1.5 articles/year/research academic) are produced, together with 20 or more books and 60 contributions to collective works. Half of the research centres have links with renown external partners such as CNRS and INRIA, the École Polytechnique and, more recently, INSERM.

Academic fields dealt with in sciences for the engineer:

Earth and environmental sciences;Energy and process engineering;

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Materials sciences and engineering;Applied mathematics and control engineering;Economics, management and society.

The major research themes are essentially based on problems raised by industry and society and focus today on:

energy and sustainable development;natural resources;transformation of matter;transport;safety;health.

These transversal themes call upon the skills deve-loped by several centres, of which the “economic” dimension is a specific feature.

The School has nurtured new scientific discipli-nes such as geostatistics for 3D topo-probabilistic modelling, widely used by mining and petroleum companies throughout the world; and mathematical morphology which has acquired importance on the international scene as one of the major image-proces-sing methods.

Within the context of the pact for research, the School was granted the label of Institut CARNOT for its involvement in partnership-based research. The School has also been active in poles of compe-titiveness. It has become the partner of three worldwide poles (MediTech Santé, Systém@tic and Solutions communiquantes sécurisées), six poles with a worldwide vocation (Cap Digital, Mer, Sécurité et Sûreté, i-Trans, Movèo, Chimie-environ-nement Lyon Rhônes-Alpes) and six national or regional poles (Ville et mobilité durable, Cap énergie, Gestion des risques et vulnérabilité des territories, EMC2, Céréales vallée, Fibres naturelles grand’est).

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Strong links with industry

Evidence of the strong links with industry is to be found in the creation of the first research centre at the School, the Materials Centre, on the SNECMA premises in Évry in 1967. In the same year, the ARMINES asso-ciation, governed by the 1901 law, was founded, and was to lend great efficiency to the School’s research partnerships. The model can be described as follows: the research centres, referred to as “joint centres” are units in which the two partners, the School and ARMI-

NES pool their resources in personnel and equipment in order to carry out their research and training tasks. The joint work programme, together with the means allocated by each of the partners, is established each year. This partnership, within the framework of the law on research dated 18 April 2006, has made possi-ble a significant increase in the research endeavour as on 31 December 2007, some 300 people employed by ARMINES, including 75 permanent research academics, were taking part in the research work of the joint School/ARMINES research centres, with contractual funding of approximately €26 million. This makes the School rank first among Grandes Écoles for its volume of contract research.

The industrial partners of MINES ParisTech and ARMINES are major groups such as MITAL, EdF, TOTAL, RENAULT, PSA, SNECMA, GDF and SAINT-GOBAIN, together with a significant number of innovative SMEs (over 200 client companies). Approximately half of the contractual resources come from the competitive sector.

The School and Armines also benefit from contrac-tual funding from national, international or Euro-pean public bodies to meet their own needs or within the context of support programmes for industrial research. Companies are almost systematically invol-ved in the projects enjoying such support. Our main partners are the European Commission, the Natio-nal Research Agency (ANR), the Environmental and Energy Agency (ADEME), the National Agency for Radioactive Waste (ANDRA), the Ministry of Defence, the CEA group, the Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP), the Ministry in charge of Research and the Ministry in charge of Industry.

These links also involve a significant exchange of staff: many research academics have worked in indus-try (including approximately one third of the centre directors); more than half of the Ph.D. graduates from the School pursue their career in industry on comple-tion of their thesis.

Active valorization

ARMINES manages a portfolio of approximately 70 patents and Transvalor, a subsidiary limited company, markets the software with an annual turnover of approximately €5 million.

The transfer of technologies developed at MINES ParisTech is conducted not only through contractual research, the granting of licences, patents and software, but also through the creation of companies. During the last five years, MINES ParisTech has nurtured the creation of some 30 or more companies, principally in the field of computer science and consultancy. These companies were set up by research academics who left the School on that occasion and by young gradua-tes (civil engineers, Ph.D. graduates and holders of Master’s degrees).

The main companies include: MORPHOSYSTÈMES, ÉCOBILAN, NAPAC, ARLAB, ADCIS, GÉOVARIANCES, FSS INTERNATIONAL, COGIA, CRISTOPIA ENERGETICS SYSTEMS, SIGMA, ARECO, GÉO-IMAGES, GÉOMÉDITERRANÉE, EURO-

PHYSICAL ACOUSTICS, SC&C, IMAGO, SYSTEX, FORMATEL, SINAC, ARTEMIS, SOFT MOUNTAIN, GÉOVAL, GÉOMATH, NOÉSIS, PIR&D, EXALEAD and PREVENTEO.

A broad international approach

Approximately a quarter of contractual activity is conducted with at least one foreign partner, mainly European. MINES ParisTech has worked jointly with over 100 countries. In 2007, approximately 36% of the student intake at MINES ParisTech, in its various programmes, came from some 50 or more different countries.

The wide autonomy of the research centresThe research centres are managed as autonomous SMEs whose directors are free to negotiate and handle research contracts, are in charge of administering the budget allocated to them and submit a specific scien-tific strategy to the governing body of the School, which, in turn, is in charge of recruitment and promo-tion, distributes budgetary resources allocated by the supervisory government department, defines overall scientific strategy and intervenes only in a limited capacity in the daily life of the research centres.

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The research and teaching activities in the field of earth and environmental sciences are closely linked to the history of the

School and the teams working in these spheres have been present at the School since the research centres were created in 1967. After two decades during which issues relating to the exploitation of mineral raw materials and fossil fuels had taken second place, far behind environmental preoccupations, the various aspects of underground exploitation have now won renewed interest, prompted by trends in the prices of various raw materials and, over the longer term, by concern over the supply and sustainability of the development of our societies.

The way this field is organized at MINES Paris-Tech is based on a research centre, the Geosciences Centre, and a team in charge of training activities, the Institut Supérieur en Ingénierie et Gestion de l’Environnement (ISIGE).

The Geosciences Centre is divided into two research groups entitled Geosystems and Hydro-geo-engineering. The former undertakes research activities whose ultimate purpose is linked to the description, comprehension, modelling and simu-lation of geological objects. It is subdivided into

three teams: Geology (headed by Isabelle Cojan), Geophysics (headed by Pascal Podvin) and Geos-tatistics (headed by Jean-Paul Chilès). The second research group covers the same stages but focuses on the behaviour of geological objects submit-ted to external solicitation; it is also subdivided into three teams: Hydrological systems and reservoirs (led by Patrick Goblet), Hydrodyna-mics and reactions (led by Jan van der Lee) and Geology for the engineer and geomechanics (led by Hedi Sellami).

ISIGE offers training courses focused essenti-ally on environmental problems: a specialized master’s degree in Environmental Engineering and Management, together with a course run jointly with INSA Lyon and the prestigious Tsinghua University in China: International Advanced Master in Environmental Management. For its part, the Geosciences Centre also has a team dedicated to organizing and running various specialized or continuous training courses, which deal essenti-ally with the earth sciences and supplement the courses offered by ISIGE.

Lastly, the Geosciences Centre also includes the Fontainebleau Computer Science Service, of which

influence of spatial variability on reactive transportChantal de Fouquet, Vincent Lagneau, thesis of Marco De Lucia

The objective of this work, a collaboration between Geostatistics and Hydrodynamics and Reactions teams, is to deve-lop reactive transport simulations in heterogeneous media. The effect of the spatial variability is observed, particularly under conditions of strong feedbacks of chemistry (mineral precipitation and/or dissolution) on flow and transport.The applications of this work are nume-rous: stimulation of oil wells through acid injection, uranium exploitation by in situ leaching, geological storage of (supercritical) CO2 taking into account its reactivity on a carbonated medium. More generally, geological media are fundamentally heterogeneous, and reactive transport simulations should benefit from the more accurate description.The following pictures show an exam-ple of dissolution in an initially variable permeability field: the non-uniform flow transports the acid heteroge-neously, thus creating regionalized dissolution, and increased porosity and permeability. The system leads to the formation of preferential paths, which concentrate the flow, and locally accelerate the degradation.

Initial variable permeability (log10(K)).

Non-uniform flow.

Channelisation of the flow. Dissolution of the mineral (here at breakthrough).

� earth and environmental sciences : activity report 2007 �

Charles Wazana is in charge, carrying out all internal computer services in the Centre, but also ensuring

modelling of long-term incision of rivers in paris basinIsabelle Cojan, Olivier Stab, thesis of Aurélie Jouve

The entrenchment of the rivers of the Paris basin since the beginning of the Quaternary strongly controls the evolution of the valleys and guides that of the interfluves.Fluvial erosion indeed has been controlling the evolution of the topography of the Paris basin since the beginning of the Quaternary. The objective of the project, carried out for Andra in collaboration between the Geology and Engineering Geology and Geomechanics teams of the centre of Geosciences, is to predict the landscape evolution over a time lapes of several hundred housands years. The aim is to better constrain the groundwater flow simulation models applied to the experimental site of Bure for feasibility of underground storage. The first step consists in developing and fixing a model on field data.The developed model describes the evolution of the river system (equation of diffusion) according to the climatic, eustatic and tectonic fluctuations. Different scenarios have been evaluated; for each one, the model simulates depositional and erosional sequences, thus allowing a direct comparison with terraces (altitude, age;

see figure 1). The final results correctly repro-duce observations showing that the profile of the River Seine is controlled downstream by eustatism and upstream by climate.

Figure 1: Simulation of the evolution of the river bed elevation of the River Seine in Paris during the last climatic cycle (red curve). Column on the right : successive preserved depo-sits which underline discontinuities in the chronostratigraphy (ages indicated in white).

Figure 2: Last alluvial sheet of the Marne valley at Saint-Martin-aux-Champs. It corresponds to Holocene deposits (in pink on figure 1) encased in older deposits (in blue and green on figure 1).

Ph.D. coursesGeologyfortheengineer

Person in charge: Michel Deveughèle, Marne-la-Vallée.

QuantitativehydrologyandhydrogeologyPerson in charge: Emmanuel Ledoux, Fontainebleau

SubsoilexploitationtechniquesandeconomicsPerson in charge: Michel Tijani, Fontainebleau

SedimentarybasinsdynamicsandresourcesPerson in charge: Médard Thiry, Fontainebleau

GeostatisticsPerson in charge: Jacques Rivoirard, Fontainebleau

Specialized coursesEngineeringandmanagementoftheenvironment(isiGe)

Person in charge: Frédérique Vincent, Fontainebleau

InternationalAdvancedMasterinEnvironmentalManagement

Person in charge: Frédérique Vincent, Fontainebleau

Specializedtrainingcoursesingeostatistics(cFsG)Person in charge: Gaëlle Le Loc’h, Fontainebleau

Opencastexploitationofminesandquarries(ceseco)Person in charge: Jean-Alain Fleurisson, Marne-la-Vallée

Economicevaluationofminingprojects(cespromin)Person in charge: Isabelle Thénevin, Fontainebleau

Publicadministrationofmines(cesam)Person in charge: Hugues Accarie, Fontainebleau

the maintenance and management of the entire network on the School’s Fontainebleau premises.

� earth and environmental sciences : activity report 2007 �

The Geosciences Centre has developed its activities within the framework of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Of a comparable possibly larger size than that of the main European research units, it covers virtually all the scientific disciplines related to this field, ranging from geology to geotechniques, inclu-ding geophysics, geostatistics, hydrogeology, geoche-mistry and geomechanics.

trainingThe Centre is involved in initial training programmes (within the framework of the MINES ParisTech civil engi-neer programme), specialist courses and continuous education, together with training through research.

The global contribution of the Centre’s research academics to initial training corresponds to approxi-mately 2,500 hours of teaching annually and focuses on more than 25 course units. The most significant of these involve:

the teaching of geology in the common core programme for first-year students (two-week field trip with alternate courses

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and observation work, involving 12 research academics from the Centre);modules in the MIG process (Métiers de l’Ingénieur Généraliste). Every year, the Centre devises and manages three MIGs. In 2007, the MIGs focused on fossil energies (Deeply buried resources and the technical and economic aspects related to their exploitation; Hedi Sellami, Pascal Podvin), renewable energies (Exploitation of geothermal low energy; Emmanuel Ledoux, Dominique Bruel and Patrick Goblet), and transport (The North Seine-Europe canal project; Martine Audiguier, Michel Deveughèle);the monitoring of specialized modules such as Geosciences (Pascal Podvin), Geostatistics (Pierre Chauvet) and Ground and Underground (Damien Goetz).

Furthermore, the Centre contributes to several professional master’s degrees: Environmental enginee-ring and management, Transport and sustainable develop-ment and Energy strategies.

As regards specialist and continuous courses, the Centre hosts and manages four of the School’s specialist courses linked to CESMAT (Centre d’études supérieures de matières premières): CESAM (Public Administration of Mines; Hugues Accarie); CESECO (Exploitation of Open Cast Mines; Jean-Alain Fleu-risson), CESPROMIN (Economic Evaluation of Mining Projects; Isabelle Thénevin) and CFSG (Specialist trai-ning in geostatistics; Gaëlle Le Loc’h). Each of these courses, over a period of 9 months (6 for CESAM), hosts some 10 students from mining countries who can prove they have had professional experience. In addi-tion to these longer-term courses, inter-company semi-nars are organized on mining prospection (Claim), geostatistics, geochemistry and the use of computer tools developed at the Centre (Chess, Hytec), or the role of the public authorities in following up and monitoring mining industries (Inspection des mines). Intra-company seminars are also organized at request, in France or abroad (in 2007, three weeks on the themes of mining economics and selectivity in mining operations for the benefit of Areva and Managem, as well as three seminars on geostatistics related to mining, oil extraction and fisheries). Lastly, in 2007, the Centre was granted accreditation for a Badge on the theme of Excavation of galleries and tunnels.

In terms of training through research, the Centre is involved in various research master’s degrees: Geo-environment in collaboration with the University of Marne-la-Vallée; Soil, rock and construction mechanics in their environment with the École des Ponts et Chaus-

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Geosciences Centre (mines paristech / Geosciences)Director:DamienGOETZ

DeputyDirectorsHeadoftheGeosystemsgroup:Jean-PaulChilèsheadofHydro-Geo-ingineeringgroup:HediSellamiScientificadviser:EmmanuelLedouxCommunications:BrigitteBredaAlsoattachedoftheCNRS��19(Sysiphe)JointCentre:UniversityofMarne-la-Vallée

Telephone 01��9��10Fax 01��9��[email protected]

Webandpublicationshttp://www.mines-paristech.fr/Fr/Geosciences

Researchacademics 5�Otherstaff �8MINESParisTechPh.D.students 51Ph.D.studentinanotherinstitution 1Specialistcourses �1

8 earth and environmental sciences : activity report 2007 9mines paristech / Geosciences

sées; Hydrology and hyrogeology, lithosphere, basins and resources, and Earth and environmental sciences and ecology with the University of Paris VI and ENGREF; as well as Virtual reality and smart systems with the University of Évry Val d’Essonne. It manages 5 Ph.D. courses at Mines ParisTech, linked according to their field to 3 doctoral schools: Dynamics and resources of sedimentary basins (Médard Thiry), Doctoral School Geosciences and Natural Resources, University of Paris VI), Geology for the engineer (Michel Deveughèle, Doctoral School Materials, construction, sustainability, environment and structures, University of Marne-la-Vallée), Geostatis-tics (Jacques Rivoirard, Doctoral Schools Geosciences and Natural Resources, University of Paris VI, and Information, communication, modelling and simulation, University of Marne-la-Vallée), Quantitative hydrology and hydrogeology (Emmanuel Ledoux, Doctoral School Geosciences and Natural Resources, University of Paris VI), Techniques and economics of underground exploitation (Michel Tijani, Doctoral School Materials, construction, sustainability, environment and structures, University of Marne-la-Vallée).

researchThe Centre’s research activities are pursued along four major themes:

exploitation of primary raw materials and fossil fuels;long-term stability of geological media and their building structures;anthropized media; andground and underground-related hazards.

The choice of presentation requires two supple-ments: one part devoted to tools (experimental means, numerical tools) on which research conducted is based; another part devoted to the presentation of research activities which lie outside the field of earth sciences but are “natural” extensions of the work conducted in the Centre.

Exploitation of primary raw materials and fossil fieldsExploitation of primary raw materials

The exploitation of primary raw materials is an activity of the Centre deeply rooted in the School’s history. It has been pursued in spite of the unfavourable develo-pments in that French industry in recent decades and is now the subject of considerable renewed interest. The Centre’s teams focus their work, on the one hand, on questions related to the description of deposits or deposit environments, and, on the other hand, to exploitation techniques.

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Description of deposits and their environmentMINES ParisTech are the original field of geostatistics and remain one of the principal fields of application. Geostatistics has developed concepts and methods whereby problems encountered at various stages of mining evaluation can be formalized and solved: grading of content, optimization of meshing, carto-graphy of resources in situ, forecasting of retrievable reserves and selectivity, study of exploitation scenarios and fluctuations in exploited contents. Collaboration on diamond deposits with the De Beers company has been undertaken on the theme of integrating the counting of stones on various support materials and through the supervision of theses in the fields of sampling, statistics concerning stone features and exploration (Christian Lantuéjoul). Collaboration between the Geostatistics team and the Chilean national company Codelco, the world leading copper producer, has been undertaken in three fields: estima-tion of ore deposits still on-site after exploitation by block caving (El Teniente mine), probablist modelling of the interface in the Chuquicamata mine simula-ted by Gaussian-Threshold graphs, and training via a course given in the company aimed at promoting awareness of multivariable techniques with applica-tions to metal recovery by flotation (Jean-Paul Chilès, Serge Séguret). The team also continued to participate in the M2RC (Multivariate Recoverable Resources Consortium), launched in 2006 by the Géovariances company, with seven mining partners to date; the aim is to integrate, in operational terms, tools for forecasting multivariable recoverable mining reserves developed by the Centre (Jacques Rivoirard).

In addition to this work conducted by the Geosta-tistics team, a feature of 2007 was the resumption of geological, hydrogeological and geochemical work in liaison with mining exploitation projects. Members of the Centre’s various teams have therefore made various research contributions:

a study of the natural hydrogeological and hydrochemical context, a study of the emptying of an open-cast mine and a study on the environmental impact of the future exploitation of Imouraren in Niger on behalf of Areva (Dominique Bruel, Jean-Michel Schmitt);research work on uranium-bearing deposits of the roll front type, also for the benefit of Areva. The aim is to acquire the means of complete mastery of the exploitation of this type of deposit, ranging from its geological structure to simulations of exploitation by lixiviation in situ as well as geostatistical production of images of the deposit (Hélène Beucher, Patrick Goblet, Vincent Lagneau, Didier Renard, Jean-Michel Schmitt, theses by Rose Ben Simon and Jérémy Hos). Furthermore, the Centre has also contributed to the exploration programme and to preliminary exploitation tests in the new uranium-bearing province in the south-east of Mongolia (Jean-Michel Schmitt);

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lastly, an expert assessment on the hydrogeological and hydro-chemical conditions and stability of the planned storage of residue from the major nickel deposit in Goro. This evaluation has been conducted for the benefit of the Southern Province of New Caledonia (Roger Cojean, Emmanuel Ledoux, Jean-Michel Schmitt).

Furthermore, the Geology for the engineer and geome-chanics team, with the support of ANR (the National Research Agency), started a project in 2007 aimed at anticipating access to granular resources in France within a deadline of 15 to 30 years. The selected approach consists in simulating developments, both geographically and over time, that have been expe-rienced or caused by more or less significant rupture effects in relation to the current or short-term envisa-ged functioning in the field of supply, consumption and transport. The result consists in an appreciation of developments in economic, environmental and social variables. A macro-economic approach was adopted with the elaboration of mathematical models to moni-tor developments and dissemination (Jacques Schlei-fer, thesis by Mario-Luis Rodriguez Chavez).

Exploitation techniques

This is a field in which the Centre can boast of long-standing experience which has enabled it to accumulate considerable expertise. The Centre’s research academics regularly offer their skills and expertise to mining operators on issues relating to exploitation techniques, but whose ultimate aim is to improve mining safety and a company’s econo-mic performance. Issues dealt with frequently bear on the stability of the excavation slopes in open-cast mines (Roger Cojean, Jean-Alain Fleurission), the stability of underground tunnels (Dimitri Gordine, Faouzi Hadj-Hassen, Michel Tijani), the techniques of fragmentation with explosives (Michel Duchêne, Jean-Alain Fleurisson, Jacques Schleifer) or through mechanical means (Dimitri Gordine, Hedi Sellami), underground tunnel ventilation (Damen Goetz) or, lastly, more global issues regarding the design and technico-economic optimization of a mine (Michel Duchêne, Damien Goetz).

It is also in this particular field that research work is being pursued. Reference has already been made above to the optimization of mining processes by lixi-viation in situ of uranium deposits. Research on the cutting of rocks with medium- and high-pressure water jets was pursued in 2007 by the Geology for the engineer and geomechanics team: firstly in the framework of the Ademe Jet Pierre project in which the team developed and tested on a real scale in laboratory conditions a hydraulic drill driven by a rotating or oscillating movement thereby improving the performance of

■ cutting processes for rocks usually considered to be too difficult to cut with a water jet, such as marble or granite, etc.; and subsequently in the framework of a feasibility project for the exploitation of bituminous sand through the Borehole Mining method using high-powered water jets (Dimitri Gordine, Hedi Sellami). Lastly, work on fragmentation with explosives has been resumed, with the aim of developing local rules for the loading of boreholes, and local geomechanical conditions around holes (Damien Goetz, thesis by Florent Delille, in collaboration with Areva).

Exploitation of hydrocarbons

The exploitation of hydrocarbons is one of the Centre’s main fields of application, ranging from geological work for the description or modelling/simulation of deposits, to the development of exploitation techni-ques, and including the development of geostatistics techniques and seismic imaging.

The detailed analysis of petroleum reservoirs or analogous terrain is a permanent activity of the Geology team. Work begun in previous years on sedi-mentology, sequential stratigraphy and models of stratigraphic reservoirs (Isabelle Cojan, Olivier Parize, theses by Pierre-Yves Descote, Nghia Nguyen Cong, Anne-Edwige Held and Karim Selouane) have been pursued. Research on the architecture of turbiditic systems or on sand injections have been enhanced in the form of field training courses in the context of cooperation with Total and Chevron Texaco (Olivier Parize, in collaboration with the Institut Français des Pétroles (IFP)). The analysis of the sedimentological and stratigraphic description of the filling of the incised paleovalleys, conducted in collaboration with Total, has been completed with plioquaternary paleo-valley systems along the Mediterranean margins of Languedoc and Roussillon (Olivier Parize, post-docto-ral research by Caroline Labaune, in collaboration with the University of Perpignan). Lastly, research has been conducted in collaboration with Total on the bituminous sand deposits of Athabasca in order to establish the typology of the sedimentary bodies in that context, analyse their petrographical content and select an analogous terrain in the south-east of France for in-depth stratigraphic and sedimentological description (Olivier Parize, post-doctoral research by Julien Bailleul).

In 2007, the Geology for the engineer and geomechanics team began a research programme aimed at unders-tanding and mastering the measurement of very low permeability phenomena in certain complex petro-leum reservoirs such as deeply buried reservoirs or Tight Gas Reservoirs. Such research will enable the team to make significant progress in its knowledge


of draining phenomena in this type of porous envi-ronment, become autonomous in determining the coefficients for developed modelling processes and thereby offer a comprehensive response to the needs of petroleum companies. Furthermore, a sensitive measurement of permeability will be very useful for an intrinsic description of the type of geological rocks or for evaluating the damage or ageing of rocks and cementitious material in underground structures and civil engineering work (Joël Billiotte).

The Geophysics team (Hervé Chauris, Mark Noble, Pascal Podvin) has for many years been developing research on the propagation of elastic waves in the geological environment and seismic imaging. In 2007, two new fields of research initiated in 2006 were marked by the development of new algo-rithms whereby better account could be taken of the complexity of the media traversed by seismic waves (see box Towards quantitative imaging, the inversion of wave forms). Algorithms for the inversion of the neigh-bouring sub-surface have been devised in the context of collaboration with Total; they should permit the imaging of terrestrial data in both the mining, civil engineering and seismological fields, as well as that of petroleum (Mark Noble, thesis by CédricTaillandier). At the same time, research conducted on curvelets in collaboration with Shell has continued, particularly by highlighting those fields in which these tools could provide an additional advantage in comparison with traditional techniques (Hervé Chauris, post-doctoral research by Trong Truong Nguyen).

Work on the modelling and simulation of depo-sits can take various forms. Firstly, the Geology team,

with IFP and in collaboration with the Universities of Poitiers and Marseille-Luminy, ENSMA and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), piloting the development of a geological pilot prototype which will make it possible to produce topologically and geolo-gically coherent models which can be reviewed auto-matically. It constitutes the kernel of a new software chain. Our contribution bears on the development of geological syntactical rules (Michel Perrin). Subse-quently, the Geostatistics team continued its research on developing the pluri-Gaussian-threshold method by highlighting the adjustment of parameters through the use in particular of the knowledge of sediment transformation processes (diagenesis, oxydo-reduc-tion, etc.) (Hélène Beucher, Didier Renard). Lastly, 2007 was also marked by the continuation and deve-lopment of stochastic genetic models resulting from collaboration between the Geology and Geostatistic teams. For the Flumy consortium on meandriform fluviatile systems (in partnership with Exxon, Gaz de France, Petrobras and Shell), emphasis focused essen-tially on improving the software in order to make it operational to simulate a system on a reservoir scale; the Turmy consortium for the simulation of turbidi-tic meandriform systems (in partnership with ENI, Exxon and Petrobras) is still at the model develop-ment stage (Isabelle Cojan, Jacques Rivoirard).

To conclude on this theme of exploitation of hydro-carbon resources, the Geology for the engineer and geome-chanics team pursued its research in the field of oil drilling. In continuation of previous years, research focused on the modelling, simulation and design of complex boring techniques with regard both to the drilling potential of rocks (difficult on account of their

towards quantitative imaging: full waveform inversionMark Noble, Hervé Chauris

Very often, if seismic sections do provide detailed structural and stratigraphic images of the subsurface, they do not provide quantitative information. Seismic sections obtained by standard processing can be seen as slices in 2D or maps in 3D giving the positions of the impedance or velocity contrasts. The output of seismic processing algorithms based on full waveform inversion is the true impedances or velocities of the subsurface and thus allow for quantitative interpretation.

Initial results of waveform inversion applied on seismic data acquired over gas hydrate-rich sediments are encouraging. The upper figure is a standard seismic section where the water bottom is clearly visible (1), reflector (2) corresponds to the top of a massive hydrate layer and reflector (3) to the base of the hydrate layer and top of free gas-rich sediments. The lower figure is the velocity section obtained by waveform which allows a more precisely mapping of the distribution of the hydrates whose presence results in strong seismic velocities (in red).


depth, hardness and abrasiveness) and to the orienta-tion of the drilling and the static and dynamic stability of the drilling system.

One of the factors affecting the cost of deep drilling is linked to the difficulty of drilling very deeply embedded rock formations at a speed of progress that is acceptable with conventional drilling apparatus. In this instance, research is aimed at understanding the behaviour of rocks at such depths in relation to the action of drilling tools. Phenomenological models are then formulated and used for simulating the performance of drilling apparatus and devising tools that are adequately adap-ted to the given drilling conditions (rocks to be pierced, draining system adopted, operating conditions, etc.). Research conducted in 2007 on the theme related to so-called auto-penetrating tools (Laurent Gerbaud, Hedi Sellami), but also on the development of a new genera-tion of drilling tools, known as hybrid tools, adapted to drilling at very great depth and in heterogeneous rock formations (Laurent Gerbaud, Hedi Sellami).

In the field of the modelling of the static and dynamic behaviour of boring sheathes for complex trajectories, the team has in recent years developed a method of digital calculation whereby it is possible to simulate the mechanical behaviour of a set of boring drills inside a well and regardless of the length and shape of its trajec-tory. Thanks to this code, it is possible to calculate in very realistic terms the distortion of boring bits inside a well as it takes account of this very extended structure (12 km in length) and the interplay between the bits and the sides of the well; it also makes it possible to predict constraints in the bits and the contact forces between the bits and the walls of the well and this can be used for torque and drag calculations (friction) indispensable for the choice of dimensions for the drilling apparatus, its trajectory and the sheathing of the well. In spite of the

robustness of the code and the fact that the rigidity of bits is taken into consideration, the length of calculation for dealing with a complete case is perfectly acceptable so the team now works on its use in real time on a drilling rig for the monitoring of drilling parameters. In 2007, new criteria regarding the distortion of well sheathing, together with new approaches combining the phenomena of distortion and friction of well sheathing inside a well with a complex trajectory, were developed (Stéphane Menand, Hedi Sellami, Olivier Stab, Michel Tijani, theses by Joel Akowanou and Salim Bensmina); a new software permitting the calculation of the modes and shapes specific to the vibration of a drilling system have also been developed (Stéphane Menand, Michel Tijani, thesis by Gilles Pelfrene).

Other fields linked to natural resources

Three other themes, usually linked to the exploitation of natural resources, deserve to be tackled before this chapter is brought to an end:

the Geology team is contributing to improving the knowledge of the geology of France through its participation in the production of geological maps (Mazamet, Castres, Modeane, Châteaumeillant, Entraygues), in collaboration with BRGM (Michel Demange, Daniel Mercier, Médard Thiry);the Centre has pursued its collaboration with BRGM on geother-mal high energy, which has been the subject of a pilot site at Soultz-sous-Forêts. This involves modelling the functioning of the heat exchanger which requires implementation of a drai-nage-thermal coupling with a random model of rock medium fracturing (Dominique Bruel). The Centre has also been involved in several studies on the pre-feasibility of geothermic twinning in the context of thermal low energy at Dogger and Albien (Elisabeth Cordier);the Geostatistics team has continued its work in the field of fisheries, particularly within the context of the European Fisboat project, by contributing to a geostatistical estimate of stocks

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Buckling and Fatigue of drill pipeStéphane Menand, Hedi Sellami

Taking in to consideration the exhaustion of hydrocarbon resources, oil extraction is becoming increasingly diffi-cult and complex and requires new technological advances to allow the drilling and exploitation of increasingly deep, long and complex wells. Thus, offshore oil rig drilling (water depth to 3,000 m) or drilling in very deep reservoirs (depth exceading 7,500 m) require more and more resistant drill pipes and push drilling structures to their operational limit.In certain situations, drill pipes can then undergo excessive compressions involving a phenomenon of buckling which can cause wedging, even rupture of the stems. The image below is the result of numerical simulations obtained with an ABIS computer code developed at the centre, showing the helicoid buckling of a pipe in a well. This research work is undertaken through industrial collaboration with Total and DrillScan.On the other hand, our Engineering Geology and Geomechanics team of the centre has also launched research with the VAM Drilling company on evaluation of drill pipe fatigue (due to the rotation of deformed stems in the hole) and has initiated work on the dynamic behaviour of drilling systems (computer code VBIS), also in collaboration with Total and DrillScan.

Study of the pipe friction in the well.

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on the basis of seabound campaigns, the study of relations between spatial distributions and the environment, and the analysis of fishing strategies on the basis of geo-referenced commercial catches (Jacques Rivoirard, thesis by Mathieu Woillez). Furthermore, work on the catchability and the distribution of fishing activities has been undertaken within the framework of the European Cafe project (Jacques Rivoirard).

The long-term stability of geological environments and their structuresThis theme brings together essentially two types of underground utilization: the highlighting of its confi-nement properties in the context of storage and the use of the subsoil as a spatial resource.

Underground storage

The field of underground storage is developing rapidly. This obviously involves, first and foremost, high-activity, long-term radioactive waste, but CO2 storage is a domi-nant issue today and underground facilities can also be used for storing industrial waste or even energy.

Storage of radioactive wasteIn 2006, ANDRA submitted to the public authorities its preliminary report and conclusions on the feasibility of underground storage of high-activity, long-term radioac-tive waste (HAVL). The report was monitored by IRSN. The Centre has developed research with each of these two bodies on various subjects.

Collaboration with ANDRA has focused essentially on analysis of the geological context of the Paris Basin and its long-term stability. In 2007, the Centre, within the Biogeoprospective Laboratory Grouping, conducted research aimed at simulating the natural evolution of a geological site in relation to erosion (modification of the geomorphological surface and tectonic distortion) and quantifying its significance for the purpose of analy-sing the safety aspects of storage. Modelling concerns the whole of the Paris Basin together with the Meuse/Haute-Marne sector, over a period of the next million years (Isabelle Cojan, Olivier Stab, Michel Tijani, thesis by Aurélie Jouve). Furthermore, research on the varia-bility of the Callovo-Oxfordian sedimentary series in which the Bure laboratory was developed has continued: a methodology on the processing of high-resolution diagraphies for locating astronomical deposit cycles and sedimentation hiatus was developed in order to esta-blish accurate mine-to-mine correlations and to relocate the data according to a chronostratigraphic reference, in order to achieve accurate modelling of the vertical and lateral variability of rock properties (Jean-Paul Chilès, thesis by Marie Lefranc, in collaboration with IFP and Schlumberger). Collaboration with ANDRA has focused also on analysing the fracturing of Bure argillaceous

matter (Jean-Michel Le Cléac’h, theses by Rim Achoour and Rosalie Vandromme) and assessment of the damage to the clay rock in the vicinity of a construction through measurement of very weak gas permeabilities (up to 10-

22m2) (Joël Billiotte, thesis by Diansen Yang). Lastly, the Hydrodynamics and reactions team has conducted research on the transport of radio-nuclides in the form of colloids, applied to the storage of medium-activity waste at the Aube centre (Jan van der Lee, thesis by Pierre Le Cointe, in collaboration with the École des Mines de Nantes).

Collaboration with IRSN has continued on the hydro-geological modelling on a basin scale (Pascal Viennot), the description of flows in the vicinity of surface sites (Patrick Goblet), geochemistry in proximate and distant fields (Laurent De Windt, Jan van der Lee) and the comprehension and modelling of mechanical damage phenomena observed on the walls of the former railway tunnel at Tournemire (Ahmed Rouabhi, Michel Tijani).

Lastly, collaboration continued with EdF on the architecture of the HAVL site (Elisabeth Cordier, Patrick Goblet).

CO2 sequestrationFor several years, the Hydrodynamics and reactions team has conducted research in the field of CO2 storage. Work has focused in general on the question of confining gas in storage and includes both an experimental aspect (highlighting the reactivity of CO2 in a super-critical phase) and a modelling aspect (simulation of storage, combining the transport of the gas and its reactions with the minerals of the storage reservoir and with mortar for sealing mines. The reaction cell developed in previous years was modified in 2007 in order to be able to work with gas mixtures and not only pure CO2. For the latter, experimental data on reactivity with certain mineral phases were highlighted in order to perfect preliminary simulations conducted with the Hytec software (Vincent Lagneau, Jan van der Lee, post-doctoral research by Elise El Ahmar, thesis by Olivier Regnault, in collaboration with the Process Engineering Centre).

In parallel to this research, a thesis conducted jointly between the Geostatistics and the Hydrodyna-mics and reactions teams, under joint supervision with the University of Bologna (Italy), has focused on the stochastic modelling of a geochemical system. Two simplified systems of carbonate media were simulated in order to study the influence of spatial variability on the reactive transport of CO2, with the creation of preferential channels modifying the properties of the environment as shown in the inset “Influence of spatial variability on reactive transport” in the introduction to the department (Chantal de Fouquet, Vincent Lagneau, thesis by Marco De Lucia).

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Industrial wasteThe Hydrodynamics and reactions team, in collaboration with INERIS, has conducted research on the storage and valorization of bi-products derived from industrial acti-vities (toxic metals, slag from blast furnaces) and from waste incineration. Research has focused on the numeri-cal simulation of physico-chemical processes in the altera-tion of materials and the long-term environmental impact, together with a detailed description of the sources of pollutants with the aid of an ionic microprobe (Laurent De Windt, Louis Raimbault, thesis by David Dabo).

Collaboration has also been conducted between several of the Centre’s teams aimed at describing and assessing certain underground sites for the storage of chemical residue. Research has combined two specific actions: firstly, a physico-chemical description of mate-rials to be stored and a forecast on their geochemical evolution on the site, and, secondly, a description of the mechanical behaviour of such material and a modelling of its role in the long-term stability of the underground site (Joël Billiotte, Faouzi Hadj Hassen, Benoît Madé, Michel Tijani).

modelling of the bioalteration of cement-based materialsLaurent de Windt

The Reactive Hydrodynamics Group was recently involved in modelling of the long-term physico-chemical evolution of cement-based materials submitted to alteration processes induced by their natural or industrial environment. The range of applications is wide : improvement of the durability of concrete engineering work (figure A), geotechnical stabilization of soils, storage of industrial stabilized waste any without significant environmental impact.The key feature of these studies consists in the application of the Hytec reactive transport code which allows linking of chemical reactivity with hydrodynamic processes for realistic geometrical configurations, and if the case arises, by integrating chemical interactions (whether beneficial or not) between micro-organisms and these cement-based materials.

In agreement with laboratory experiments, modelling shows that the presence of dissolved organic acids, for example due to bacterial metabolism (figure B), can clearly accentuate the alteration of cement pastes and concretes (figure C) with propagation of mineralogical alterations, loss of mass and opening of porosity, even mechanical weakening.

A B C

Energy storageThe Geology for the engineer and geomechanics team has widely recognized expertise with regard to salt rheo-logy and the analysis of the behaviour and stability of construction work built in saline environments, whether they be conventional mining operations or by dissolu-tion or cavities for hydrocarbon storage. In 2007, in the context of its research programme on the optimization of natural gas storage in saline cavities, the team was able to complete the development of a new software for the simulation of the leaching of the cavity by predicting evidence of the temperature range in the saline rock surrounding the cavity and the pressure of the liquid. The team has also worked on the simulation of the filling and operating phases of the cavity (Faouzi Hadj Hassen, Ahmed Rouabhi, Michel Tijani).

Planning underground space

The Geology team continued its collaboration in 2007 with LTF and BRGM on the 3D modelling of the alpine area lying between the Massif de Belledonne and Western Vanoise (Daniel Mercier, thesis by Sunseare Gabalda).

In turn, the Geology for the engineer and geomechanics team contributed to developing a new method for constructing moulded wall cladding within the context of a European project conducted in partnership with Soletanche Bachy. The project proposed a new approach for undertaking covered trenches in an urban context, integrating several innovative measu-res: innovation of rupture consisting in developing

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a new cladding construction tool involving a conti-nuous boring process, without any to-ing and fro-ing of machinery and an absence of boring sludge; a new method of organizing the construction process itself; and lastly a new global concept to the infrastructure project optimizing the project as a whole in terms of economics, environmental impact and nuisance for the neighbouring population. Furthermore, within the context of the ANR project, the team developed a new dimensioning approach for projects involving jet-grouting, based on the theoretical and experimental modelling of the interaction between the water jet and the ground, particularly for achieving greater mastery of the parameters of the jet and variations in the diameter of the mortar columns constructed according to the terrain involved (Dimitri Gordine, Hedi Sellami).

Man-made environment

In this field, the Centre has been conducting research on the description of pollution. The problems focus on identifying relationships between observed varia-bles and “explanatory” parameters, the exploitation of these relationships in order to improve the accu-racy of estimations, and a comparison of the forecasts provided by the phenomenological models with the measurements in certain circumstances. Recourse to geostatistical techniques is therefore virtually syste-matic and a comparison of concentrations at a given quality standard involves the implementation of non-linear estimation procedures.

As regards ground pollution, the Centre is a foun-ding member of the GeoSiPol association, aimed at disseminating geostatistical methods among ground depollution professionals (Jean-Paul Chilès, Chantal de Fouquet, Gaëlle le Loc’h). Furthermore, the Loquas project, piloted by IFP in the framework of the ANR Precodd programme, provides an opportunity to propose and valorize an exceptional sampling drawn from industrial wasteland polluted by hydrocarbons in order to define and quantify spatial variability on a centimetrical and decimetrical scale. This experi-mental study has been completed by a comparison of results from different types of measurements made by the project partners (chemistry by chromatogra-phy in gaseous phase, Pollut-Eval®), and by repeated measurements of the same sample for assessing the degree of measurement error, and lastly through a comparison with non-intrusive methods (gas measu-rements, geophysics). For pollutants of this kind, it would seem that the variability on a centimetrical and decimetrical scale remains dominant with, as a consequence, poor accuracy for current estima-tions made for the conduct of the site work. The

results of the exploratory study have also resulted in experiments conducted by IFP on protocols for the measurement of samples of this type. Lastly, exploi-tation of non-intrusive measurements has raised the question of their relative location and the influence of the reconnaissance conditions. In parallel to such research, collaboration with EdF has continued through a methodological study on a site with a view to drawing up a guide on the geostatistical treatment of measurements of site reconnaissance (Chantal de Fouquet). Last of all, the Centre has also conducted research on disseminated metal pollution (Benoît Madé, Louis Raimbault, Médard Thiry).

As regards the quality of water, the Geostatistics team has conducted research aimed at developing geostatistical indicators for describing flows and concentrations of pollutants along waterways. The task is to adapt random function models on graph structures to experimental data (Chantal de Fouquet, thesis by Edwige Lefebvre). Furthermore, the Hydro-logical systems and reservoirs and Hydrodynamics and reactions teams, in the context of Piren Seine and the Seine Aval programme, have conducted research on the ultimate aim of modelling a river system and its interactions with its natural environment (catchment basin, aquifers) and human activity (urban areas, agri-culture). In 2007, research continued on the model-ling of questions related to hydrology and agriculture on a basin scale (Florence Habets, Emmanuel Ledoux, Jean-Marie Monget, Pascal Viennot, thesis by Elodie Philippe) and on the modelling of river ecosystems (Stéphanie Even, Michel Poulin); this research contri-buted to enriching the ProSe software developed by the Centre (Stéphanie Even).

Geostatistics was also applied with regard to the quality of air in order to describe pollution and define sampling procedures. The results of the research conducted in previous years and experience acquired through such work have been put to good use within the context of expert assessments conducted with INERIS and have prompted reflection on the problems raised by the computerization of the cartography of pollution (Chantal de Fouquet). Work has also conti-nued on recording metal pollution and its evolution in recent decades in the age-rings of trees, conducted in the framework of the network of research on sustai-nable development in the Île-de-France region (Louis Raimbault, thesis by Noé Wahl).

Ground and underground hazards

This last theme comprises two quite separate types of activities: those linked to natural hazards and those linked to the post-mining context.

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Natural hazardsThe Geology for the engineer and geomechanics team (Martine Audiguier, Joël Billiotte, Roger Cojean, Michel Deveughèle, Caroline Grambin-Lapeyre, Jean-Alain Fleurission) has developed work in recent years on various aspects of natural hazards, particularly through the study of factors governing a predispo-sition of sloping basins and factors likely to trigger torrential flows, the destabilization of riverbanks through subsidence associated with mudslides, the analysis of high-amplitude gravity movements, the analysis of effects on sites in a seismic context and analysis of phenomena related to the withdrawal or swelling of clay material which may be the cause of random geotechnical drought (thesis by Zemenu Geremew). In 2007, research focused essentially on this latter point within the context of collaboration with various partners (CERMES, OTIG, CSTB, BRGM, etc.) and with the financial support of the MAIF Foundation, the Île -de-France Region (GIS Île-de-France network for research on sustainable development) and the Civil Engineering and Urban Network (ANR Argic project); the Centre has worked on identifying technical indi-cators capable of describing geotechnical drought and drought damage specific to buildings.

Furthermore, collaboration between the Geology for the engineer and geomechanics and Hydrological systems and reservoirs teams, in partnership with OTIG (University of Marne-la-Vallée), on the geological and geotechnical impacts of movements of groundwater on buildings has continued. Piezometric fluctuations in alluvial groundwater, associated with flooding phenomena, have a strong impact on buildings. The project combines the analysis and quantification of various physico-chemical, hydro-mechanical and geotechnical processes, the numerical simulation of hydrodynamic behaviour in the alluvial groundwa-ter in a strongly man-made environment, and the monitoring of earlier or current effects on buildings through radar interferometry (Roger Cojean, Emma-nuel Ledoux, André Levassor, post-doctoral research by Pierre Zokimila).

Post-mining conditions

Activities in this domain usually cover questions rela-ted, firstly, to hazards caused by surface instability or renewed subsidence (Jean-Alain Fleurrison, thesis by Wilfried Latte) and, secondly, post-mining environ-mental impacts and the management of sites after closure. The Centre contributes to the work of GISOS, in partnership with BRGM, INERIS and INPL.

Ongoing research focuses on surface stability in the immediate vicinity of former coal mines. Coal was

principally mined underground in France through the method of blasting at the coal face (open-cast mining is essentially used for lignite). As its name suggests, this method leads to the disruption of surface terrain and subsequently to subsidence. When such mines are closed and the pumping of water has been stop-ped, fissured terrain is drowned by the rising level of the groundwater; the mechanical behaviour of such terrain is therefore profoundly modified and this may lead either to renewed subsidence or to the uplifting of the surface. Better understanding of such phenomena involves a clear comprehension of the effect of water on the behaviour of fissured shale. It is precisely on this particular topic that the Centre’s efforts have focused in the context of the European RFCS programme (Faouzi Hadj Hassen).

Furthermore, the theme of post-mining situations was extended in 2007 to that of post-cavity conditions. The public authorities, together with cavity managers, are preoccupied by the long-term stability of saline cavities that have been abandoned after the salt was extracted or when the storage of natural gas was termi-nated. The Geology for the engineer and geomechanics team, whose competence has been widely recogni-zed internationally for 30 years with regard to saline cavities, is conducting research on predicting the very long-term behaviour of such cavities. This involves, first and foremost, the elaboration of new rheological laws integrating the notion of damage and rupture in the long term (Faouzi Hadj Hassen, Ahmed Raoubhi, Michel Tijani).

Experimental and numerical tools

Methods of description and experimentation

The Centre has substantial means at its disposal for description and experimentation:

microscopy facilities: scanning electron microscope (Martine Audiguier), X-ray diffractometers (Médard Thiry), electronic microprobe (Médard Thiry) and ionic microprobe (Louis Raimbault);petrophysical equipment (porosimeters, permeameters) (Joël Billiotte);soil mechanics and rock mechanics equipment (Joël Billiotte, Dimitri Gordine);equipment linked to the study of mechanical and hydraulic rock fragmentation (Laurent Gerbaud, Dimitri Gordine);equipment for oil drilling (Laurent Gerbaud);water analysis laboratories (Sabine Liorzou).

These facilities are constantly undergoing impro-vements; in 2007, improvements were made to the assessment facility for the distortion of boring bits (Dimitri Gordine, Stéphane Menand).

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Numerical means

The development of numerical tools for the bene-fit of research is also one of the Centre’s major activities.

In order to enable industrialists to benefit from progress achieved in research, the Geostatistics team has developed the Isatis software which provides virtually the whole range of geostatistics techniques. This software, for which marketing and mainte-nance have been granted to Géovariances, is used as a working platform for more than 500 users in a wide variety of fields. Developments achieved in 2007, which will be integrated into version 7.0 of the software, will make it possible to conduct bloc simu-lations in the context of a discrete Gaussian model. Furthermore, implementation of the Geostatistical library in the RGeoS programme (developed on the R platform) is beginning to find an audience; it provides an opportunity to develop specific tools (such as the extraction of time scales in the analysis of diagraphs for hiatus research), or for the development of new techniques such as shadowed pluri-gaussian graphs (Didier Renard).

The Hydrological systems and reservoirs and Hydro-dynamics and reactions teams have developed tools for studying drainage and the transfer of matter in porous environments. The development of conventio-nal tools, such as Métis, has been continued (Patrick Goblet). However, the most significant developments have focused on the Hytec platform whereby, thanks to the Chess database, it is possible to take account of chemical reactions and therefore to model reactive transports. These developments have been conduc-ted within the context of a consortium entitled Pôle Géochimie Transport, the third phase of which (lasting

three years like the two earlier phases) will begin in 2008, with the partnership of CEA, EdF, INERIS, IRSN, Lafarge, Schlumberger and Total (Vincent Lagneau, Jan van der Lee). The development of two software tools derived from the Hytec platform was launched in 2007 in collaboration with EdF. This involves, firstly, a tool dedicated to forecasting the depth of contami-nated concrete in the core structure of nuclear power stations and, secondly, a tool dedicated to managing the filters on the primary cooling circuits of nuclear power stations, as shown opposite (Vincent Lagneau, Jan van der Lee, thesis by Frédéric Gressier, in colla-boration with Transvalor).

The Geology for the engineer and geomechanics team has continued to develop Viplef software, a code of calculation for finite elements specifically adapted to modelling and simulation of the behaviour of rock structures and their constructions (Michel Tijani).

Expansion of certain research activities towards the field of Earth SciencesPhysical systems and data assimilation

The assimilation of data through numerical models has been the subject of research in oceanography for several years and will be applied to petroleum problems as from 2008. It has been tackled via sequential methods, namely by examining the diffe-rent variants of the Kalman filter. The essential stage in correcting the state vector has been undertaken by kriging and sequential assimilation can therefore be considered to be an application of geostatistics to operational forecasting systems, combining numeri-cal models describing temporal dynamics and a flow of information derived from measurement stations. The use and development of geostatistical methods

creation of a tool used in the management of water

purification circuits in a nuclear plantVincent Lagneau, Jan van der Lee

Further to a request from EDF, the Reactive Hydrodynamics group of the centre developed software for helping the mana-gement of fluid purification circuits (primary and secondary circuits of a nuclear section) for engineers of nuclear plants. This software, of which the calculation system is derived from the HYTEC platform, has been operational since 2008.The image above shows some possibilities of this software:

mouse-driven creation of a cooling circuit ;visualisation of the distribution of radio-elements in the various compartments of the circuit.

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for data assimilation lies at the heart of the Franco-Norwegian project for the Prediction of Oceanic and Coastal Conditions (2006-2008), co-financed by ANR (Hans Wackernagel). Two theses have focused on the joint processing of observations and results of physi-cal propagation models: the first, in collaboration with the Central Laboratory of the École des Ponts et Chaussées, focuses on the acoustic exposition in an unrestricted environment on an experimental site in the Pyrenees; the second, in pursuit of research conducted with France-Télécom R&D and funded by ANR, is aimed at assessing radio-electric exposure in an urban environment (Hans Wackernagel, thesis by Béatrice Augereau). Furthermore, collaboration with INSERM U707 has continued this year with a view to developing a system of forecasting epidemics on the basis of applying particle filters and a SIR (susceptible, infected, remission) stochastic model to the influenza data from the Sentinelles network (Christian Lajaunie).

significant eventsThe most significant aspect of 2007 was the boom in the mining industry and the very considerable surge in activities in this field. This recovery has meant additional demand in relation to research work, essentially with Areva, as well as on tradi-tional mining operations (description of hydro-geological conditions of deposits, work on the dimensioning of slag heaps in open-cast mines, work on the stability of infrastructure in underground mines, launching of a thesis on open-cast blasting), as well as on alternative methods (pluridiscipli-nary work on the exploitation of uranium through lixiviation in situ, launching of a thesis on reactive transport in a heterogeneous environment). It has

also led to training courses (in response to demand from mining companies, particularly Areva and Eramet, for end-of-course research work on the part of students at the School, but also for the recruit-ment of young engineers).

Furthermore, the Centre has launched several new large-scale research projects. In the mining field, two European projects focusing on coal mines have been started in the framework of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS). The first project focuses on the consolidation of infrastructure galleries of under-ground coal mines through a technique of bolting and cabling; the second on that of repairing surface move-ments adjacent to former mines exploited by blasting when the underground water rises after pumping has been halted. In the field of underground civil enginee-ring, work on the development of a new machine for producing moulded wall cladding (produced on a continuous basis without any crane and without the use of sludge for stabilizing the trench during digging and evacuation of rubble) will be pursued within the context of the Ville et Mobilité Durable pole project. In the field of oil drilling, four projects proposed by the Centre in the context of CITEPH have been accep-ted and will provide once again an opportunity for pursuing work on the design of new drilling equip-ment and on the mechanics involved in the drilling system as a whole. Lastly, the Geochemistry-Transport pole in which development of the Hytec software plat-form is continuing, is now entering its third phase (duration 3 years), while maintaining eight industrial partners.

To conclude, a partnership has been established with Transvalor for the industrialization of certain types of software developed by the Centre, particu-larly for simplified tools, derived from the Hytec plat-form, for tackling specific problems.

18 earth and environmental sciences : activity report 2007

HIGHERINSTITUTEOFENVIRONMENTALENGINEERINGANDMANAGEMENT

Director: Frédérique Vincent — [email protected] — Tél.: 01 64 69 49 84

The Higher Institute of Environmental Engineering and Management (ISIGE – Institut Supérieur d’Ingénierie et de Gestion de l’Environnement) has been given the task of developing global approaches to the stakes involved in sustainable development. It offers trans-versal courses and plays a part in pluridisciplinary research projects in association with external insti-tutions and in partnership with the MINES ParisTech research centres.

Training courses at the heart of sustaina-ble development problemsThe environmental dimension and, in more general terms, questions of sustainability have now become an integral part of management and strategic decision-making in companies. Nevertheless, these issues are part of a highly complex context which calls upon a wide range of scientific, economic and legal skills, as well as social and ethical considerations. If they are to manage this range of parameters more judi-ciously, companies need executives who possess a broad vision and can implement appropriate tools and methodologies.

The Mastère spécialisé in Environmental engineering and management, organized jointly with AgroParis-tech and ENPC, is the result of innovative pedagogical exploration. Thanks to varied teaching methods, it is aimed at giving students and high-level executives a global view of the stakes involved in sustainable development.

After 17 years of success with this Mastère, ISIGE is offering a new course, taught in English, to respond to the environmental problems of countries under-going rapid economic growth and companies that are developing in that context. The International Advanced Master in Environmental Management has been deve-loped in collaboration with INSA de Lyon and the prestigious University of Tsinghua in Beijing, China. This course has been initiated by the National Minis-try of Education, with the support of the European Commission. It is conducted in close collaboration with major French industrial groups and issues a dual French and Chinese diploma.

In response to growing demand on the part of companies, ISIGE in association with CEGOS now offer an executive specialized mastère in the management of Quality-Safety-Environment and Sustainable Deve-lopment. This 18-month course is aimed at executi-ves and is compatible with the continuation of their professional activities.

ISIGE is also in charge of two specialized courses for student engineers on the stakes involved in sustaina-ble development and the management of environ-mental impacts.

TICEs for education in sustainable developmentISIGE has developed distance training courses in the field of the environment and sustainable develop-ment with special emphasis on pedagogical inno-vations made possible thanks to multimedia tools. A freely accessible training portal offers a range of structured pedagogical resources (http://www.e-sige.mines-paristech.fr).

ISIGE has continued its collaboration with the Virtual University of the Environment and Sustainable Deve-lopment (thematic digital university UVED) through sharing its pedagogical and technical expertise with other members of UVED, and by offering projects for developing pedagogical content and tools.

Projects and partnershipsISIGE provides regions and companies with guidance in their sustainable development endeavours. Within the context of a Seine-et-Marne development partnership, a study was conducted on the oppor-tunity of developing a biomass energy industry in that area. Furthermore, for the benefit of SMEs-SMIs, ISIGE has conducted environmental assessments of their activities with a view to offering them strategic orientations for their company policies.

Through ISIGE, the School has taken part in pros-pective think-tanks on industrial ecology set up by the National Research Agency for directing its program-mes in the next six years.

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In the industrial sector (chemicals, agro-food, etc.), research aimed at responding to the needs of companies which are constantly driven to improve their processes or to create new ones, to harness costs and product quality, and to respond to ever stricter standards. The reduction of envi-ronmental impact has led, on the one hand, to seeking to reduce unit consumption of energy, by calling upon specific skills in energy studies and in system integration, and, on the other hand, to integrating more and more operations for trea-ting matter in energy conversion facilities (cata-lytic exhaust systems, reduction of CO2, NOx and SO2 emissions), which has led consequently to increased complexity in equipment of this kind and to a growing demand for skills in process engineering.

It would be wrong to conclude that industry alone is concerned. The construction sector, as well as transport, are major contributors to green-house gas emissions. Technological progress to be achieved in such sectors is as vital and ambitious as it is for industry. Sustainable development will therefore involve a profound change in energy networks and buildings, with a move towards greater integration, in our energy infrastructure, of decentralized means of energy production and, more particularly, renewable energy sources.

Traditionally, energy issues and the transformation of matter have been at the heart of the concerns of engineers in the mining industry. In accordance with its terms of reference, it is therefore quite natural that MINES ParisTech should possess considerable capacity for research and expertise in energy issues and process engineering.

The research centre of this department, the Centre for Energy and Processes (CEP) draws upon a variety of skills for dealing with the issues at hand, which are pluridisciplinary by nature. It also plays an active part in a variety of training courses on energy and process engineering.

In the course of the twentieth century, energy has become an essential component of our living standards and the competitiveness of

our economy. It is nevertheless subject to increasingly severe crises and tensions. Today, the energy systems of all countries are faced with two fundamental tech-nical problems:

the depletion of natural reserves of fossil fuels;the need to limit the environmental impacts of production systems and industrial processes.

Consequently, the interface between energy and process engineering has raised new research problems that are of vital importance in the current context.

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A Measurement of temperature ranges associated with speed ranges caused by jets (CEP - Paris)

B Map of annual direct normal irradiance (DNI in kWh/m2) in the PACA region for the year 2006, linked to a numerical field model (derived from SRTM) (CEP - Sophia)

C Experimental device for studying the thermodynamic proper-ties of annex gases (CEP/TEP - Fontainebleau)

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20 enerGy and process enGineerinG: activity report 2007 21

Finally, many innovations in the energy field involve devising adapted materials, often of a nanos-tructural nature, and relevant manufacturing proces-ses. The fuel cells and super-insulation materials that we shall use tomorrow will be derived from research conducted at the point where the fields of energy, materials and process engineering meet.

The analysis of technological solutionsResearchers are actively involved in a worldwide consideration of technological development priori-ties, the identification of the most efficient solutions for improving energy systems, and the evaluation of progress made possible by various technological solutions put forward.

This research contributes also to defining policies and regulations, both in France and in Europe, with regard to energy and the environment.

The School is therefore involved in developing analytical tools and methods such as the analysis of life cycles or that of environmental impacts.

Technological developmentResearch conducted in the Department of Energy and Process Engineering lies within this context and is based on the idea that only a substantial effort in terms of research and scientific and technological development can help to develop industrial acti-vities that respond to long-term challenges, while avoiding if possible short-term cyclical crises. The ultimate specifications sought for these activities are reliability, competitiveness, respect for the environ-ment and adaptation to an increased demand for goods and services.

The systems and concepts studied in this Depart-ment are not all aimed at offering a short-term alter-native, but, in some instances, are part of a long-term vision, which we are bound to develop in order to prepare for the future energy needs of industrialized and developing countries alike.

For those concepts studied which are economi-cally viable, the task at hand is to accompany indus-trial partners in their technological development to enable them to integrate the results of research conducted in this field into their own expertise.

The Department also has the ambition of taking stock of the research it has conducted and bringing to light analyses that it can share as widely as possible.

Adapted research methodsResearch conducted in this Department takes various forms adapted to their objectives and reflecting the diversity of the methods of disseminating R&D results in society. Such research involves not only studies of a largely scientific nature, but also activities regarding technical development and economic nature surveys bearing on energy and the environment.

Ph.D. studiesEnergyengineering

Person in charge: Lucien Wald, Sophia Antipolis.

ProcessengineeringPerson in charge: Dominique Richon, Fontainebleau.

Post-MastersOSEMastèreinEnergyEngineeringandManagement(cma/cep)

Person in charge: Gilles Guerassimoff (CMA), Sophia Antipolis.

MastèreinGasEngineeringandManagementPerson in charge: Dominique Marchio, Paris.

European MastèreinRenewableEnergiesPerson in charge, MINES ParisTech: Didier Mayer, Sophia Antipolis.

MastèreinInternationalEnergyManagement(ALEF)Person in charge: François-Pascal Neirac, Sophia Antipolis.

Master degreeProfessionalMaster’sDegreeinTransportandSustainableDevelopmentparistech / Fondation renault

Person in charge, MINES ParisTech: Jérôme Adnot, Paris.

ProfessionalMaster’sDegreeinEnergyStrategies(cep/cerna)Persons in charge: Jérôme Adnot (CEP) et Gilles Le Blanc (CERNA), Paris.

ProfessionalMaster’sDegreeinProcessDesign,ModellingandOptimization(ensta/mines paris/agroparistech)

Person in charge, MINES ParisTech: Chakib Bouallou (CEP), Paris.

IST(isUpFere)

Persons in charge: Jérôme Adnot et Dominique Marchio, Paris.

e-learningDIAPASON(diaporamas pédagogiques animés et sonorisés)

Person in charge: Renaud Gicquel, Sophia Antipolis.

20 enerGy and process enGineerinG: activity report 2007 21

The Centre for Energy and Processes (CEP) has deve-loped skills in many fields that are useful for studying the transformation of matter and energy. Attention focuses on complex energy systems, particularly in transient conditions, and on controlling their emissions. This thematic diversity enables the Centre to carry out its training and research tasks, and the dissemination of the latest technological develop-ments in all sectors of activity.

A special feature of the CEP is its location in three geographical sites, namely Fontainebleau, Paris and Sophia Antipolis, with distinct fields of competence whose complementarity enables it to tackle new research problems of a vital nature, at the interface between energy and process engineering, between energy and materials and between energy and infor-mation and communication technologies.

The CEP is closely involved with the CNRS through a common research unit (FRE 2861) in the ST2I depart-ment. Furthermore, it is working in partnership with the Capénergies “pole de compétitivité” of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) Region, focused on non greenhouse gas energy sources.

trainingThe CEP provides significant teaching activities in the context of the Civil Engineer programme of the MINES ParisTech in which it organizes two specialized modules, namely Industrial development of advanced processes and Machines and energy. In 2007, it provided three MIGs, one on factor 4 buildings, one on future alternative energy technologies and one on sustaina-ble water management.

The Centre is also in charge of three Post-master programmes, including one conducted in collabo-ration with the University of Tsinghua, Interna-tional Energy Management (ALEF), which started in September 2007.

The CEP has been developing distance training modules based on the Thermoptim® software (www.thermoptiom.org). The models developed make it possible, inter alia, to simulate innovative systems with a low environmental impact (fuel cells, solar energy, cogeneration and high-temperature nuclear cycles).

researchThe CEP has developed its research activities along three strategic axes which bring together the Centre’s skills, distributed according to the various geographi-cal locations, within a coherent ensemble oriented towards the major preoccupations of the various economic sectors. Each of these axes is directed by a leader (AAS: Animateur d’Axe Scientifique) whose task is to coordinate inter-site activities and, more particularly, to highlight innovative projects in which a pluridisciplinary approach is required. Most of these projects have been implemented within the context of the Institut Carnot.

These strategic axes correspond to the following fields:

Axis 1: Industrial processes and energy(AAS: Laurent Fulcheri)

Research focuses more particularly on limiting energy consumption and environmental impacts of industrial processes. Emphasis is put on fuel decarbonization

Director:DidierMAYERDeputyDirector,inchargeofCEPParis: DenisClodicDeputyDirector,inchargeofCEPSophiaAntipolis: ThierryRanchinManagerofTEPLaboratoryatFontainebleau: DominiqueRichonPublicrelations: RoselineAdde-Wald

Email [email protected] Tél01�05192�9Fax01��2�91Fontainebleau Tél01��9�9��Fax01��9�9�8Sophia Tél0�9�95�599Fax0�9�95�5�5Webandpublications http://www.mines-paristech.fr/Fr/CEP

Researchacademics 2�Otherstaff ��MINESParisTechPh.D.students �9Post-Masterstudents �0Otherstudents 52

centre for energy and processes (mines paristech / cep)

22 enerGy and process enGineerinG: activity report 2007 2�mines paristech / cep

and hydrogen production, in order to attain the following objectives:

withholding emissions reduction (optimization of processes, improvement of yields and efficiencies, use of hydrogen, biofuel);designing and developing technological solutions for the capture, transport and storage of CO2.

The CEP’s contribution comprises broadly gene-ric studies such as the life cycle assessment (LCA) of various agro-fuel industries, systemic studies such as the thermodynamic modelling of energy systems with a low environmental impact and studies of an experimental nature such as the amino absorption in hollow polymer structures and the measurement of the thermodynamic properties of gases and smoke.

Axis 2: Energy infrastructures(AAS: Bruno Peuportier)

The aim is to develop methods and criteria concer-ning the design, evaluation and optimization of many systems which will make up future infrastructure. On the one hand, the aim is to take account of medium and long-term developments in energy demand and its short-term fluctuations and, on the other hand, to know how to manage intrinsically highly variable energy sources in time and space (solar, wind, biogas and biomass). Matching supply and demand therefore involves complex analyses which integrate produc-tion and consumption, without overlooking storage aspects. This multi-thematic approach involves several levels of analysis and different scales ranging from the outer component of buildings to the planning of MDE action or the introduction of means of production on the scale of a given territory.

Axis 3: Nanomaterials and energy(AAS: Arnaud Rigacci)

The original aim was to explore the potential of nanomaterials in order to improve the performance of energy systems both active and passive. Research is focused on technological ruptures, innovative elaboration processes and environmental aspects. As regards technological ruptures, special attention is given to storage and energy conversion through electrochemical processes as well as to thermal super-insulation. Regarding innovative processes, the main focus is made on gas phase processes (of the plasma or supercritical CO2 type), controlled precipitation and intensification. Lastly, as regards the environ-mental component, the focus is on environmental impacts and processes for developing nanomaterials for health care.

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The contribution of the research teams to these three strategic axes is described in detail below.

Observation, Modeling, Decision (OMD)Thierry Ranchin, François Cauneau, Lucien Wald

The scientific objective of the OMD team is to deve-lop methods and tools in order to increase the capa-city of mathematical representation of geographical reality in the energy field through observation and modelling. The fundamental disciplines on which the team has based its work include digital geogra-phy, applied mathematics (information science) and physics (metrology, meteorology, wave-matter interactions).

The OMD team contributes to increasing the use of renewable sources for energy production through meteorological studies and the analysis and manage-ment of distributed production modes. It also analy-ses the impact of transport and energy usage on the quality of the environment and their external factors. It developes integrated approaches and is involved in demand-side management.

The year 2007 was marked by the completion of significant work on the merging of information from various spatial resolutions. Such information is of diverse origin: terrestrial and satellite networks for measurement and images, digital models in meteo-rology and geography. The methods obtained are applied to evaluation of offshore wind and solar resources. It was therefore possible this year to obtain maps of offshore wind-power potential.

Efforts aimed at disseminating via the Internet our knowledge of wind-power resources (DataForWind service) and solar power (SoDa service, Helioclim databases) in the form of web services have been pursued. Over 2,000 copies of our software libraries have been downloaded. Considerable development has been observed with regard to the number of inquiries satisfied by our web services (over 40,000 in 2007). Work related to merging web services or the composition of services has continued in cooperation with the School’s Computer Science Research Centre at Fontainebleau. Collaboration has begun with the Applied Mathematics Centre in order to develop a collaborative information system through the use of web services.

The team’s skills in terms of the evaluation of resources, the dissemination of information and the development of web services adapted to users’ needs, has been the subject of an international information

22 enerGy and process enGineerinG: activity report 2007 2�mines paristech / cep

campaign within the context of the GEO plenary session and ministerial summit (cf. inset below).

thereby requiring appropriate management of the produced energy. Furthermore, such penetration encou-rages the design of new configurations towards which distribution networks could gradually evolve. Advanced simulation tools have been developed for the analysis of power systems static and dynamic behaviour under high penetration from renewables. In this frame the potential contribution of storage devices is assessed. Methods based on stochastic optimisation techniques are develo-ped for the optimal management of virtual power plants as well as the coordination of wind generation with storage. Finally, methodologies for the optimal partici-pation of renewables into short-term electricity markets are developed aiming at increasing the competitiveness of renewables compared to conventional generation.

contribution of “soda” to Geoss A plan was launched by the G8 for establishing the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). This initiative entrusted by GEO (Group on Earth Observations) regroups 71 countries together with the European Commission, as well as 46 international organizations. On the occa-sion of the plenary and ministerial meetings of 2007, the School’s contribution was illustrated by a joint NASA-MINES ParisTech service accessible through the SoDa web service developed at the CEP. The Centre provides worldwide information on solar resources. It is used in particular for sizing of systems in developing countries. Four video reports have been produced for these events.

Contact: Thierry Ranchin (axis 2)

Renewable energies and grids (EnR)Georges Kariniotakis, Didier Mayer,

François-Pascal Neirac

The research activities of the EnR Team aim at contri-buting to a competitive large-scale integration of renewable energy sources and distributed generation into modern power systems and isolated sites.

They focus in particular on the evaluation (in collaboration with the OMD team) of the renewable resource and on the short-term forecasting of renewa-ble generation as well as on the modelling, dimensio-ning, management and planning of power systems integrating distributed generation and storage.

In the field of wind resource assessment, high reso-lution physical models are studied. The limitations of available tools (statistical models for resources and turbulence) are evaluated. Furthermore, methodo-logies for estimating the uncertainties related to the evaluation of wind potential of a site are developed.

The EnR Team has been involved in activities in the wind power forecasting field since 1992. It has develo-ped forecasting models based on statistical and artifi-cial intelligence approaches (cf. inset). In the frame of ongoing projects, original probabilistic approaches are developed that make use of meteorological ensembles for modelling forecasting uncertainties.

The massive penetration of renewable energy sources has an impact on the way networks operate,

Eco-design and energy efficiency in buildings

Bruno PeuportierThe COMFIE dynamic simulation tool, distributed by IZUBA, can assess the heating and cooling load, together with the thermal comfort level of multi-zone buildings. Complementary modules have been developed for

anemos: a success storyof european research

The EnR team coordinates the European project ANEMOS which had as main result an advanced software platform for short-term forecasting of wind power production. The purpose of this platform is to facilitate the management of this variable production in power systems. It was installed to provide forecasts for 9 end-users including system operators and wind-power producers, in 7 countries in Europe and in Canada. ANEMOS is the first operational forecasting system in FranceIt was also chosen in 2007 by the Electricity Market Operator of Australia (NEMMCO) after an international call for tenders for providing forecasts for all wind farms in Australia.

Contact Georges Kariniotakis (axis 2)

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2� enerGy and process enGineerinG: activity report 2007 25mines paristech / cep

photovoltaic systems, air/air heat pumps and micro-cogeneration (PREBAT actions, Fondation bâtiment énergie and R2DS). Research on air movements is conducted in collaboration with the VINCI Construc-tion company.

The life cycle assessment (LCA) method implemen-ted in the EQUER software enables the main envi-ronmental impacts of buildings to be assessed. An extension on the scale of a whole district has been developed. The study through modelling industrial components and innovative architectural concepts has been supplemented by onsite experimental follow-up. The European TREES project, coordinated by the CEP, has helped develop pedagogical material on the rehabilitation of social housing. An assessment methodology according to environmental, social and economic criteria has been studied within the context of the LEnSE project.

Research related to buildings LCA has continued in collaboration with industry and the CEP was invited to contribute to the first international seminar on Materials and Society in Seville on 6 and 7 March 2007, a seminar organized by ARCELORMITTAL and JRC Seville. A comparison of the environmental performance of building materials with the aid of the COMFIE-Pléïades tool in the context of the life cycle of buildings was presented to European building industrialists and experts whereby knowledge of the performance of materials in relation to their full life cycle could be broadened.

Demand side management (MDE)Jérôme Adnot, Dominique Marchio

Reduced-impact air conditioning

The service building sector, particularly as it exists today, is arousing increasing interest in view of what is at stake in relation to reducing greenhouse gases.

The CEP has developed dynamic simulation software which integrates all types of energy usage. It is equip-ped with tools that represent markets for building equipment and has conducted various technological studies on the developments to be expected in terms of energy efficiency. The elaboration of a methodology for testing and assessing geothermal heat pumps in multi-site laboratory conditions (CEP, CSTB, BRGM) is an illustration of this.

A comparison of performance of thermodynamic equipment (particularly reversible heat pumps) will no longer be based on full-load performance but on variations in performance with the load factor and source conditions. These activities are part of Annex 48 of AIE - Heat pumping and reversible air conditioning.

The simulation tools make it possible to conduct global optimization of energy consumption in service buildings on a dynamic regime basis (Consoclim), by integrating air conditioning systems as well as lighting, office automation and hot water facilities. A technico-economic optimization module for the design and rehabilitation of buildings is being developed. This will lead to scenarios illustrating the development of greenhouse effect gas emissions over the next 15 to 20 years, with greater accuracy than current forecasts.

Hybrid air conditioning is based on a global approach combining the bioclimatic design of the outer structure, maximum use of external renewable resources, in particular the sun and air and a well-controlled and managed recourse to technical instal-lations. Cooling through desiccation can be combined with a solar resources. A preliminary French experi-ment is being conducted at Chambéry on a real-scale installation with the National Solar Energy Institute (INES).

Energy services

Controlling energy demand (MDE) presupposes energy services for maintenance and exploitation. The CEP has been developing an optimization tool for conducting facilities whereby studies can be carried out on the transformation of installations. It is possi-ble, for example, to assess the impact of the passing

eco-design and thermal properties of Buildings

The COMFIE dynamic simu-lation tools and the EQUER life cycle assessment were applied to the first two passive homes built in France at Formerie (Oise) by the Les Airelles company. Thanks to reinforced insula-tion (35 cm), triple glazing,

heat recovery on ventilation air and high airtightness, annual heating loads have been estimated to be less than 10kWh/m2. Low-flow sanitary equipment, a solar heating installation flat collectors and a heat pump also contribute to reducing energy consumption. The overall environmental assessment of the building displays the poten-tial of this type of construction for reducing greenhouse gas emis-sions and impacts on health.

Contact: Bruno Peuportier (axis 2)

2� enerGy and process enGineerinG: activity report 2007 25mines paristech / cep

from a damp tower to a dry tower, the energy saving in the event of replacement of refrigeration units, reconstituting the load curve of a given site on the basis of a simplified series of measurements and the possibility of setting an operating objective.

Article 9 of the EPBD directive has resulted, as far as the laboratory is concerned, in developing methods for auditing in situ air conditioning systems (speciali-zed Auditac and Harmonac websites).

A new type of energy accounting is required by the ESD directive: the accounting of energy savings. The CEP is in charge of bottom-up methods which the Member States will use to justify their efforts with regard to the Commission, in collaboration with the DSEE of the École des Mines de Nantes.

Thermal processes of systemsDenis Clodic

The research activities of CEP Paris in the field of ther-mal processes focuses on developing modelling tools for a dynamic representation of the systems under study. In-depth, ongoing research consists in speeding up calculation algorithms for both radiating transfers under the MODRAY calculation code and in the THER-

METTE thermal integrator. This significant research work has been conducted both on glass cooling condi-tions at the exit of fusion kilns as well as on the ther-mal fields in semi-transparent solid media, the subject of various thermal processes.

Research has been launched on the detailed descrip-tion of the burner/walls relationship for various gas burner technologies. For several years, the develop-ment of so-called flameless and regeneration burners, whereby thermal efficiency superior to 90% can be obtained, provides a solution for the rehabilitation of existing kilns whose global efficiency in terms of current thermal transfer varies between 45% to 60%. The aim is to understand the interactions between flame and walls while taking account of the variable thermal properties of the walls, both in terms of emis-sion as well as thermal diffusion. One of the aims is to manage to speed up temperature variation per zone in order to adjust the thermal flows to which products are subjected which may vary in time. The results are more flexible and more efficient management of mass flows in major industrial thermal processing units.

Work on developing codes dedicated to an appli-cation is under way with several industrial concerns. The codes make use of the THERMETTE resolution motor. Its use is linked to a specific technical domain

in which development engineers are experts but have neither the time nor the need to reformulate initial conditions, extreme conditions and the choice of reso-lution modes for dealing with the various thermal problems. The interfaces are based on expertise in the field under consideration and make it possible to call up THERMETTE calculation code routines.

Thermodynamics and systemsDenis Clodic, Renaud Gicquel

This field comprises four essential facets: the develo-pment of simulation tools, methods of exergetic and energetic analyses of processes, the development of prototypes and demonstration devices, and the measu-rement of performance on specific test benches.

For the detailed simulation of phase changes of pure or mixed fluids, it is essential to have correlations that are adapted for pressure losses as well as for heat exchange coefficients. Given the very significant deve-lopment of micro-canal tubes, the Thermodynamics of Systems team has developed dedicated test benches for the local study of the cartography of flows on the occa-sion of changes in the condensation and evaporation phases which take account not only of variations in thermal flow but also gravity which plays an essential part in transitions from one flow regime to another. This basic research helps to complete correlations being currently devised by specialized teams throu-ghout the world.

Calculation codes such as Air_Hex, dedicated to the modelling of air/refrigerating exchangers for both evaporation and condensation are powered by the best correlations available which are validated on specific test benches as regards the complete exchan-

modelling of shaping kilnsThe modelling of solid semi-transparent media involves comparing several strategies for resolving the radiative transfer equation. Several methods (spherical

harmonics, discrete volume, Monte-Carlo, zonal) have been compa-red and have made it possible to validate the approach which has proved to be both more rapid and sufficiently accurate to represent the dynamics of thermal processing. What is at stake is to obtain a modelling process whereby temperature gradients of ±1K can be forecast, which is indeed a challenge which, for the time being, has not been met with any calculation code. Experimental validation research also raises very significant problems for comparing measu-rements and modelling with the same degree of accuracy.

Contact: Denis Clodic (axis 1)

2� enerGy and process enGineerinG: activity report 2007 2�mines paristech / cep

ger. In addition to this research on the cartography of flows in micro-canals, studies have focused on the distribution of diphasic fluids. These are being conducted with Carnot funding. Upstream research is based on evidence of a very poor representation and unsatisfactory control of systems for the distribution of diphasic fluids.

Developments on new concepts, regarding heat pumps making use of very weak GWP (global warming potential) mixtures are being developed in laboratory conditions with several industrial partners. Research is focused on a very significant improvement in compactness, by having recourse in particular to welded and micro-canal all-aluminium exchangers. This transfer of technology of systems developed for cars involves profound changes in the design of blades and tube dimensions, in order to take account of the drainage of condensation material for evapo-rators as well as the specific conditions governing the formation of frost. In order to precipitate the development of this new type of exchanger, CEP Paris has acquired a welding kiln under controlled atmos-phere of its own design.

Work on the energy and exergetic analysis of processes has provided an opportunity for a reapprai-sal of major unit operations such as those concerning concentration in which the mechanical recompres-sion of steam reduces energy consumption by 3 to 4 times. Thanks to the analysis of the whole range of agro-food process thermal composites, it is possi-ble to demonstrate energy and exergetic savings in the overall process through the introduction of heat pumps and thermo-refrigeration pumps. Valorization of the liquid thermal effluents offers a vast field of

opportunity for adequate integration methods in global energy process management.

In the context of the development of a retrieval system through anti-sublimation, as shown by a model operating for 3,900 hours in 2006 which absorbed 150 kg of CO2 per day, CEP Paris, with the support of ADEME, has developed upstream studies on water condensation in the fumes of direct contact exchangers. The efficiency of condensation is sufficiently attractive for this method to be introduced in industrial systems. Furthermore, the water condensation conditions are favourable for the desulfuration of fumes, particularly for coal-fired power stations. Desulfuration efficiency exceeding 98% has been measured on a specifically developed test bench.

air conditioned bus with industrial potentiala demonstrator facility developed by the cep paris

in collaboration with the ratp research unitThe new concept of ventilation through the displacement of air, deve-loped in 2007 by the CEP Paris and patented by the RATP, ensures condi-tions of comfort throu-ghout the full length of a bus and at every seat. An individual, specific process for the bus driver

has been produced. This system of air distribution provides heating in winter and cooling in summer. The concept of the indirect air-condi-tioning system (and heating system) implemented in this way makes it possible to limit the refrigeration load by a factor of 10 while achieving greater energy efficiency.

contact: denis clodix (axis 1) ecleer

EdF R&D, CEP of MINES ParisTech and the Energy Centre of EPFL (Lausanne) decided to combine their resources by creating, in 2007, a European research centre focused on improving energy efficiency in industrial processes, the development of very high energy-efficient residential heat pumps and the integration of renewable energy in the outer structure of buildings.

Contact: Denis Clodic (axis 2)

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BiomassDominique Dron, Laurent Fulcheri

The CEP has launched a new research theme focusing on energy sources derived from biomass and carbon economy tools, in a pluridisciplinary collaboration with other research institutes, including the NSE Chair. This activity comprises several components:

2� enerGy and process enGineerinG: activity report 2007 2�mines paristech / cep

combustion collection through chemical absorption. A test bench making use of a membrane system for gaseous absorption for studying the collection of CO2 in CO2/N2 mixtures at ambient temperature has been set up (see below).

Phases equilibria and thermophysical properties (TEP)

Dominique Richon, Christopher CoqueletAn accurate knowledge of the behaviour of mixtures is required for the design and optimization of industrial processes. According to operating conditions, mixtu-res can display more or less complex phase diagrams. Research in laboratory conditions is aimed at deter-mining the phase diagrams by relying on experiments followed by the modelling of the data obtained.

active teaching of the stakes involved in sustainable deve-lopment and climate for the benefit of a variety of publics (students at all levels, companies, local and national public authorities, the European Commission and associations, etc.) and an intense public communication campaign involving programmes, articles in the press and public lectures;surveys conducted with local authorities and companies, based both on the question of territorial strengthen and on new stakes linked to the uses of biomass;research topics based on the evaluation and reliability of resources, and the efficiency and sustainability of their uses: critical assessment and extension of analyses of the life cycle applied to plant-based fuels, cultivation processes and the use of algae as energy, appreciation of the vulnerability of soils under cultivation, deposits of agricultural waste, economic modelling of energy-food interaction on a world scale, and the technological agenda for renewable energy micro-sources;more technical research topics: design and production of a fast pyrolysis test bench for studying the quality parameters of products, the design of electricity-heat co-generation using wood, the allothermal gasification of lignocellulosic biomass and the transformation of ethanol through a plasma process.

Gas/liquid transfersChakib Bouallou

Pressures linked to the protection of the environ-ment, energy savings and the demands of quality and productivity have justified the design of new proces-ses for collecting CO2.

For post-combustion, the performance of a new aqueous solvent based on a mixture of amino acids [N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) and triethylene tetramine (TETA)] have been assessed by comparison with more conventional solvents such as MDEA and monoethanolamine (MEA). Measurements of absorp-tion have been conducted between 298 and 333 K in a closed reactor, of the Lewis cell type. The solubility of CO2 in the solvent was determined up to 393 K. For oxy-combustion, a collection process based on a separation of the components of low temperature smoke, was developed and applied to NGCC and CP power stations. A survey showed that the purity of the O2 flow had a by no means negligible influence on the performance of the separation procedure. The reforming of natural gas whereby CO2 can be collec-ted upstream of the electricity generation system has also been studied. Several configurations have been assessed: reforming with air or with oxygen, the reforming pressure and the dilution of synthetic gas. A comparison of these various concepts would suggest, in the short and medium term, that chemical absorption would be the most attractive process for a NGCC power station. For a CP power station, oxy-combustion could be an attractive choice just as post-

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innovating contactor for the collection of carbon dioxide

In view of the potential market linked to CO2 collection processes, the CICADI project (ANR programme: Innovating contactor for the collection of carbon dioxide) is aimed at designing innovative processes according to a rupture technology, for which there is international demand in order to achieve a less damaging technical and economic processing system for such emissions.Research conducted by the CEP Paris makes use of a membrane contactor with hollow fibres and a dense skin of the Oxyplus® type in order to monitor the transfer of matter of gaseous CO2 in a chemical-absorbing liquid such as MDEA, MEA and DEA, in high- and low-pressure condi-tions. A test bench has been produced for studying the influence of parameters such as flow, temperature, load rate and the number of fibres influencing the transfer of matter of gaseous CO2 in the absorbing liquid.

Contact: Chakib Bouallou (axis 1)

The models used in an industrial environment are parameterized as, all too often, predictive models often prove unreliable on account of the complexity of the systems. Such parameters must be determi-ned according to extremely reliable and accurate data, which can only be obtained through the use of high-quality experimental equipment whose metrological chain is perfectly coherent. The TEP laboratory is acti-vely engaged in producing such data. To obtain them in a wide range of temperatures and pressures, the appropriate experimental tools have been devised in its R&D department, built in its workshop and used in its “high-security” laboratory on a wide variety of components. Special attention has been given to

28 enerGy and process enGineerinG: activity report 2007 29mines paristech / cep

safety issues in order to have the means of apprehen-ding the study of corrosive and toxic mixtures.

The laboratory also designs the modelling software that it needs for interpreting and promoting the data. This has led the laboratory to focus a substantial part of its work on developing new models including those with cubic state equations and the translation of volume through neural networks, the use of “cross-over” terms for representing critical zones, corres-ponding states with neuron networks, etc. capable of providing an adequate representation of the mixtures studied.

production processes right up to their implementation as components for the construction of high-performance energy systems with a limited environmental impact. A third focus is on the thermal properties of inhabitable or uninhabitable structures. This involves devising and assessing solutions whereby heat losses can be reduced and where due attention is given to solar contributions. Such research is an integral part of the three CEP axes.

The team has acquired the necessary equipment for these three fields by developing several dedicated laboratories. In addition to its own activities, the team coordinates and federates research endeavours in the hydrogen field in the network of the Écoles des Mines in Process Engineering, Energy Studies and the Environ-ment (GEMGPE2).

Research on materials is focused for the time being on nanostructured materials derived from sol-gel tran-sition (aerogels and xerogels, cryogels, hybrid materials, carbon organic and inorganic composites) and suita-ble elaboration processes (supercritical or atmospheric CO2 drying in adapted conditions, pyrolysis in a neutral gaseous environment). Particular attention is given to carbon materials derived from the pyrolysis of cellulose or cellulose by-products for producing electrodes in energy storage facilities.

Research on fuel cells has focused principally on the PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell) domain and the range of related processes required for operating energy systems around these cells. It bears in particular on the processing and storage of gases, the management of water and thermal energy and on the study of the ageing of sites in real cycles. As regards the cells as such, research is conducted on every scale: from the develop-ment of electrodes, the coating of metallic bipolar plates, membranes from their implementation in mono-cells to the description of stacks. Research in the hydrogen field concerns processes related to the hydrogen produc-tion, storage and purification. The emphasis is on the exploitation of renewable energy sources through the production of hydrogen, firstly (electrolysis or photoly-sis), or that of synthetic gas, and secondly, by means of bio-ethanol reforming.

After having centred on the development of very high insulation glazing, research on the outer cladding of buil-dings has focused mainly on the development of mortar coatings with high insulation potential and towards flexible super-insulation materials likely to improve the thermal performance of the existing building stock.

design and production of equipment for measuring phase equilibria

Since July 2006, the CEP’s TEP laboratory at Fontainebleau has a new workshop for the design and production of experimental devices for measuring thermo-physical properties, particularly interphase equilibria.

Above and left: measurement apparatus for studying the phase equilibria of gas mixtu-res (CO2, N2, O2, Ar, SO2) in an aqueous or non-aqueous environment, in the context of the ANR “Annex gases” project conducted in collaboration with the Geosciences Centre of MINES ParisTech.

Contact: Dominique Richon (axis 3)

Energy, materials and processes (EM&P)Patrick Achard, Sandrine Berthon-Fabry,

Rudolf Metkemeijer, Arnaud Rigacci

The EM&P team conducts research on fuel cells and processes required for developing the use of hydro-gen. It also studies new materials together with their

28 enerGy and process enGineerinG: activity report 2007 29mines paristech / cep

gasification of lignocellulosic biomass for the produc-tion of second-generation biofuels and “gas-to-liquids” conversion.

Within the context of axis 3, research has focused on devising innovative processes for the gas phase synthesis of nanoparticles and the development of applications in the energy field (production, conver-sion and transport). Current research is aimed more particularly at two families of nanomaterials: carbon nanomaterials (carbon black, fullerenes, nanotubes) and titanium dioxide (TiO2).

diagnosis in a plasma environmentThe development of plasma processes requires the development of specific diagnosis tools capable of providing relevant information, in terms of temperatures, in extreme operating conditions (temperatu-res >>3,000 ºC, intense electromagnetic radiation, and particle-laden flows, etc.). Research conducted in 2007 in the framework of collaboration with the TIMCAL company focused on the development of an original dynamic system permitting the radial cartography of temperatures in a 1,000-2,000 ºC zone.In parallel, an Optical Emission Spectrometer has been used facilita-ting the conduct of diagnoses within the plasma itself in much higher temperature zones (up to 12,000 K) has also been developed.

Contact: Laurent Fulcheri (axes 1 and 3)

Plasma conversion processesLaurent Fulcheri, José Gonzalez-Aguilar

Research by the Plasma team has focused on developing plasma processes (either thermal or non-thermal) for energy and environmental related applications. Such research has been pursued in the context of two of the CEP’s three research axes: Controlling industrial processes, Nanomaterials and energy.

In the first case, research has focused more parti-cularly on the conversion of hydrocarbons, either in fossil form (oil, natural gas and coal) or in renewa-ble form (biomass and waste) and their rational use within the current context of the conventional fossil fuels depletion and the need to limit Greenhouse Gases emissions. The main ongoing research bears on the plasma assisted reforming of hydrocarbons for the on board production of hydrogen, and the

In experimental terms, research work has led to the study and implementation of relevant technical solutions which call upon thermal and non-thermal plasmas together with advanced diagnostic tools and methods of analysis (optical pyrometry, optical emission spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy). In theoretical terms, this research work is based on the development of physical models and of generic knowledge in the following fields: magnetohydrodynamics, heat and mass transfers (particularly radiative), plasma-particle interaction, thermodynamics and the chemical kine-tics of plasma-hydrocarbon mixtures and gas phase growth of nanoparticles.

Colloidal systems in industrial processes (SCPI)

Jean-François Hochepied, Alain GaunandThe SCPI team is developing approaches integrating usual industrial constraints to the production of nano-metric and submicronic mineral particles through aqueous chemistry. In fact, the usual properties of a finished product often depend directly on the size morphology ans nanostructures of the particles, as

Flexible super-insulation materiala new range of high-performance

nanostructured materials

Sample of the blanket based on silicon xerogels (30x30x0.5cm3; 0.14 W/m.K) devised by the PCAS company

according to the protocol developed by the CEP (photo CSTB Grenoble).

The EM&P team has devised and studied new flexible thermal super-insulation materials. The latter are produ-ced through the impregnation of non-woven fibrous mats (both organic and mineral) with silicon gels. The gels equipped in this way are made water resistant and dried through simple evaporation according to a paten-ted process (patent Armines PCAS FR 04 08411, issued on 17/08/07).The composite products obtained in this way can be rolled up and possess thermal conductivity proper-ties of the order of half of those of immobile air. Before being integrated into an insulation component, these products –referred to as blankets– have to be packed into bags.Contacts: Arnaud Rigacci, Patrick Achard (axes 2 and 3)

�0 enerGy and process enGineerinG: activity report 2007

well as their surface state. To monitor these features, the laboratory focuses its research on process parame-ters (mixing, homogeneous precipitation, intensifica-tion), the physico-chemical properties of the solutions (pH) and the surfaces of the solids under formation (surfactant effects).

In this way, the laboratory has begun to develop a systematic, original study of systems producing metallic oxide nanostructures, either particles, or multi-scale objects, by combining a physico-chemical approach and a process engineering approach. This twofold approach provides applications in the energy field as well as in fields of cosmetics, biotechnologies and reinforced polymers. For example, the advantage of assessing the co-precipitation of certain chemical elements has been highlighted in the synthesis of doped cerium oxide for fuels cells, nanostructured titanium dioxide for water splitting and cosmetics, nanostructured nickel hydroxide for batteries, nanos-tructured and doped zinc sulphide for electrolumi-nescent materials.

significant eventsDominique Dron was appointed, in early July, special adviser in charge of the Grenelle de l’Environnement, to the Minister of State, Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Territorial Planning.

Denis Clodic is on the list of laureates for the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to IPCC for his contributions both as Chapter Lead Author of Chapter 6 “Automobile air conditioning” of the report entitled “Safeguarding the ozone layer and the global climate system” and Lead Author of the special report entitled “IPCC guidelines” (Volume Industrial Processes, Chapter 7). Research conducted by CEP Paris in the field of inventories of refrigerating fluids and the forecasting of their emis-sions has been widely used in these chapters.

The first graduate class of the specialized training courses on International Energy Management (ALEF: Alternatives pour l’énergie du future), under the responsibility of François-Pascal Neirac, began its course on 1 October 2007. It included 12 students from China, Poland and France. This mastère degree, enjoying the support of industrial and institutional players seeking to develop their activities in China and Asia, has been conducted in association with the University of Tsin-ghua and the INSA de Lyon and has resulted in the issuing of a dual Franco-Chinese diploma.

Jean-François Hocehepied organized the sympo-sium entitled A Chemistry and Processes for the Design of Metal Oxide Nano-particles for the Fall meeting of E-MRS (European Materials Research Society), which took place in Warsaw from 17 to 21 September and brought together a hundred or more participants from around the world.

Lionel Ménard and Thierry Ranchin took part as members of the French delegation in the GEO (Group on Earth Observation) plenary in Cape Town, South Africa from 28 to 30 November 2007. Thanks to the research conducted by MINES ParisTech and the DLR (German Space Agency), the needs of users in the fields of solar and wind energy were presented to an international audience and will be taken account of in the design of the future Earth observation systems. The ministers of 72 participating countries were able to appreciate the impact of satellites on the exploitation of solar energy thanks to joint MINES ParisTech-NASA research.

nanostructured titanium dioxideThis project, launched within the context of a joint thesis with the EM&P team and a post-doctorate in the Plasma team, was aimed at producing original TiO2-based nanos-tructures via the monitoring of interfaces between different phases or morphologies, in order to improve their photo-catalysis and photoconversion properties. Other satellite surveys focus on certain optical properties useful in cosme-tics, the coating of particles with titanium dioxide and the potential toxicity of such objects.A more theoretical approach concerning the intensification of processes and the a priori optimization of structures for applications, such as (photo)catalysis, has begun to be deve-loped as a follow-up to these studies.

Contacts : Jean-François Hochepied, Alain Gaunand, (axe 3)

Left: Titanate nanotubes used as a bearing structure for TiO2 nanostructures.

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Ancient civilizations were classified according to the materials they used, together with the techniques they mastered for developing and forming them.Today, the technology of our contemporary societies is still largely based on a capacity to devise, form and harness increasingly varied and sophisticated materials.

research on materials began at the MINES ParisTech some 40 years ago and covers a wide selection of themes

ranging from development according to the usage properties to the actual forming. Research initially centred on metallic materials but has subsequently focused on other major classes of industrial mate-rials. The aim has been to contribute to solving

practical problems for industry through an engi-neer-based approach, making use of practical technological knowledge and the most advanced scientific methods, and on providing young gradua-tes with supplementary operational training.

An international reputationToday, the laboratories of MINES ParisTech, namely the Materials Centre, the Laboratory of Solid Mecha-nics and the Centre for the Forming of Materials, have acquired an international reputation in their fields and a significant position within the French community. All three work in association with the CNRS. They have assumed their tasks of teaching and applied research with the support of French industry and an increasing degree of collaboration with European companies, thanks in particular to

new models of elasto-viscoplastic behaviourfor metallic materials

Materials Centre: thesis by Fabien Szmytka – contacts: Luc Remy, Alain Koster The exhaust system of vehicles powered by an internal combustion engine is used for emitting combustion gases but also attenuates operating noise, reduces polluting emissions and ensures the satisfactory performance of the engine. Its size and, more particularly, that of the collector system, is an essential stage in the design of clean, efficient vehicles.The collector, the component nearest to the engine, is submitted to very severe thermal solicitations. The stress limits and the temperature levels reached mean that these components are exposed to fatigue under changing thermo-mechanical conditions through a risk of cracking and dimensional variations. The accumulation of inelastic distortions in certain areas can cause changes in the shape and a loss of efficiency in the component: a leak in the area in contact with the cylinder head can occur and bring about a risk of a gas emission leak. This latter phenomenon has not yet been fully explored however vital it may be.The study of spheroid graphite cast iron has provided an opportunity for an original test base, with greater potential than those normally used, with a limited number of tests while providing an opportunity to explore a wide range of deformation temperatures and speeds.Two models have been put forward for describing elastoviscoplastic behaviour on a macroscopic scale, by making use of innovative viscous potentials, and taking into consideration crystalline plasticity and the theory of dislocations. These models have been validated with the aid of complex tests in laboratory conditions. The behavioural laws admissible within a thermodynamic context have been integrated in a structural calculation pattern. Thanks to the application of two collector architectures, it has been possible to show that calculations under transitory thermal loading are rapid and lead to better forecasts than conventional laws. A calculation chain is now available whereby it is possible to take account of constraints related to the sizing of exhaust collectors as early as the research and development stage.

Fig.2: a cross-section of the collector after return to the ambient temperature (the vertical displacement rises from blue to red).

Fig.1: thermal chart of a maximum temperature cycle collector (the temperature rises from blue to red).

�2 materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007 ��

the European Union’s research programmes. Collabo-ration outside Europe is also growing.

The research teams in our laboratories have contribu-ted substantially to developing methods of theoretical analysis with a view to modelling:

in continuous flow mechanics and thermal energy;in numerical analysis through finite elements;in the calculation of structures and fluid mechanics;in computer science applied to the development of numerical simulation models.

In physical and experimental terms, our endeavours have focused in particular on:

mechanical tests and instrumented rheology and tribology;studies on processes required for the manufacture, modification and assembly of materials;the observation, quantification and modelling of microstructures and their development;the science of surfaces and interfaces.

The way scientific disciplines are structured means that it is possible to deal with a wide range of materials and to tackle many types of applications of interest to industry:

metals and alloys;polymers and polymer mixtures;metallic matrix and organic composites;ceramics, glass and construction materials;agri-food materials;and more recently, bio-materials.

The processes for the forming of materials that are most frequently studied include:

for metals: lamination, forging, stamping, hydro-forming, casting and welding;for polymers and certain composites: calendaring, extrusion, injection into moulds, thermo-forming, RIM, RTM, extrusion by blowing.

Developments and multidisciplinarityKnowledge and experience accumulated during the course of applied studies can usually be transposed to neighbouring fields and thereby enable adaptation to technical and economic change and to conducting the transfer of knowledge from one application to another.

Materials science is developing at a fast pace:in its very aim as “new materials” appear regularly and even older materials, such as steel, undergo transformations both in terms of their chemical composition, and with regard to the monitoring of the micro-structure, which means that all these materials can be considered as new:in processes for developing and forming which comprise an increasing number of regulation provisions where stricter control of processes is possible as well as greater optimization of the end product;

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in its methods in which numerical simulation intervenes practi-cally at every stage in design, ranging from the choice of molecule to the application properties, and including forming processes and the analysis of solicitation conditions.

In view of all these features, materials science is a field of predilection for engineers and researchers in which multidisciplinarity is a prerequisite for solving practical problems.

Cutting-edge experimental meansThe School, with the aid of its partners (State, region, department, Génopole, INSERM, etc.) has developed its experimental resources over time, a necessity for quality research. These include:

rheometrics - tribometrics - mechanical properties:precutting capillary, rotative, stretching and rheo-optical rheome-ters;rotative tribometrics, thermomechanical fatigue machine, machine for testing wear of tempered tool steel, measurement of the coefficient of metal-polymer friction;traction, traction-compression, major distortion torsion, thermo-mechanical solicitations, extrusion, bi-extrusion of polymer film, hardness in cold state and in heated state, micro-hardness.physical characteristics:transmission electron microscopes, particularly Technai with “atomic resolution” and scanning;analysis techniques: Tof Sims, spectrometers, IR X-rays;physical measurements: diffusion of light on low angles, measu-rements of thermal exchange coefficients, DSC, measurements through ARAMIS image correlation;visualization of streaming and deformations: Doppler laser anemometrics, streaming birefringence, high-speed camera, videometric extensometer.development and forming:metals: laboratory stamping press (30T), plateau de coulée, tube and sheet hydroforming machines, melt spinning of tubes and bars; stretch blowing prototype;polymers: injection press, single-screw and dual-screw extruders, instrumented prototype for bi-stretch blowing of bottles, blow stretching machine.numerical means: parallel calculation clusters.

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Ph.D. coursesMaterialssciencesandmanagement

Persons in charge: Esteban Busso, Évry and Jean-Marc Haudin, Sophia Antipolis

NumericalmechanicsPerson in charge: Thierry Coupez, Sophia Antipolis

Specialized Mastères (MS)Numericalmechanics

Person in charge: François Bay, Sophia Antipolis

BehaviourofmaterialsanddimensioningofstructuresPerson in charge: Jacques Renard, Évry

MaterialsandformingPerson in charge: Jean-Marc Haudin, Sophia Antipolis

�2 materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007 ��

Centre for material forming (mines paristech / cemeF)Director:Jean-LoupCHENOT

JointResearchUnitCNRS(UMR��5)DeputyDirectors:Jean-FrançoisAgassant,YvanChastel,PatrickNavard

Telephone 0�9�95��18Fax 0�92�89�52Email [email protected] http://www.mines-paristech.fr/Fr/CEMEF/

Researchacademics �0Otherstaff 50MINESParisTechPh.D.students �5Ph.D.studentsinotherinstitutions 1Specializedcourses 1�

The focus of CEMEF has been on processes in which materials undergo major transformations. The labo-ratory studies materials (metals, polymers, composi-tes, glass and liquid crystals) during their processing (rheology, microstructure, behaviour), and the impact which the latter has on their usage properties and problems related to the interface between mate-rials and the tool for forming (friction, contact). The centre has developed laboratory tests, semi-industrial prototypes and numerical simulation software for the processes under study.

Our research is focused on forming processes and their annex operations such as extrusion, injection, spinning, blowing, forging, coating, stamping, hydro-forming, casting, continuous casting and biomechanics.

This research work has been conducted within the context of industrial contracts, projects funded by the National Research Agency (ANR) and other public bodies and the European Commission in the following sectors: metallurgy, plastics, high-tech chemistry, packaging, aeronautics and the automotive industry. CEMEF is also involved in six competitiveness poles.

CEMEF has a long tradition of being involved in partnership research. Studies conducted in that context have contributed to solving specific industrial problems and provide an opportunity for upstream scientific

progress such as the development of new numerical methods, new laws governing behaviour and friction, and new physical laws concerning the behaviour of materials. Contractual activities account for some 50% of the Centre’s total budget.

trainingCEMEF has significant teaching activities:

It contributes to the training of graduate engineers in the Corps des Mines as well as civil engineers (specialized module Material Sciences and Management, MIG);It has created two specialized mastères (post-graduate diploma). The mastère on Materials and processing combines mechanical and physical approaches along pluridisciplinary lines (Jean-Marc Haudin). In collaboration with the École des Ponts et Chaussées, INRIA and UNSA, the mastère on Computational Mechanics provides training in scientific calcu-lation applied to mechanics and thermal studies (François Bay). Since the beginning of this academic year, courses are taught in English and the mastère has hosted an international selection of students;It is involved in the mastère on Materials physics, mechanics and numerical modelling co-authorized with UNSA, particularly in the second year of research studies (M2R);It is in charge of two doctoral courses at MINES ParisTech: Materials sciences and engineering (Jean-Marc Haudin) and Computational mechanics (Thierry Coupez) which are also part of the UNSA doctoral school for Fundamental and applied sciences;It also collaborates with in other engineering schools and univer-sities.

researchResearch teams

Thermomechanics and plasticity (TMP)Michel Bellet, Jean-Loup Chenot, Elisabeth Massoni

This group’s research is aimed at the numerical modelling of physical phenomena typical of processes of solidification and forming of metals. It is linked to the development of simulation software whereby the comprehension and mastery of industrial processes can be improved. It is conducted in collaboration with other groups within CEMEF, as well as with Transvalor and industrial partners.

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resolution of coupled problems: thermomechanical interaction between parts and tools; thermal/micro-structural/mechanical coupling (solid-state phase changes, bi-phased liquid-solid media); forecasting of defects, such as necking in the forming of metal sheets or hot tearing during solidification. Design of experiments that are of representative value for the study and validation of criteria and limit curves;study of spatial and temporal discretizations adapted to beha-vioural laws representing high- or low-temperature solid state, liquid state with turbulence, semi-solid state and compressibility;development of arbitrary Eulerian-Lagrangian methods using dynamic, adaptive and anisotropic remeshing particularly for liquid-solid interactions during solidification;development of finite element inverse analysis procedures for the automatic identification of rheological and thermal parameters through simulation of definition tests (traction, torsion, compres-sion, bulging and thermal contact).

Pilot experimentssteel fusion and casting (“Crickacier”);deep drawing;hydro-forming of sheets and tubes;arc welding of steels.

Software and applicationsFORGE® (plastic deformation): deep drawing, hydroforming, flow-forming;IDENTIFY: identification of rheological parameters through torsion, traction and compression;THERCAST® (solidification processes): casting, casting of ingots, continuous casting;THOST (heat treatment processes): heating and quenching of components;TRANSWELD® (welding processes): arc welding, laser cladding.

Polymer processing (EVE)Jean-François Agassant, Jérôme Bikard, Noëlle Billon,

Christian Peiti, Rudy Valette, Bruno Vergnes, Michel Vincent

Research focuses on the forming processes of molten polymers and complex fluids, as well as on their resulting properties. This requires knowledge of their rheologi-cal behaviour, implementation of original experimental methods and use of calculation methods developed prin-cipally in collaboration with the CIM group.

Study of the rheological behaviour of polymers and complex materials in liquid, solid and rubber-like phase

rheology of filled polymers (with carbon black, short and long glass fibres, sawdust) nanocomposites (level of exfoliation, destructuration/restructuration and orientation of charges); foams

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(links between the equivalent homogeneous behaviour of cellular microstructures); clay pastes and biopolymers (PLA, starch-based mixtures);experimental investigation of the flow in complex geometries: use of dies and moulds equipped with transparent windows for measuring the stress (flow birefringence) or velocity distribution (laser velocimetry); application to the influence of adding fluorinated polymers on flow instabilities as well as secondary flows of low-density polyethylenes;mechanical tests (by field measurements) adapted to high velocities for rubber-like materials and nanocomposites;rheology in solid state, rubber-like state, at high velocity and under complex solicitations; physical, thermodynamic and mole-cular approaches. Coupling with microstructural developments (induced crystallization). Application to structural calculation.

Application to forming processesextrusion: development of Ludovic® simulation codes (1D global approach to co-rotating twin-screw extrusion and reactive extrusion) and Ximex® (3D approach to extrusion and mixing processes – CIM collaboration); application to the production of nanocomposites and bricks (civil engineering); measurement of polymer/wall friction coefficients in single-screw extrusion;injection: REM3D® software for the filling and packing stage in the mould: application to thermoplastics, elastomers and polyurethanes, reactive polymer foams, fibre-filled polymers (CIM collaboration). Application to the prediction of the resul-ting mechanical properties; quantification of the orientation of fibres in injected components and comparison with calcu-lations;influence of mixing conditions on the electrical conductivity of polyamids filled with carbon black; numerical simulation of the dispersion of agglomerates under shearing conditions (CIM collaboration);direct simulation of interfacial instabilities in co-extrusion;coating of polymer on metal, calendering of co-extruded sheets, influence of thermomechanical parameters on adhesion;blow-moulding and stretch blow-moulding, thermoforming; development of prototypes; relations between molecular architecture and blowing aptitude; microstructures and indu-ced properties;coating process (dip-coating, PCP collaboration).

Rheology structure metallurgy (MSR)Yvan Chastel, Roland Logé

The objective of the group is to establish links between the genesis of the structure of metallic mate-rials, their development, the mechanical behaviour of a metal during the forming processes, the initiation and growth of damage and the final properties of a component. The research aims of the group are deri-ved from the existence of a strong interaction between

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the process and the microstructure of the material. Emphasis is placed on the development and forming processes: casting, metallic powders and foams, cold and hot stamping, forging, drawing, rolling, extru-sion, wire drawing, incremental processes and rapid deformation.

Laws regarding behaviour under major deformation and formability limits

laboratory tests under conditions representing the process (temperature, deformation speed, quantity of deformation, stress triaxiality) to access rheological laws, microstructure evolution and damage;cold and hot mechanical tests: torsion, traction, formability of metal panels, compression, combined traction and torsion, plane strain, heat transfer analysis.

Follow-up and modelling of microstructural changes during forming processes

microscopic and crystallographic observations and analysis techniques for monitoring microstructural changes;inverse methods (computer-assisted metallurgy); based on finite element codes for identifying coupled mechanical and metallurgical parameters (steels, zircaloy, aluminium, copper-based metals, TiAl);study of the destruction of solidification structures during welding.

Numerical codes combining rheology and microstructure

laws governing behaviour and microstructural changes, coupled and incorporated into numerical codes for studying anisotropic behaviour of metals in large strain deformation;development of the DigiMicro axis: multi-scale models with explicit representation of the topology of microstruc-tures for calculating mechanical behaviour and metallurgi-cal changes.

Structures and properties in solidification processing (SP2)

Charles-André Gandin

The group’s activities are focused on the elaboration of metallic materials and polymers through solidi-fication from a liquid state. They are also aimed at establishing links between the structures and chemical segregations which result from the soli-dification processing step with subsequent forming (e.g. heat treatments), possibly as well as with the ultimate properties of the materials. The goal is to insert forming through solidification in the overall approach to monitoring the parameters of processes used for achieving the desired usage properties for the materials.

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Solidification of metallic alloysThis is the theme that best represents the group’s activities. The aim is to model structures and chemi-cal segregations set up during the solidification processes of metallic alloys. A preliminary approach to modelling is based on mass exchanges of chemical species in a representative volume containing several phases with simplified geometry. Coupling between the cellular automaton and the finite element methods provides a description of the formation of the grain structure (collaboration TMP group). The second approach is based on the method of level sets for monitoring the development of a solid-liquid interface (collaboration CIM group). Structural and chemical identification is conducted in parallel to validate the predictions of the numerical models devised accordingly.

Crystallization of polymersIn situ and real time measurements and observations of the kinetics of nucleation and growth of spherulites are conducted under optical microscopy in undercoo-led polymers. It is possible to assess temporal chan-ges in the global kinetics of crystallization, including access to growth speed, number of activated nuclei, frequency of activation and size. Such measurements are supplemented by methods of small angle light which use the birefringent nature of spherulites. The team is currently engaged in a project for the construction of a pressurized observation cell. This information is necessary for the development and validation of models regarding the formation of crys-talline structures.

Solid state precipitation in metallic alloysThe solid state precipitation is modelled because the properties of metallic alloys also depend on ther-momechanical processes which follow the stage of forming through solidification. A distinction is made between intragranular precipitates and those formed in the grain boundaries. The coupling of these two kinetics can can help to predict the free zone of precipitates around the grains (collaboration EPFL, Switzerland).

Polymers chemical physics (PCP)Patrick Navard, Tatiana Budtova, Édith Peuvrel-Disdier

The Polymers chemical physics group conducts research along three axes:

physics, chemical physics, rheology and forming of polysaccharidesthe study of the physical properties of the two classes of polysaccharides (cellulose and starch) and linking these to the

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forming of such products. The PCP team coordinates EPNOE, the European Poplysaccharides Network of Excellence.mixtures and suspensionsmany polymers are either loaded with solid particles or in the form of mixtures. The aim is to understand how such complex fluids are structured. Morphology, organization, orientation, dissolution and disaggregation are studied with the aid of rheo-optical tools developed by the group.Gels, reticulated polymers, dip-coating forminghow do polymers in solution gel? The formation of gels and their deformation when submitted to forces are studied through ther-modynamic methods.

This year, the group’s efforts have focused on the following subjects:

polysaccharidescellulose: studies on solutions of cellulose in various solvents: thermodynamics, phase separation, gelation and structures; study of the mechanisms of swelling and dissolution of cellulose fibres; chemistry under stress;ærogels: preparation and comprehension of conditions for obtaining cellulose aerogel structures, carbonization;mixtures of natural polymers: comprehension of these mixtures (thermodynamics, gelation), study through rheology and optical methods, shaping of capsules. mixtures and suspensions

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dispersion of silica: description of mechanisms of dispersion of silica porous agglomerates in an elastomeric matrix under shea-ring, measurements of infiltration kinetics.Gels, reticulated polymers, dip-coating formingmicro-gels in flow conditions: highlighting a new mode of deformation of gel particles through injection of a swelling liquid, behaviour of starch granules after swelling through shea-ring, gels loaded with biocide active products;dip-coating process: development of a dip-coating prototype, experimental study and numerical simulation of dip-coating.

Surfaces and tribology (SET)Pierre Montmitonnet, Alain Burr, Robert Combarieu,

Évelyne Darque-Ceretti, François Delamare (scientific adviser), Éric Felder, Bernard Monasse, Monique Repoux

The group’s aim is to study surface and interface phenomena, in particular, but not exclusively those linked to product/tool contact in the material forming and assembling processes (friction, lubrication, wear, changes in the superficial composition or roughness, adherence). Members of the group include physico-chemists specialized in surfaces and specialists of contact mechanics. Their task is to describe the surfaces of materials in terms of their mechanical and chemical properties, ranging from the micrometre to the nanometre. The group has also developed applica-

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relations between deformation, crystallographic textureand surface adsorption of galvanized steels

Ph.D. thesis by Véronique Vaché, viva on 26 March 2007 As galvanized steel is used on an increasing scale for car bodies, particularly in Western Europe, ArcelorMittal wishes to improve the quality of the surface of steel panels during the manufacturing process, ranging from the zinc bath to the paint shop stage, including skin pass, stamping and phosphatation.

The coupling of Plane Strain Compression test (PSCT) and analysis techniques (SEM, EBSD, XRD, XPS and TOF-SIMS) has provided evidence not only of modification of the texture of the coating with deformation (figure 1), but also the depen-dence of the adsorption of lubricating additives (oleic acid in this instance), on the crystallographic orientation of zinc (figures 2 and 3).

Evidence has shown that in the presence of the lubricant, the kinetics of adsorption of the additive on the steel panels depends on the length of the carbon chains of the base oil, which reveals competition between molecular species.

Figure 1: modification of the basal component of the texture of the zinc with its deformation.

Recrystallization of zinc in the areas distorted by the skin pass of a galvanized steel panel.

Figure 2: 1% of oleic acid in hexa-decane.

Figure 3: 1% of oleic acid in heptane.

immersion time (seconds) immersion time (seconds)

�� materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007 ��mines paristech / cemeF

tions for the modelling and numerical simulation of lamination, in collaboration with the CIM group.

The main ongoing research topics include:reactivity of surfaces: tribochemistry (boundary lubrication). Textiles: interaction between fibre mordant and dye and resulting colour. Cosmetics: grafting of pigments and dispersibility. Our tools: EDXS, XPS, ToF-SIMS; molecular modelling (enthalpy of liaison, absorption spectra); since this year, B. Monasse, the expert in this field in CEMEF, has been attached to the SET group;adhesion/adherence/adhesive bonding: study of the forma-tion, ageing, rupture of bonds within interfaces (gilding of glass; polymer/metal; coated paper/metal). Analytical chemistry of surfaces (XPS, ToF-SIMS), physico-chemical theory (wetting, base-acid theory, solubility), experimental and computational mecha-nics (adherence tests and their modelling);determining advanced friction laws: mixed or hydrodynamic lubrication, advanced models of friction in stamping (static/dynamic transition): development of models with internal variables and experimental studies (rheology of lubricants, tribological tests);abrasive wear models: measurement and modelling of two- and three-body wear, coupling of abrasion and thermo-

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mechanical fatigue for hot forming tools: global, stochastic approach and local, determinist approach through numerical simulation ;mechanical characterization of thin coatings and films: numerical modelling (FORGE®) of 2D or 3D mechanical tests (indentation and scratching of coated materials, bending or indentation of oxidized samples) providing a description of the mechanical properties of the coating or the oxide.

Advanced computing in material forming (CIM)

Thierry Coupez, Lionel Fourment, Patrice Laure, Hugues Digonnet, Luisa Silva, Rudy Valette

The group has continued its activities in the field of numerical mechanics. It has acquired a dominant position within CEMEF in the numerical modelling of processes by pursuing the development of its CimLib library, written in C++ of which one of the specific features is to integrate parallelism in all its compo-nents. The aim of this library is to serve as a basic software for the Centre’s principal codes, in both their commercial and research versions.

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XimeX® : Software for simulating extrusion

and mixing processes

XimeX® is a 3D-finite elements direct simulation software. Its aim is to facilitate comprehension and optimization of 3D thermomechanics of extrusion and mixing processes.CEMEF (Rudy Valette, Bruno Vergnes, Thierry Coupez) is pilo-ting with Sciences & Computers Consultants, a software-editor company, a consortium dedicated to the XimeX® project comprising five companies. Thanks to this software, we were able to study problems such as yield-stress fluids extrusion, extrusion, wall slip, distributive and dispersive phenomena in filled fluids, screw component wear in twin-screw extruders.XimeX® is the first commercial software that uses the MTC high-level programming language dedicated to finite elements, based itself on the C++ parallel CimLib object library. XimeX® uses a method known as field immersion (a method of the “fluid-structure interaction” type) coupled to a resolution by mixed finite elements for calculating flow and stresses in these processes. Taking account of the ther-mal effects and the movements of free surfaces depends on improvements to methods of the residual-free bubbles and level set type.

For more information: http://www.ximex.info

Example of calculation: trajectories and free surface in a mixer.

Example of calculation: pressure field and

trajectories in a twin-screw extruder.

�8 materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007 �9mines paristech / cemeF�8 sciences et Génie des matériaUX : rapport d’activité 2007

Development of simulation software

Software for the simulation of processes developed by our team in collaboration with other groups now covers a wide range of applications:

Rem3D®: processes involving injection, thermomechanics up to the solid state, mould distortion models; static crystallization and sub-streaming; materials with a fibre-reinforced threshold; water-assisted injection;FORGE®: Simulation and re-formulation of models applied to processes such as the rolling of rings for ball bearing systems and friction stir welding of plates: numerical simulation of adia-batic shear bands formation during high speed cutting and blankink: folling and cogging ;XimeX®: mixtures processes, application to thermodependent and threshold viscous materials and to free surfaces under level-set methods;Thost®: functioning of a kiln, stamping sinks, phase changes and turbulence;DigiMicro®: virtual microstructures, optimization of microstruc-tures, generation of adapted anisotropic meshing.

The group contributes to research related to the field of applied mathematics and methods of approxi-mation for the resolution of EDPs derived from the modelling of mechanical problems. Progress has been achieved in the following fields:

massively parallel computingthe group has developed methods for partitioning meshing and generating parallel meshing with, more recently, an extension of these approaches, methods and development to applied heterogeneous platforms for calculation schemes; simulations conducted on meshing composed of several tens of millions of elements on several dozen processes have proved the efficiency of our parallel calculation tools. A number of specific developments have been necessary:

Parallelization of calculations regarding the displacement of fibre populations and rheological coupling;Complete parallelization of the quest for contact in deforma-ble multi-body cases, improvements to contact algorithms.

iterative and multi-grid methodsNumerical approximation methods have led to the resolu-tion of major linear systems which continue to be the most costly components in terms of calculation time and compu-ter resources. These systems are solved exclusively through iterative methods. Research today is focusing on the choice of preconditioning methods and multi-grid algorithms through derefining.

Generation and adaptation of anisotropic meshing

estimation of errors and automatic generation of meshing;

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automatic generation of anisotropic meshing with multi-field interface capture;anisotropic adaptation in dynamics and in parallel (3D) based on a metric card;smoothing of mesh size cards, anisotropic refinement in the shearing bands.

Calculation of free surfaces, interfaces and multi-fields and mobile fields

convective re-initialization for level-set methods;application to jet bucking simulation;level-set methods for the modelling of primary and secon-dary recrystallization of polycrystalline metals after deforma-tion of a substantial number of grains;extension of the ALE formulation for application to tangential high-speed processes;coupling: level-set methods and immersion of fields.

Optimizationnew optimization algorithms for response surfaces, acknowledgement of uncertainties regarding parameters; multi-field and multiphase calculations; fluid structure coupling;parallel multi-objective optimization algorithms, on the basis of meta-models, taking account of uncertainties and applied to 3D shaping.

Object-oriented programmingdevelopment of an interface for the creation of finite element applications for CimLib;daily automatic tests for the validation of CimLib.

Stabilization of finite element methodsresolution of Navier-Stokes equations through multi-scale variational methods and “residual free bubbles”; direct aero-thermal calculations.

New applicationsdevelopment of dispersed mix kinetic theories;application of Rem3D® to compression-injection and micro- injection.

Computational mechanics and multiphysics (M3P)

François Bay, Pierre-Olivier Bouchard, Katia Mocellin, Yannick Tillier

The group’s aim is to study and develop efficient numerical methods for the numerical modelling of finite elements, the analysis and optimization of linear and non-linear problems in solids mechanics with multiphysics couplings.

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�8 materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007 �9mines paristech / cemeF

The main themes dealt with include:finite element modelling damage and fracture with a view to setting up a global virtual chain of numerical simulations from forming down to in-use properties. The whole of this chain has been implemented within the context of assembly proces-ses through plastic deformation (Mona Lisa Cetim project). Furthermore, preliminary results have been obtained for the opti-mizationof properties in use in relation to forming parameters for forging applications.multiphysics couplings: we keep on working at numerical model-ling, optimization and control of processes involving electroma-gnetic couplings (continuous currents or alternative currents) for applications related to heating or forming; the study of damage sustained by concrete under chemical degradation has led us to the modelling of chemical couplings and aggregate degradation reactions; lastly, computational modelling and control of laser-based

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multigrid methods for major deformationsThesis by Benoît Rey, viva on 11 April 2007

Multi-grid methods are numerical methods used for redu-cing calculation time. These costly operations are limited on a fine grid (in our case, a meshing) by replacing them by operations on rough grids. The acceleration obtained on the resolution linked to a meshing of 120,000 degrees of liberty is approximately 5. The generation of various meshing levels is automatic.

Calculation meshing and associated rough meshings.

Calculation time with the Forge 2005® solver and multi-grid solver.

processes have led us to the modelling of thermal couplings in thin skin-depths;In the context of reducing of calculation times, the development of efficient multigrid methods has taken place – based on a linkage between remeshing tools developed in the CIM group and the (PETSC) freeware mathematical library; furthermore, research work has also focused on developing explicit methods for simulating high-speed processes;lastly, research activities on biomechanics have focused on the modelling of implants and protheses (implantology) and more speci-fically on the extension of hyper-elastic models – to represent mecha-nical behaviour more realistically – and on multi-body modelling.

Support servicesTwo operational groups provide assistance to the research units in their activities.

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�8 sciences et Génie des matériaUX : rapport d’activité 2007


The Computer science and systems administration group (Serge Algarotti, Carole Torrin) is in charge of the operation and optimization of the range of compu-ter facilities at the disposal of all CEMEF staff. This year, the Centre’s computation power was considerably increased. A calculation unit of 96 cores and 5 To of storage was brought into operation to supplement the cluster of 160 processors already in operation.

The Design department, workshop and simulation group (Alain Le Floc’h) is in charge of devising and

perfecting testing and experimentation facilities. Subs-tantial work was carried out with a view to impro-ving the instrumentation of many tests. This year, facilities were introduced for the following studies: compacting-sintering, flow birefringence, steeping-adherence, salt bath soaking, vacuum X-raying. The group also produced an automated welding bench. This study permits a comparison between the nume-rical modelling of the welding process with software devised by CEMEF.

significant eventsCEMEF has acquired two atomic force microscopes (AFM). One of these is equipped with a nanoindenter, which is a quite unique piece of equipment (see box below).

Automated MIG welding bench used in the validation of welding software.


acquisition of two atomic force microscopes

After replacing ToF-SIMS in 2006, CEMEF continued in 2007 to modernize its surface science equipment with the purchase of a facility comprising:

The coupling of these two techniques with this degree of performance, and relocation, is a unique development to date, achieved jointly by our suppliers, Agilent and Hysitron.

Examples of application to ongoing studies at CEMEF:this image of the surface of an alumina grain, on the left, is a perfect illustration of the TLK (Terrace, Ledge, Kink) theory of surfa-ces. During an experiment on adsorption of an acrylic polymer (on the right, below), it would seem to diffuse preferentially along certain ledges, areas well known for their strong reactivity;the apparatus acquired now enables us to measure the mechanical properties of superficial material on a scale of several nano-metres with the AFM tip, up to a few hundred nanometres with the nanoindenter, to which must be added a number of micro-metres with micro-hardness and several hundred micrometres with macro-hardness.

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two AFM heads (atomic force microscope) permitting work both in air and in a liquid medium (solvents, strong acid and base), between -5ºC and +250ºC;a second installation has a nano-indentation head, with relocation of the zone under study.

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Alumina grain.

�2 materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007

Gold or a substitute for glass and ceramicsProjet blanc ANR DORAI, Évelyne Darque-Ceretti, Éric Felder, Claire Pacheco

The production of gold leaf is still craftwork. A scientific study of antique art objects is a valuable means of understanding and improving modern production processes. Muslim potters had devised, probably in 9th-century Mesopotamia, a technique whereby gilded reflections could be obtained on glazed ceramics without making use of gold!This “lustre” amounts to an early form of nanotechnology. Working on the basis of a ceramic already covered with glazing (a layer of vitreous matter with a moderate glass transition temperature), the potter applies a mixture containing copper and silver salts and conducts a reduction in a reducing atmosphere which brings about the diffusion of the two metals and their precipitation in the form of particles measuring a few nanometres in diameter in the vitreous matrix. These nanoparticles produce the special optical properties of lustre. In order to understand the structure, it was necessary to bring into play the most recent techniques in materials science: atomic force microscopy (fig. 1).These techniques are also being used for exploring modern gold-glass interfaces. The aim is to optimize the production of gold leaf with a thickness of the order of a few hundred nanometres, and the deepening of the physical and chemical interactions of gold-glass adhesion. Within the context of the DORAI project, we shall be working on antique (fig. 2) and modern materials.

Fig.1: (a) 3D AFM picture on a segment of 2x2 μm2 of the surface of a modern centre light;

(b) outline derived from a section of the AFM picture.

Fig.2: glazed ceramic fragment embellished with gold leaf, Iran 12th to 13th century (Département des Arts de l’Islam, Musée du Louvre).

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�2 materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007

Director:EstebanP.BUSSODeputyDirector:YvesBienvenuCNRSMixedResearchUnit(UMR��)DirectorofUMR:GeorgesCailletaud Scientificadvisers:FrédéricFeyel, DominiqueJeulin,GillesRousselierPublicrelations:IsabelleOlzenski AnnePiantasfrom1mai2008Telephone 01�0��000Fax 01�0��150Email [email protected] http://www.mines-paristech.fr/Fr/MAT

Researchacademics �0Otherstaff 59MINESParisTechPh.D.students �8Ph.D.studentsinanotherinstitution �Specializedcourses 10

Materials centre PM FOURT (mines paristech / mat)

The Materials Centre, since it was set up in 1967, is located at the Évry-Corbeil site of the SNECMA Company, part of the SAFRAN group. Its activities mainly concern structural materials used in sectors such as aeronau-tics, energy, the automotive industry and mechanical engineering.

Research also focuses on materials possessing particular properties or morphologies for energy production and storage, catalytic filters and systems for internal combustion engines, electronic compo-nents and medical applications. The greater part of activities are conducted in collaboration with major industrial groups but a substantial number of activities also concern SMEs-SMIs.

The Centre is also associated with the CNRS in the context of a Mixed Research Unit (UMR 7633) in the Sciences for the Engineer Department belonging to the Île-de-France Federation of Mechanics and Materials Laboratories whose aim is to coordinate the initiatives of laboratories in the Île-de-France working on this parti-cular theme. It is also a partner of the poles of competiti-veness created in the Île-de-France (SYSTEM@TIC, ASTech, MOVE’O, EMC2 and I-TRANS poles) and the scientific pole of Évry Vals de Seine which brings together the Univer-sity of Évry, INT, ENSIEI and Genopole.

The aim of the Centre is to produce quality scien-tific research on themes that can benefit industry and society. The Centre’s contractual resources amount to

50% of the total budget, approximately €11 million, and are the result of agreements with industrial partners within the context of bilateral programmes and programmes devised by the National Research Agency, the Carnot Institutes, the DGA, poles of competitiveness and European programmes.

The Centre’s scientific staff can offer a vast range of skills (chemists, physicists, metallurgists, mechanical engineers, computer specialists). The Centre posses-ses a significant range of equipment for elaboration and processing, microstructural analyses, mechani-cal and numerical calculation tests, staffed by many, highly-qualified technical personnel, whereby it is possible to respond to a wide range of research needs in terms of materials and mechanics. The renewal of the Centre’s permanent staff is advancing rapidly and new themes are coming to light, such as that of biomaterials.

A feature of the research activities is the close complementarity between an experimental approach and the modelling of phenomena. The results are increasingly frequently integrated into numerical calculation codes. The range of software, in particu-lar, which structures “Z-set” is now used in many research centres, whether public or industrial, and in R&D departments. Thanks to industrial research contracts, the dissemination and exploitation of this code account for a very significant part of the indus-trial valorization of the Centre’s scientific work.

trainingTraining activities concerning the student civil engi-neer cycle, the master’s research degree in Materials for structures and energy (MSE), the specialized mastère on The behaviour of materials and dimensioning of struc-tures (COMADIS), the MINES ParisTech doctorate in the speciality entitled Materials sciences and enginee-ring (435 theses conducted at the Centre since its creation), within the context of the joint doctoral school with ENSAM, Sciences for the engineer. The Materials Centre also provides numerous ongoing training activities, particularly within the context of the CACEMI.

The Centre works closely with several major foreign universities. It has therefore hosted foreign visitors of various nationalities and several of its research academics have undertaken periods of work abroad (MIT, Berkeley, Georgia Tech, and European and Asian universities).

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�� materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007 �5mines paristech / mat

researchThe work of the research teams and the valorization group presented below is aimed at comprehending the phenomena and processes whereby the behaviour of materials according to mechanical, thermal and frequently corrosive environmental solicitations can be better understood. Behaviour is the result of their composition and also the processes of elaboration and thermo-mechanical transformation which we seek to optimize. The mastery of materials depends, on the one hand, on the production processes (improvement of the purity of alloys and the mastery of the microstructures do have a considerable beneficial effect on their mecha-nical properties) and, secondly, on knowledge of their behaviour in conditions of solicitation that are as close as possible to those encountered in working conditions. The notion of materials performance has gradually given way to notions of reliability and preservation of the environment.

While such a link is obvious enough, we tend to forget that any increase in the performance of machi-nes and the sustainability of objects due to improve-ments in the performance of materials is one of the principal factors of progress. Recent developments in materials engineering are the result of collaboration between physico-chemists, metallurgists, mechanical engineers and computer specialists. This association of skills, in addition to the training of young scientists in all four cultures, has made possible significant progress through:

taking account of laws representing the behaviour of an increasingly wide variety of materials (metals and alloys, ceramics, polymers, composites, weavings, multi-materials) and combina-tions of materials (welding, braising and gluing) in complex solici-tation conditions (major deformations, extrusion, fatigue) for the sizing of components and structures;the integration of the notion of faults and damage in the assess-ment of reliability;the development of “micro-macro or multi-scale” approaches which deduces microstructural characteristics, with the aid of homogenization operations, macroscopic properties (mechanical and physical);the development of multi-physical approaches whereby, on the basis of comprehension of the physical coupling mechanisms between the microstructure, for example, and diffusion, it is possi-ble to predict the behaviour and lifespan of materials possessing complex structures;the development and validation of the local approach concept to mechanical rupture which integrates microstructural features in damaging and cracking processes.

Improvement of the performance of computers now makes it possible to deal with industrial problems while taking account of complex geometry, highly accurate

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representation of the material and the variability of mechanical and thermal solicitations.

Collaboration with the Coopération laser franco-alle-mande (CLFA) has enabled the Centre to develop laser activities and applications for implementing materials. The arrival, in 2007-2008, of a new machine will enable the development of joint studies.

Surfaces, interfaces & processes team (SIP)Marie-Hélène Berger, Yves Bienvenu, Christophe Colin,

Cécilie Duhamel, Vincent Guipont, Michel Jeandin, Régine Molins, Alain Thorel

The aim of research is to link processes to usage proper-ties, via microstructure. Surface treatments (coatings, in particular) have come to play an increasingly important role in materials. Conception and production involve phase transformations (solidification, polymerization, crystallization) in equilibrium or out of equilibrium with reactions between phases (elaboration or reactive assembling) or between the transition to the powder state to that of a controlled dense or porous material. An example of a material with extreme porosity is the nickel and iron-based superalloy foam devised for certain parti-cle filters. A study of the interfaces (grain joints, hetero-phase interphases) is indispensable for understanding sintering, the infiltration of a solid by a liquid and the combining of materials. A scientific approach is based on the thermodynamics of volumes, surfaces and inter-faces, on the kinetics of heat and matter transfers, on the physico-chemistry of the condensed material and on the mechanics of materials. These global approaches to the development, as well as the ageing of materials in use, take account of various quantifiable physico-chemical phenomena in laboratory conditions such as capilla-rity, damping and rheology, phase changes, diffusion (solid, liquid and gaseous), deformation and reactivity. Research on processes explores the potential of ther-mal projection techniques thanks to installations of plasma under controlled atmosphere projects (CAPS) and cold spray projection introduced in 2006 and mastered in 2007.

The “direct” manufacturing of metallic components from powders under laser beam and that of “hard mate-rials” with a property gradient have been studied and modelled. New assembly techniques and, conversely, techniques for the desticking/decohesion of interfaces (laser adherence test) have also been developed.

A particular approach, quite frequent in such studies, regardless of the type of heterogeneous material, is the link between the macro-, meso- and microscopic scales. Changes of scales requires the use of statistical morpho-logical models and the contribution of highly detailed

�� materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007 �5mines paristech / mat

information, typical of the field of transmission elec-tronic microscopy. The team is therefore particularly involved in the operation of a high-resolution analyti-cal microscope and the equipment combining nanoin-dentation and atomic force microscopy, whereby it is possible to tackle the study of nanomaterials (nanotubes, nanodiamonds, catalysers).

The description of usage properties concerns the mechanical behaviour (small-size components, hoop irons, foams, assemblies and coatings), tribological behaviour and the physical or electrical behaviour of ceramic and metallic materials and multi-materials. This activity often leads to devising specific experiments.

Research on materials for energy involves bipolar plates and membranes for fuel cells. In addition to studies on the development of cores for oxygen ion solid oxide conduction cells (SOFC), the team has also been involved in producing cells whose solid electrolyte is a ceramic whose high-temperature conduction is of the protonic type (PCFC). The development of research on electronic components has gone hand in hand with that on mate-rials for the connector industry (copper or silver alloys, coatings and braisings).

The team has also tackled subjects in partnership with biologists in the field of the marking of proteins and the vectorization of medicines.

piercing in inconel 718tr A metallurgical, mechanical and thermal study of the surface integrity of components pierced with a helicoidal drill

in Inconel 718TR. Detection and quantification of anomalies through Process MonitoringThesis by Géraldine Perrin – Contact: Christophe Colin

The methods of design and manufacturing of the components of turbo-reactors must enable motor engineers to meet the three-fold challenge of safety, performance and cost control. Safety is the factor on which the aeronautical industry is not ready to make any concessions, especially with regard to so-called critical revolving components. The civil aviation certification authorities have recently issued new regulations concerning the design, manufacturing and maintenance aspects of these components. Research work conducted within the context of this thesis deals principally with the description and detection of piercing anomalies in Inconel 718TR.The anomalies which are likely to be caused during the piercing of outline holes have been described in metallurgical terms and then classified according to the cutting conditions, the geometry of the hole and the wear on the tool. Thermal phenomena linked to the production of such anomalies have been highlighted experimentally and modelled numerically. The critical nature of anomalies on an outline hole have been quantified by oligocyclic fatigue tests. Fractographic analyses have made it possible to identify with precision the types of defects which can induce the appearance of a crack. “Burnt” holes with a thermo-mechanically affected zone are those that experience the greatest shortening of lifespan due to fatigue as a result of the fragments of shavings wedged into the ZAT. Nevertheless, finishing processes comprising truing and boring can ensure that the holes have better mecha-nical behaviour. Thanks to an analysis of the cutting efforts during the piercing, a methodology for detecting and quantifying the metallurgical severity of various types of anomalies has been developed and has been the subject of an international patent. Accordingly, the nature and depth of any defects caused can be iden-tified without involving the destruction of the component. The operator can therefore anticipate the measures to be taken to avoid severe anomalies in such a way as to adapt the finishing phases according to the critical nature of the preliminary piercing or even readjust the machine finishing scale.

Tool-holder

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Component (Inconel 718TR)

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Materials and mechanics team (MM)Jacques Besson, Sabine Cantournet,

Lucien Laiarinandrasana, Anne-Françoise Lorenzon, André Pineau, Henry Proudhon,

Benoît Tanguy

This team’s work lies at the border between physi-cal and structural study materials and fluid mechanics. Research into plasticity, viscoplasticity, fatigue and

rupture relies on an experimental basis established in conditions as close as possible to those encountered in working practice. They are conducted in collaboration with the Structure and Behaviour Calculation team. Subs-tantial efforts are made to describe the physical mecha-nisms and to interpret them with the aid of models.

The subject of most of the studies is alloys and materials for aeronautical turbomachines, equipment

�� materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007 ��mines paristech / mat

composed of metallic alloys and polymers for the trans-port and production of electricity, petroleum and gas energy, and the components that are used in terrestrial means of transport. The main themes and materials studied include:

rupture, studied mainly according to the methodo-logy of the local approach adopted at the Centre. Ductile rupture (steels, zirconium alloys and thermoplastic polymers) is studied in terms of the coupling between behaviour and damage through the mechanics of porous media, as well as rupture in the field of fragile ductile transition (steel for construction) and hot rupture (steels and amorphous and semi-crystalline structural thermo-plastic polymers); the effect of the heterogeneous nature of the materials’ properties on the tenacity of welded joints has been studied with regard to various types of

steel and aluminium alloys; dynamic rupture is studied thanks to the elaboration of original testing methods;

plasticity, viscoplasticity and fatigue in superalloys for turbomachine disks and components. The development of methods for changes of scale and the study of hete-rogeneous links, particularly welded joints, has conti-nued; attention is also focused on interactions between (visco) plasticity and phase changes in TRIP steels and zirconium alloys, with emphasis on in situ follow-up of phase changes (magnetometrics, resistivity);

damage under cyclical change; attention has focused in particular on early signs of high-temperature fatigue cracks in the 718 superalloy and in foundry alloys for car cylinder heads; the study of the influence of various loads (carbon black, silica, etc.) on the fatigue

dual steels for cars Study of damage through the cutting of dual-phase steels for car applications

Thesis by Alexandre Dalloz – Contact: Anne-Françoise GourguesRequirements regarding weight reduction of structural components of cars have led to the development of new varieties of steel with increasin-gly sophisticated mechanical properties, which include dual-phase steels which, with their ferrite-martensite composite microstructure, provide a very fine balance between mechanical resistance and formability. Nevertheless, recent observations have shown that the cutting stage tended to alter these positive properties.The objective is to explore mechanisms brought into play during the cutting process in order to take account of them in the development of future varieties of steel. Preliminary observation and description work (MEP, micro-hardness, mechanical tests) has highlighted the effects of shearing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of panel steel and reveal the existence of an area affected by cutting which extends to approximately 200 μm. A feature of this area is that of significant cold rolling and microstructural deformation which lead locally to the deco-hesion of interfaces between ferrite and martensite (Fig. 1).

The formation of this area during cutting has been studied through two distinct approaches: the development of an instrumented shearing montage whereby the evol-ution of the microstructure can be observed during the cutting process and a nume-rical simulation of the process which gives access to the local mechanical scales in the

metal panel (Fig.2). It would seem that damage to and rupture of the steel are induced by the decohesion of ferrite-martensite interfaces, which itself is closely dependent on the state of stress triaxiality.

Observation of the behaviour of the cut edges during solicitations subsequent to the cutting process, provided confirmation of the rapid emergence of cracks in the area affected by the cutting process (Fig. 3) and the direct impact of the cutting of the latter on the loss of ductility of the sectioned components: the area behaves as if it were a pre-fissure on the forming test bed.Lastly, a variety of thermal processes, applied to a specific type of steel, have made it possible to indicate two metallurgical methods for improving the behaviour of dual phase varieties of steel with regard to cutting: the formation of a third phase during tempering, and the rebalancing of properties within the biphased microstructure through application of a tempering process.

Fig.1: damage to interfaces between ferrite and martensi-te in the vicinity of the crack which gives rise to the separa-tion of matter under cutting.

Fig.2: load-displace-ment curve relating to sheets obtained experi-mentally on an ad hoc montage and through numerical simulation (mechanics of porous materials). The insert indicates the form of the ruptured area.

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Fig.3: 3D view of a crack emer-ging in the area affected by the cutting process after a uniaxial traction test on the cut strip. The single arrows indicate the shearing induced by the cutting process. The double arrows indicate the direction of the traction loading.

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behaviour of natural rubber (NR) led to the imple-mentation of new behaviour laws in the Z-set code and criteria regarding the emergence of a crack under multi-axial loadings.

phase-change mechanisms. The crystallographic and micromechanical aspects of transformations in steels, particularly of the bainitic variety, are studied in particu-lar through EBSD (diffraction of diffused retro electrons) and modelled. The thermal cycles of welding in ZAT are simulated in a realistic manner with the aid of a GLEEBLE thermomechanical simulation machine.

High-Temperature Behaviour Team (CHT)Michel Boussuge, Alain Köster, Vincent Maurel, Loïc Nazé,

Luc Rémy

Studying the behaviour of materials at high tempe-ratures involves a wide range of mechanical tests on elements of volume and on structures between ambient temperature and 2,000 ºC, or even more, which combi-nes monotonic tests, together with tests on extrusion, relaxation, under cyclical conditions or under combined thermal and mechanical loadings. What is involved is the experimental simulation, as realistic as possible, of expected solicitations or solicitations observed in operating conditions.

Identifying the relevant mechanisms and scales of phenomena requires recourse to microstructural observations, on various scales, and their quantification, before they can be integrated in structure calculation tools as devised by the Centre or elsewhere.

The field covers both metallic materials (steel, nickel and titanium-based alloys) and non-metallic ones (cera-mics, graphites, refractory materials and cermet) and composites with a metallic matrix and multi-materials. The areas of activity include the development and selec-tion of materials, and the determination of laws gover-ning the mechanical behaviour of damage in isothermal and non-isothermal conditions, as well as monotonic and cyclical conditions.

The metallurgical optimization of superalloys is an activity on which motor engineers base their plans for increasing the power and performance of turbomachines. Accordingly, in collaboration with ONERA and SNECMA, the identification of new compositions of alloys, devised through powder metallurgy (“mdp”) for turbine disks, has continued through the study of sequences of thermal processes whose parameters (return to solu-tion temperatures, stamping speed) lie within ranges that have scarcely been tackled on an industrial scale. The following phase, which began with the ORGANDI

programme with the support of ANR, in collaboration with SNECMA, TURBOMECA, Aubert et Duval, CEA, ONERA, ENSMA and CEMEF, consists in studying the optimization of mdp alloys (“N19”) or conventional ones (forged cast Udimet 720) through the exploration of forging para-meters with a physical view to the engineering of grain boundaries. The improvement of certain properties of the 718 alloy through the introduction, in the course of production, of modified thermomechanical processes, assessed in collaboration with TURBOMECA, has made it possible to meet recently established specifications for helicopter turbines.

The issue of behaviour refers in particular to cera-mics and refractory materials for various applications (production of glass and metals, ceramics for combusti-bles or the transmutation targets of future high-tempe-rature nuclear reactors, and particle filters for diesel engines), as well as stainless steels. The identification of mechanical behaviour models integrating viscoplasticity and damage enables structural calculations to be made in production and operating conditions. Account is taken increasingly of the physico-chemical aspects and micros-tructural developments in order to integrate the ageing and history of materials in models. The PROMETHEREF programme, which has followed on from the NOREV programme, in the context of the National Materials and Processes Network, was devised to bring together research work in this field on refractory concrete and electrofused refractory materials, while giving priority to the description of coupled behaviours and the modelling of the mechanical behaviour of microstructures moving from macro to micro status.

The study of damage has continued with new investi-gation of fissuring of superalloy monochrystals, studied 10 years earlier. It involves using local approach concepts in the case of the propagation of cracks under cyclic loading and in fatigue-flow, in collaboration the CoCaS team. With 2D or 3D viscoplastic calculation, it is possi-ble to describe the fields of deformation at the peak of the crack and current research is tackling identification of propagation criteria.

The study of metallic matrix composites and coated superalloys requires substantial efforts in methodologi-cal terms (anti-oxidation intermetallic coatings, thermal barriers) in order to follow tests and the relevant measu-rements whereby it is possible to predict behaviour in operating conditions by integrating the necessary physi-cal ingredients in the engineer’s models. Interpretation of the mechanisms continues in the micromechanical field, notably with ONERA (DMSE). The specific role of processes and segregations is examined in thermal barriers in concertation with the SIP team.

�8 materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007 �9mines paristech / mat

experimental and numerical analysis of phenomena on an adequate scale;choice of a scope of work for devising, on that scale, physical models with developments, thereby avoiding a superabun-dance of descriptive variables;validation through comparison with experience on complex tests other than those having been used for the experimental and theoretical identification of phenomena;integration of these models in a calculation code in order to produce the dimensioning of components of industrial structures.

This approach is based on:experimental tools whereby it is possible to produce other tools: mechanical tests for quasi-static and dynamic traction, extrusion and fatigue, ageing tests;conceptual and numerical tools which include essentially: the mechanics and thermodynamics of continuous media associa-ted with the theory of invariance, the mechanics of damaging and the mechanics of rupture, multi-scale processes, the finite element method and probability approaches.

The team’s main research activities include compo-sites and assemblages on the following scales:

microscopic: the analysis of constituents (description and rupture of fibres, long-term mechanical behaviour, ageing), questions of interface between these constituents (loosening, oiling);mesoscopic: study of the fibre/matrix decohesion of damage in general, fatigue and ageing phenomena;macroscopic: description of assemblages and their resistance in time; delamination and flanging; rapid dynamics behaviour; definition of laws regarding behaviour in anisotropic environ-ments, structured in such a way as to lead to the undertaking of calculation on industrial structures.

Behaviour and structural calculation team (CoCas)

Jacques Besson, Georges Cailletaud, Samuel Forest, Henry Proudhon, David Ryckelynck

The aim is to acquire satisfactory representations of the behaviour and rupture of materials in calcula-tion codes. There are therefore studies with a strong numerical component that includes the development of software and research conducted most of the time in collaboration with other teams in the Centre, whereby the models developed can be observed in relation to experimental results. Such exchanges are becoming increasingly numerous with external teams, both French and foreign, particularly thanks to the various types of European networks which enable an exchange of students and the joint supervision of theses. Both for problems of behaviour as for rupture problems, the methods used require a phenomenolo-gical approach and a micromechanical approach, the

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Transition and thermal fatigue problems are studied in various industrial sectors apart from aeronautics, such as electronuclear (cooling circuits, fuel), electrotech-niques (electrical contacts), the automotive industry (cylinder heads, exhaust systems, particle filters) and the production of materials (glass, aluminium). Studying the consequences of these solicitations of thermal origin constitutes one of the team’s major axes and is based on the methodology devised for the aeronautical industry and superalloys.

Multi-scale approaches are also used for forecasting the lifespan of high-temperature coatings. The aim is to increase resistance to high temperatures for gas turbi-nes by apprehending the fundamental mechanisms in the rupture of coatings for turbine blades. Attention is paid principally to the mechanical behaviour of ther-mal barrier systems, with the help of experiments and models based on micromechanical approaches. The survey bears in particular on the development of a multi-scale model which takes account of nucleation and growth of microfissures which are the fundamental cause of the destruction of a thermal barrier system. Theoretical and numerical studies are supplemented by experimentation in order to obtain physical parameters that are representative of industrial use.

Composites, Assemblages, Modelling Team (CAM)

Anthony Bunsell, Anne Piant, Jacques Renard, Alain Thionnet

The activities of the CAM team cover the whole range of experimental and theoretical fields required for knowledge and comprehension of the physical mecha-nisms in so-called “composite” media. These pheno-mena are analysed experimentally and modelled on various scales:

macroscopic, in which the medium is considered to be homoge-neous;mesoscopic, a scale which pinpoints the constituents of the composite and considers them to be homogeneous;microscopic, whereby it is possible to discover the molecular nature of each constituent part of the composite.

The team is able to handle studies on a microstructu-ral scale, motivated by physico-chemists, as well as that of structure, motivated by structural engineers. Its research work is principally oriented towards knowledge of the behaviour of composite materials subjected to complex loadings (quasi-static, cyclical and dynamic, mechanical and thermal). The approach that has been adopted, as often as possible, is as follows:

dimensioning of coherent experimental tests and procedures in order to facilitate the analysis and observation of physical phenomena;

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�8 materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007 �9mines paristech / mat

design of structural collagesMechanical description and assistance tool for the design of structural collages

Thesis by Sébastien Joannés – Contact: Jacques RenardThe saving of energy and conservation of the environment are part of the main stakes of the car industry and are a source of new problems: reducing the weight of vehicles must involve a reduction in costs and manufacturing deadlines. For mass-produced vehicles and in spite of appreciable performance, the global cost of mono-material solutions remains much too high. One of the solutions consists in making use of multi-material structures for which specific assembly processes need to be developed. Although commonly used for the installation of windscreens, the assembly of plastic components for the interior of cars and for anti-corrosion protection, high-performance glues have thereby found new applications within the very structure of vehicles. By ensuring a continuous link, structural gluing is among the techniques that provide the best mechanical performance. Its potential, however, is rarely used for want of sufficiently developed design tools and possibly for a lack of confidence in its durability.This study, conducted at the initiative of Renault, is aimed at discarding technological obstacles in order to increase and perpetuate the use of structural gluing. Its use as a primary means of assembly on widely used safety components constitutes a very innovative aspect.In that context, the means of description and the tools based on the method of finite elements are not always appropriate to industrial applications. The typical thickness of adhesive joints (several hundred micrometres) requires the adoption of specific methodologies. What then are the techniques to be adopted to define and measure a glued assembly?The task was initially to arrive at a quasi-static behaviour model, sufficiently predictive to guarantee the use of structural gluing. To attain intrinsic non-linear behaviour of an adhesive joint, an experimental provision of the “Arcan” type (fig.1) was developed and made it possi-ble to identify and subsequently quantify dissipating phenomena such as damaging.It was possible to identify the probable causes of “thickness effects” highlighted experimentally through an incursion on a microstructural scale (fig. 2). The causes were probably the origin of a disputed distinction between the behaviour of a mass adhesive and that of an adhesive seal.

According to these observations, a behaviour model based on the thermodynamics of continuous fluids was put forward. The formulation was derived from the Drucker-Prager criteria for taking account of dependence vis-à-vis hydrostatic pressure. The damaging was dealt with in a phenomenological manner through a description of microstructural mechanisms.Independently of the behavioural study of the adhesive, its industrial use requires design tools adapted to methods through finite elements. The location of hyperstresses on multi-material structures frequently requires the use of too large a number of elements. A new approach based on a hierarchical formulation (version “p”) has been used for taking account of localized phenomena governing the behaviour of adhesive seals while guaranteeing compatibility with less sophisticated industrial modelling.It has also been envisaged (fig. 3) to extend quasi-statically available tools for variations in repeated stress and in severe environmental conditions.

Fig. 1: testing device for soliciting a test item glued in various angular positions. High-resolution sensors are required for assessing distortion within the adhesive joint.

Fig. 2: study of the MEB of cutting tests in order to understand the influence of loading on the damaging of the adhesive.

Fig.3: numerical evidence of residual constraints resulting from reticulation. Such initial damaging probably contributes to the “thickness effects” observed macroscopically.

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50 materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007 51mines paristech / mat

former having the advantage of greater facility of mani-pulation, the latter having greater forecasting capacity.

Phenomenological models. This theme brings together stress-deformation behaviour models and the forecasting of the onset of fissures. Among the former, there are plasticity and viscoplasticity models based on quadratic criteria and crystalline viscoplasticity models. Emphasis is placed, firstly, on complex loadings (cyclical, anisothermal, multi-axial, random) and, secondly, on monotonic problems linked to behaviour and ductile rupture damage with, systematically, a comparison with experience. It is also within this framework that models are being developed regarding the mechanics of multi-purpose continuous media, which can account for the effect of steep gradients, and therefore reflect the effects of scale.

Heterogeneous media. After having been directed for many years towards questions of changes in scale, research now gives priority to calculation through finite elements of real or synthetic microstructures. This approach affords access to very marked heterogeneity, critical for defining damage models. This field, given the name of microstructure calculation, has developed as a new branch of numerical simulation. It is obviously a long-term task which benefits from progress achieved in computers and calculation codes such as those for

conducting micromechanical tests, so that an optimal dialogue can be established between simulations and experiments. The calculations undertaken by the team are on a mesoscopic scale and deal with polycrystalline aggregates and biphased volume elements. The aim is to describe such heterogeneity, the influence of the surface or the role of grain boundaries and to define an element of “representative” volume for elementary properties and a morphology of constituent parts.

Processing of linked problems. We are more and more frequently faced with problems which bring into play phenomena of various kinds (thermomecha-nics, naturally, but also mechanical dissemination for studying oxidation, corrosion under stress or thermal barriers, phase changes and neutronic-thermal-mecha-nical changes). Thanks to the numerical processing of these problems, it has become possible to implement a generic model for dealing with coupled problems in the Z-set code. Attention has also been given to developing numerical simulation methods of the phase field type whereby it would be possible to process on a modular basis several classes of “multi-physical” problems.

Reflection on the code structure. The Centre’s stra-tegy since the beginning of numerical developments has been to design and develop its own software. This task is considered to be a research activity as it constitutes

rupture of turbomachine disksThesis by Matthieu Mazière – Contact: Jacques Besson, Samuel Forest

Improvements to current turbomachines requires more or less complex forecasting of the lifespan of their component parts. The high-speed resistance of revolving components (fig. 1) is also a fundamental verification to be conducted when designing new motors. Mechanical engineers are therefore required to demonstrate on testing that the relevant components do not rupture under the effect of centrifugal loading at speeds exceeding normal operating conditions by 20%. Trends in regulations provide for the ultimate use of numerical methods for certifying such components. The aim of such research is to validate a numerical method for forecasting rupture with the aid of high-speed tests, with a view to discarding the latter during the certification process. This positions this study at the limit between the mechanical description of metallic materials and the development of numerical tools for non-linear simulations with finite elements in order to enable the industrial partner to improve methods for the design of disks. The results obtained have made it possible to determine the importance of parameters regarding the behaviour of the material in comparison with the numerical forecast of the extreme speed of the disks (fig. 2). A reliable method for forecasting rupture at ambient temperature has been put forward and validated by comparison with rupture tests thanks

to the Z-set calculation code (developed at the Centre) and Ansys (commercial code used by the industrial partner).

Fig. 2: 3D modelling of the loca-tion of the distortion speed in a quarter of a turbomachine disk.

Fig. 1: Turboméca motor.

50 materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007 51mines paristech / mat

a privileged means of accumulating and transmit-ting expertise. Such activities now focus on the Z-set calculation system which comprises, in addition to the ZéBuLon solver, pre- and post-processing modules, a module for the evaluation of damaging, a numerical integration module and a general-purpose optimiser. The ensemble makes up an autonomous software, specially aimed at the development of behavioural laws. The materials library, which contains a consi-derable number of models devised by the Centre or from the literature, is interfaced with major commer-cial codes. The code is available on a parallel calculator.

The object-oriented approach which has been used facilitates management of the growing complexity of the ensemble. Current developments are aimed at obtaining better performance in massive paral-lel calculation (several hundred processors) and in the presence of contacts and friction. Development of the code is conducted in the context of a group which, in addition to the Centre, comprises ONERA and Northwest Numerics (Seattle, USA). The code is also a sensitive working tool for several industries with which the Centre maintains privileged relations, particularly SNECMA, CEA and EDF.

measurements of fields and identification of crystalline plasticity modelsThesis by Céline Gérard – Contact: Georges Cailletaud

The assessment of the properties of materials on the basis of their constituent parts is a rapidly developing field, which benefits from progress achieved simultaneously in testing methods and calculation capacity, whereby it is possible to envisage increasingly complex theoretical models. This study has been conducted with the assistance of several laboratories including LPMTM (University of Paris 13) and LMS (École Polytechnique) in order to permit access to the most sophisticated experimental and numerical techniques.The material under consideration is copper on which research has focused, on the mechanisms of deformation under monotonic, cyclical and multi-axial loading. The surface microstructure is analysed by EBSD (fig. a) for a traction test along a horizontal axis, whereby it is possible to describe the distorted zones on the microstructural scale (several micrometres). Images reveal a very hete-rogeneous nature of deformation which can be monitored during loading. These tests can then be used in two different ways by bringing into play calculations with finite elements: it is possible to achieve an accurate reproduction of a given area of the surface of the sample (a square with sides of several hundred micrometres). Thanks to this approach, it is possible to qualify models of crystalline plasticity inspired by various “schools of thought”;it is also possible to conduct calculations of representative microstructures (fig. b) which can be exploited statistically. These calcula-tions make it possible to test scale transition models which can account for how local heterogeneous phenomena are achieved, by defining the redistribution of local constraints linked to intergranular local plastic deformations. This type of microstructural calcula-tion has been made possible by the Centre’s cluster and the parallel version of the ZéBuLoN calculation code.

Fig.b : maillage 3D d'une microstructure représentative et champ de déformation plastique équivalente calculé :

• déformation min (bleu) 0 % ; • déformation max (rouge) 4 %).

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Fig. a: field of deformation measured on the surface of the sample:

size of the area 500 μm x 500 μm;minimum deformation (blue) 0%;maximum deformation (red) 5%..

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Valorization group (VAL)Farida Azzouz, Laurent Jeanfaivre, Stéphane Quilici,

Benoît Serre

The VALorization group lies at the intersection between research and industrial reality. Its activities gravitate essentially around the ZéBuLoN calculation code, specialized in materials with non-linear behaviour. At an interface between research laboratories and industry, VAL operates:

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upstream and downstream of theses, in the context of research projects in liaison with the CoCas group;as a sub-contractor in the Centre’s areas of competence through studies and expert appraisals. These partnerships with industry can lead, either through implementation of complex calculations, or through the development via the ZéBuLoN calculation code to new operating skills responding to specific industrial needs;in the distribution of the code, involving the management of licences as well as the provision of technical assistance;in training courses provided in the fields of application of the code.

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52 materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007 5�

Iso-values of the von Mises constraint. The correspon-ding calculation, which involves 250,000 degrees of liberty, was post-processed with a lifespan model providing rupture zones and the number of associated cycles. The application is part of the partnership with Montupet, aimed at simulating behaviour under fatigue conditions with a substantial number of cycles under extreme solicitations of an aluminium wheel for equip-ping French general public vehicles.

Joint servicesTheir task is to manage and make available common equipment to research teams and often to develop new

experimental devises. Some of these functional groups are also involved in training activities as well as in the provision of services, particularly for SMEs and expert consultancy. The list of these services and the persons in charge of them is as follows:

Analyses, Microscopy, Images: François Grillon, Franck N’Guyen;Workshop, Instrumentation, Electronics: Michel Rousselot, Joseph Valy;Means of Communication and Calculation: Grégory Sainte-Luce;Administration, Documentation, General Services: Daniel Broussaud, Martine Dadci, Isabelle Olzenski, Odile Adam.

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significant eventsEighteen doctoral theses were submitted, two books and 120 articles and conference records published in international periodicals with a reading panel.

The Centre organized in Paris the Socrax Workshop on “Deformation and Fracture in Nickel-Base Superalloys at Eleva-ted Temperatures: Testing, Modelling and Application”, the 17th International Workshop on Computational Mechanics of Materials (IWCMM17), the 11th International Symposium on Continuum Models and Discrete Systems (CMDS11), the 10th FIRTECH FORUM “Mécanique et Matériaux” (FFMMIF) and the Fifth European Conference on Constitutive Models for Rubber (ECCMR) bringing together on each occasion several hundred international delegates

The Jacques POMEY medal, which awards a scientist under 32 years of age for a remarkable communication

on the occasion of the Journées de Printemps de la Commission “Fatigue” of the SF2M was awarded to Fabien Szmytka, a Ph.D. student in the CHT team. Samuel Forest was elected to the Editorial Commit-tee of Philosophical Magazine, the longest-established scientific journal in the United Kingdom, published since 1798 and has included contributors such as Fara-day, Joule, Maxwell and Rutherford, The biennial Plumey prize of the Academy of Sciences in mecha-nical and computer sciences 2007 was awarded to Samuel Forest.

The Centre joined the Matériaupôle Proced Seine-Amont, the first pole of its kind in France, which brings together grandes écoles, technical laboratories and centres, and local authorities, and has the aim of pooling different skills in order to achieve the best compromises between the transformation and func-tional and environmental processing of materials.

installation of premises dedicated to the manipulation of powders and nanomaterialsJean-Dominique Bartout, Nicole De Dave-Fabrègue – Contact: Jean-Dominique Bartout

The Materials Centre uses and studies powders for the production of metallic and ceramic mechanical components for the aeronautical and automotive industries and for fuel cell components. Innovative processes, such as plasma projection deposit, “cold spray”, also use increasingly fine powders. The Centre is also interested in the rapid production of components through calcination and laser projection and will soon be equipped with the relevant machinery.The utilization and manipulation of powders will become an increasingly common geographical feature within the Centre. It has therefore been decided to limit their circulation (as some may be hazardous through their toxicity or size), and to rationalize and update the means of manipulation and utilization of such materials. The aim is therefore to concentrate activities for the synthesis of powders, manipulation and measurements in locations near to the “poles” where they will be used. Aside from the usual laboratory equipment, the “synthesis” area has been equipped with a new kiln for thermal treatment under controlled atmosphere, and a serigraphic machine for the production of multi-layers. Safety conditions have been improved for the storage and manipulation of hazardous products.The “powders” area enables the user to store, manipulate and mix in either dry or humid conditions, sift and weigh with precision, and compact in full safety while conducting research under a dedicated ventilation hood (metals or ceramics). All of the equipment is in a depression atmosphere in order to avoid the scattering of particles in the area. The ventilation hoods operate in a closed-circuit fashion and no effluent is released outside the labo-ratory. It was possible to construct these installations through funding from the Carnot M.I.N.E.S. Institute.

The “powder” area is part of a thematic, geographical ensemble which brings together plasma projection and “cold spray” premises, laser calcination, means for the measure-

ment of finished components and relevant thermal processing kilns.

52 materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007 5�

Solid mechanics laboratory (mines paristech / lms)Director:BernardHALPHEN

JointCentreMINESPARIS-PONTS-XMixedResearchUnitCNRS/X(UMR��9),DepartmentST2IoftheCNRS

Telephone 01�9��5�0�Fax 01�9��02�Email [email protected] http://www.mines-paristech.fr/Fr/LMS

Researchacademics �Otherstaff �5Ph.D.studentsinanotherinstitution��

trainingThe laboratory contributes substantially to the teaching of mechanics at the École Polytechnique (10 teachers among the researchers), in terms of its theoretical, experimental and numerical components, both in basic training courses as well as masters’. The labo-ratory is also active in the teaching courses at ENSTA.

researchThe laboratory’s research work focuses on the mecha-nical behaviour of materials and structures, on a scale ranging from the micron to the hectometre, both in terms of statistics and cold and hot dynamic conditions. The research is based on the development of experimen-tal methods, linked to analytical modelling and nume-rical simulation, with the aim of devising fundamental tools for solving industrial problems in the nuclear, transport, civil engineering, nuclear waste management and storage fields. Research on biomechanics has been developed for several years.

Dynamics, analysis and identification. In his thesis, in collaboration with LMT Cachan and LPMM Metz, Kamal Safa developed a method of analysing the test of dyna-mic confinement under very high pressure, with a view to applying it to concrete. With Vincent Grolleau, senior lecturer seconded to CNRS, a bulge test was developed in dynamics (deformation of a plate through application of pressure).

In liaison with SNCF, the thesis by Xavier Lorang focused on the analysis of the screeching of brakes on the French high-speed train (TGV) in order to find a remedy.

Bifurcation analyses and research on vibrations in frictio-nal contact have provided very encouraging results.

Non-linear dynamics has also been tackled in the thesis by Arnaud Lazarus on the dynamic analysis of ruptured rotors, in liaison with EdF-R\D and CEN-Saclay, in order to develop a method for detecting the existence of cracks. Discussion has focused on the modelling of a cracked section of a rotor with a non-linear elastic link.

The Cifre PSA thesis by Michel Eid is aimed at putting forward criteria, which can be used in industry, for analy-sing aspect defects due to local drying of stamped panels particularly for bodywork components.

The thesis by Stéphanie Chaillat, supervised by Marc Bonnet and Jean-François Semblat (LCPC), focuses on the development of the Fast Multipole Method in an approach to integral equations of tridimensional elasto-dynamics. This research is principally focused on geody-namic calculations such as site effects for complex geome-trical configurations.

In the context of the thesis by José Lozada and in colla-boration with Moustapha Hafez (CEA-LIST), a mechanical behaviour model for a traditional piano key was devised. A new mecatronic device likely to reproduce the dynamics of a piano key was then developed and patented. It is based on the control of a magneto-rheological fluid which modulates the braking on a mobile component driven by the operator. During the development process, a new mode of interaction between the mobile structure and a magneto-rheological fluid was discovered (patent in the course of registration).

Fatigue, rupture, contact, interfaces and discontinui-ties. While working on his thesis (CIFRE PSA), supervised jointly by Luc Rémy (Materials Centre), Fabien Szmytka put forward new thermo-elastroviscoplastic behaviour models in the context of the scaling of thermomechani-cal fatigue in car components. Gwenaël Edeline (thesis CNRS-SAFRAN) has developed a robust implicit numerical calculation strategy, through the finite element method (ZeBuLoN) for simulating the external propagation of random tridimensional fissures subject to a mixed mode loading in an elastic environment with initial stresses. The thermomechanical fatigue of elastomers, while accounting for thermomechanical coupling, has been the subject of the thesis by Yann Le Chenadec in the context of a contract with PSA.

The thesis by Pierre Lefranc, directed by Véronique Doquet, conducted in collaboration with LMPM Poiters

5� materials sciences and enGineerinG : activity report 2007

and in partnership with SNECMA-Moteurs, is aimed at exploring the causes of rupture in titanium alloy compo-nents after subjection to high stress in ambient tempe-rature. This research has already provided explanations for the phenomenon on a microscopic scale.

Heterogeneous material mechanics. In the context of two ANR projects, Tomosolidad and Micromodex, post-doctoral research by Yannick Pannier has adapted algorithms for the correlation of images to situations in which the contrast between images is episodic, such as those encountered in the solidification of alloys, and has refined the analysis of images of clay rocks. The ongoing thesis by Céline Gérard, supervised by Georges Cailletaud (Materials Centre) and in partnership with EdF, LPMTM and ENSAM in the context of the F2M-msp federation, focuses on a confrontation between multi-scale experimental descriptions, numerical simulations by finite elements of polycrystalline aggregates and modelling by homogenization.

Kostas Danas, in his thesis supervised by Pedro Ponte Castañeda, applies non-linear homogenization methods to viscoplastic porous media. His research has revealed change in microstructures and, more especially, in poro-sity, that is very different from that of the classical Gurson model. Nicolas Rupin, whose thesis is directed by Michel Bornert and André Zaoui, in collaboration with Pierre Gilormini (ENSAM), has focused on hot deformation of austeno-ferritic biphased steels. The various modelling procedures he has conducted modify the respective roles of morphology and local cold-rolling.

Biomechanics and biomaterials. In the context of collaboration with a team from the Kremlin-Bicêtre hospital (JE 2494), and with a view to improving the fitting of shoulder prostheses, the laboratory has studied the mechanical behaviour of the glenoid, the articular socket of the shoulder blade which is opposite the tip of the humerus, while taking account of the gradients of the elastic properties of cancellous bone.

As regards cellular movement, we studied and simulated numerically, in collaboration with Brown University, the movement of a Listeria bacterium which advances by polymerising the cytoskeleton of the infected cell behind it. It was possible to reproduce the form of the comet observed experimentally, as well as the impact of the surrounding medium on the progress of the bacterium.

Furthermore, a model of muscular sarcomere was developed which enables the reproduction, on a macros-copic scale, of two main types of experience: the force exerted by the muscle during a momentary elongation and the speed of contraction of the muscle under a specific load.

Geomaterials and geological work. In collabora-tion with the Brouard Consulting and Respect research departments, and on behalf of the SMRI, LMS examined the interpretation of salt-based tightness tests in caves. Transitory extrusion during a variation in internal pres-sure, which is of vital importance in such observations, was studied by Mehdi Karimi-Jafari in his thesis, super-vised by Pierre Bérest.

Mehrdad Emami-Tabrizi, in his thesis, devised a new method of ultrasound auscultation of rocks, which accu-rately determines their non-linear behaviour threshold before rupture.

In his thesis, which was the subject of collaboration with IFP, Jérémie Dautriat studied the evolution of the permeability of carbonates under stress. RX microto-mography shows that the diminution of permeability is linked to the diffused damage of the matrix and the collapse of non-localized porosity.

As regards high-temperature rocks, original results were obtained on the linkage between dissolution and precipitation phenomena and the rheology of partially fused silicates.

significant eventsNguyen Quoc Son, CNRS Research Director, was awarded the 2007 Jaffé Prize by the Institut de France; Andrei Constantinescu, CNRS Research Director, is co-author with Alexander Korsunsky, professor at Oxford Univer-sity, of the work entitled Elasticity with MATHEMATICA®, Cambridge University Press, 2007; Xavier Boutillon, CNRS Research Director, Moustapha Hafez, CEA senior expert, and José Lozada, Ph.D. student, registered on 15 October 2007 a national patent entitled “Dispositif d’amortissement apte à offrir une raideur augmentée”.

In July 2007, LMS organized an international confer-ence on the theme “Thermo-mechanical modelling of solids”, which brought together 90 international resear-chers in Palaiseau; it also organized, in December, the annual seminar of the Lagrange laboratory, a European research group.

The laboratory acquired an electronic scanning microscope (Quanta 600 FEG of FEI). It can improve the resolution of objects analysed thanks to its field emission gun, and to extend the range of materials observed in conditions close to real conditions or for components in use, thanks in particular to its environmental chamber (partial pressure up to 2,600 Pascals). It was possible to transfer our mechanical testing facilities into the cham-ber of this new microscope.

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The Department’s work is very varied and focuses on the following axes:

control perception (signal processing and image analysis);process control;correction and efficient compilation of computer programs;documentary research tools;bio-informatics.

Control perception

T wo major approaches are used for control perception. The Mathematical Morpho-logy Centre (CMM), as its name suggests,

studies techniques based on mathematical morpho-logy. This particular science, based on its own stochas-tic and algebraic methods, facilitates the analysis of images by identifying and modelling the objects which make them up and by detecting some of their structu-ral properties. The images processed by mathematical morphology are very varied: X-rays of technical or biological objects, electronic microscopic images, analy-sis of situations for assisting automatically controlled driving. Furthermore, mathematical morphology has also been at the origin of signal processing techni-ques (continuous measurement of blood glucose) and original, promising techniques for the compression of animated images. Today, there is a distinct return to the processing of images of medical origin.

The Robotics Centre (CAOR) studies algorithms for real-time analysis of tridimensional situations for appli-

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cations linked to the smart car (collaboration with INRIA in the context of the LARA Joint Research Unit). CAOR has also developed skills in “virtual reality” and “telepresence” whereby applications can be implemented such as the remote control of robots.

Process and optimization controlAutomatic control systems, historically the School’s field of excellence, has provided training for many executives in industry and public bodies. The two centres invol-ved in this field are the Automatic Control Systems Centre (CAS) in Fontainebleau and the Applied Mathematics Centre (CMA) in Sophia Antipolis.

The main research themes include:control and filtering systems with, in particular, research on differentially flat systems (CAS) and the stabilization of infinite dimension systems described by partially derived equations (CMA);control strategies developed by computer specia-lists are used in particular for controlling mecha-nical and electrical systems and for controlling process engineering, such as in chemical plants and refineries;the optimization of energy systems.

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high-resolution imaging for the benefit of medical research

The Pierre Fabre pharmaceutical laborato-ries, in collaboration with the Mathematical Morphology Centre, the Bio-informatics Centre and the ADCIS company, are going to develop an innovative strategy based on high-resolution imaging for the descrip-tion of proteins involved in the division of human cancerous cells and modulating molecules.Through the multi-parametrical marking of cells and computerized microscopy, collections of images will be generated (see photo) which represent phenotypes

induced by various known pharmacological treatments (molecules, RNAi). An automated analysis tool will make it possible to define a phenotypical profile associated with the various treatments, thereby reflecting their mode of action. Ultimately, these phenotypical profiles will serve as a comparative reference for the mechanistic characte-rization of proteins and anti-proliferative molecules.

5� applied mathematics, compUter science, systems and control: activity report 2007 5�

Ph.D. coursesMathematicsandcontrolsystems

Person in charge: Jean Lévine (CAS), Fontainebleau

Real-timeinformatics,roboticsandcontrolsystemsPersons in charge: Yves Rouchaleau and Jean-Paul Marmorat (CMA), Sophia Antipolis

MathematicalmorphologyPerson in charge: Dominique Jeulin (CMM), Fontainebleau

Specialized coursesProject-modemanagement(MMP)

Persons in charge: Robert Mahl (CRI) and Alain Berdugo (HEC), Paris

Specializedmastère(MS),OSE“Energyengineeringandmanagement”(CMA/CEP)

Person in charge: Gilles Guerassimoff (CMA), Sophia Antipolis

Specializedmastère(MS),ManagementofInformationandtechnologysystems

Persons in charge: Marie-Hélène Delmond (HEC) and Robert Mahl (CRI), Paris and Jouy-en-Josas

Specializedmastère(MS),Engineering,productionandinfrastructuresinopensystems

Person in charge: Robert Mahl (CRI), Paris

Specializedmastère(MS),Industrialmanagementandlogisticalsystems

Person in charge: Hugues Molet (CAOR), Paris

The behaviour of computer programsResearch in Sophia Antipolis and Fontainebleau focuses on the analysis of the properties of sequen-tial, synchronous and parallel programs, in order to analyse and predict their behaviour before implemen-ting them, to automatically verify their correction and even to compile them efficiently.

The team of the Computer Research Centre (CRI) in Fontainebleau has developed methods of compilation for transforming conventional sequential program-mes into programmes that can be implemented effi-ciently on multi-processor architecture. The objective is to increase robustness substantially and to process applications which account for hundreds of thousands of code lines, which require high-performance linear algorithms.

The Applied Mathematics Centre in Sophia Anti-polis (CMA) conducts modelling of parallel and distri-buted “real-time” systems, particularly synchronous parallel reactive languages in which events are taken account of when time settings go off, which radically simplifies problems without reducing performance, given the rapid frequency of time settings. This research has led to the development of the ESTEREL language, for which industrial use is provided by the Esterel Technologies start-up.

Cooperative environmentsThe expansion of the Internet and major heteroge-neous databases requires the development of power-ful search engines.

After having developed innovative technology, incorporated in the well-known AltaVista research engine, the School contributed to the creation of the Exalead company, a leader on the market for the indexation of company networks.

The CRI has developed the SPIRIT research engine which can be used in natural language on several exis-ting bases. The CRI is working on the development of techniques related to cooperative platforms with, on the one hand, the representation of structured data in XML-based languages and, on the other hand, the development of tools which can improve the uses of cooperative platforms.

Bio-informaticsThe Bio-informatics team, set up in 2002, is conti-nuing its development by tackling the analysis of heterogeneous data derived from biological mate-rial, such as DNA sequences, proteins, interaction data provided by bio-chips, tridimensional structures, etc., with a view to their integration, analysis, prediction and modelling, particularly for contributing to the development of medicines. Several partnership projects have helped to set up the collaboration requi-red, particularly with the Institut Curie and Institut Pasteur.

5� applied mathematics, compUter science, systems and control: activity report 2007 5�

Director:PhilippeMARTIN

Scientificadvisers:Jean-MichelCoron,MichelFliessTelephone 01��9��1�Fax 01��9�8�[email protected] http://www.mines-paristech.fr/Fr/CAS

Researchacademics �Otherstaff �MINESParisTechPh.D.students 9Ph.D.studentinanotherinstitution 1

Automatic control engineering and systems centre (mines paristech / cas)

The CAS is involved in control-command systems of all kinds (mechanical, chemical and electrical). The aim is to design “automatic control systems”, making use of real-time programs on an embedded calculator, which ensure pre-specified dynamic behaviour. The methods used are linked essentially to physics and mathema-tics: modelling and identification, dynamic simulation, control theory… The activities of the CAS focus around university research work (with internationally recogni-zed competence in the field of non-linear theoretical automatic control systems), direct collaboration with industry (with the aim of achieving practical facilities benefiting from the best-adapted theoretical contribu-tions) and training activities (teaching in the second and third university cycles, training courses, supervision of theses and specialized courses).

trainingThe activities of the CAS with regard to training

comprise three facets:supervision of Ph.D. students preparing a MINES ParisTech doctorate in Mathematics and control systems;courses in various engineering schools and master’s degrees;participation in specialized training courses (summer schools, international seminars, professional training courses).

List of the main coursesMINES ParisTech

course in Automatic control systems in the common core (Nicolas Petit, Pierre Rouchon) and practicals;specialized teaching in Discrete mathematics (Pierre Rouchon, Laurent Praly);specialized teaching in Optimization (Nicolas Petit);

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participation in the common core course entitled Introduction to scientific calculation (Laurent Praly);practicals in Mathematics 2 (Silvère Bonnabel).

École Centrale Pariscommon core course in Automatic control systems (Philippe Martin) and practicals (Silvère Bonnabel, Erwan Salaün, David Vissière);course on Control in process engineering, part of the Processes and environment specialized module (Philippe Martin, Nicolas Petit).

ENSTAcommon core courses in Automatic control systems (Nicolas Petit) and practicals (David Vissière);course on Flatness control, in the Advanced automatic control systems module (Nicolas Petit).

Research Master’s degreeMathematics, vision, learning, ENS Cachan: course on Dynamics, control systems and robotics (Pierre Rouchon);IST, speciality Sciences of automatic control systems and signal processing, Paris-Sud University: course on Introduction to non-linear control systems (Jean Lévine); course on Non-linear stabilization (Laurent Praly).

University of Newcastle (Australia), School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Graduate course on Introduction to flatness theory (Jean Lévine).

researchCAS research is centred around several themes related to automatic control systems. Some themes corres-pond more to the fundamental aspects of theoretical automatic control while others to fields of application (each field of application requiring, by virtue of its specificity, adequate command methods): Naturally, there is strong interaction between these themes.

Themes bearing on the fundamental aspects of automatic control:

non-linear stabilization via return state or exit;“differentially flat” systems;optimization, optimal and under stress command;systems with partial derivatives and flatness;observation facilities, filtering, wavelets.

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58 applied mathematics, compUter science, systems and control: activity report 2007 59

Themes bearing on fields of application of automatic control systems:

aeronautics and aerospace (particularly mini-drones);automotive industry (components and motors);process engineering;electrical machinery;mechanical systems;quantum systems.Industrial collaboration

Industrial collaboration projects Industrial collaboration projects have been conducted within the context of ARMINES research contracts and concern practical problems defined by our industrial partners. Industrial research of this kind provides an opportunity to confront our methods with industrial reality and thereby develop new methods; it consti-tutes a permanent source of renewal of our scientific problems.

Principle industrial partners:Total (polymerization reactor control, software sensors, control of oil exploitation wells with gas-lift);

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prize-winning cas students in 2007Jonathan chauvin: ParisTech 2007 Thesis Prize for his thesis on Estimation et contrôle d’un moteur Diesel HCCI. Estimation des systè-mes périodiques;vincent andrieu: GdR-MACS Prize for the Best Theses, 2007 session, for his thesis on Bouclage de sortie et observateur;silvère Bonnabel: 2007 laureate of the Concours d’aide à la création d’entreprises de technologies innovantes, “En émergence” category (subsidy of €45,000), for his project on Technologie anti-ballant pour tous types de grue, in association with two students from HEC;pierre-Jean Bristeau: Grand Prix d’Option de l’École Polytechnique for his contribution during his CAS training period to the Mini-drone helicopter project.

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Schneider-Toshiba Inverter (“sensor-free” control of asynchro-nous electric motors);Institut Français du Pétrole (control of combustion in diesel engines, positioning of the riser head, modelling and control of flow in “severe slugging”, predictive control in the petro-chemi-cal industry);DGA/LRBA (joint control of drones);Air Liquide (control of autonomous units for high-purity gas production).

Several control algorithms, directly derived from CAS collaborations, are used in industry: quality management of a distillation unit (Colbin software, Total), advanced management of polyethylene and polypropylene units (Total), control and real-time optimization of mixtures in refining (Anamel V4 software, Total), “sensor-free” speed variators for the asynchronous electric motor (Schneider Inverter), Base-Stop anti-vibration precision positioning system (Micro-Controle).

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mini-drone helicopterIn partnership with DGA

In collaboration with the Laboratory for ballistic and aerodynamic research (LRBA) of the Délégation Générale pour l’Armement, the CAS

has developed a mini-drone helicopter (rotor diameter 1.90 m). Its navigation system was devised on the basis of low-cost components (less

than €3,000). Scenarios for the use of such a machine are numerous, both in the military field (reconnaissance, identification of targets) and

in the civilian field (fire detection, civil engineering structures).

In scientific terms, the main difficulty consisted in estimating the attitude and position of the drone with sufficient accuracy in order to

stabilize it in spite of disturbances such as gusts of wind which can occur at any

time. To achieve this on the basis of MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical-systems)

low-cost sensors, a sound equation model is required of flight mechanics. In such

equations, the principal phenomenon is the dynamics linking the orders of the

servomotors of the head-rotor to forces and momentum which the latter may

exert on the rest of the aircraft. This phenomenon brings into play the principal

of cyclical pace control as well as an assessment of the aerodynamic forces rela-

ted to centrifugal effects. The position of the rotor-disk is therefore determined

according to the balance between the effective incidence of each of the blades

and their vertical movement. The inclination of the rotor-disk ultimately gives

the direction of the resulting aerodynamic force exerted by the rotor head on

the aircraft. This model was integrated into the airborne control system of the

helicopter. It provides, in real time (75 Hz), an estimation of altitude and position,

which is used by the algorithm for the stabilization of the automatic pilot.

The helicopter in autonomous stationary flight just above ground level.

58 applied mathematics, compUter science, systems and control: activity report 2007 59

trainingThe Centre is very actively engaged in teaching in the School, namely:

responsibility for the Mareva macro-specialized module in 2nd year, plus two specialized modules in robotics and production systems and logistics;organization of five specialized courses: Virtual reality, Production systems and logistics, Global logistical chain, Acoustics, Computer Science and Music, Machine learning;participation in common core courses in automatic control systems and electronics, mathematics and in ISIA;teaching in méchatronics, strongly oriented towards new tech-nologies with the realization of innovative projects;participation in the master’s degree in RV&SI (Virtual reality and smart systems);in charge of the specialized MISL mastère (Industrial manage-ment and logistical systems);participation in teaching in ISUPFERE and in continuous educa-tion;introduction to Production systems and logistics for graduate engineers.

researchResearch conducted at the Robotics Centre is aimed at increasing the autonomy and performance of robotic systems, improving the man/machine relationship and optimizing human and material resources in human activities.

The autonomy of robots depends on the percep-tion functions and modelling of the environment. That is why a substantial part of our research efforts is devoted to visual perception, multi-sensorial fusion,

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the analysis and comprehension of scenarios, and the geometrical and photometrical reconstruction of reality. These research themes are declined in contexts that are applicable to mobile robotics and more parti-cularly to assisted automobile driving, for purposes of comfort and safety.

Software architecture and embedded systems

Mohamad Othman Abdallah, Sébastien Boisgérault, Arnaud de La Fortelle, Claude Laurgeau,

Sébastien Moutault, Bruno SteuxWe have launched the design of a new generation of software tools for the rapid prototyping of mobile and communicating robotic systems. Research has focused on the design of software prototyping tools, models of components and implementation architecture.

This activity is part of the ongoing development of the RTMaps prototyping software platform. Ongoing developments respond to new needs in terms of ITS applications: real-time and interactive applications, communicating and distributed systems (V2V and V2I networks), increased demand for robustness and safety of applications, and the emergence of a new standard of development for AUTOSAR software components.

These developments can be seen in two new projects approved within the System@tic competi-tiveness pole by Numatech Automative: AROS and EDONA

AROS (Automative Robust Operating Services) is a new project launched by the Robotics Centre. Its aim is to design a real-time execution tool for managing distributed applications in a transparent manner, while ensuring their temporal consis-tency. Furthermore, AROS can manage dynamic systems in which components can be dynamically inserted, connected, disconnected and destroyed, without having to restart the whole system. The targets aimed at by AROS are small 32-bit processors without operating systems – for embedded control applications – up to Linux and Windows multi-processing servers. AROS is funded by the ANR in the context of the PREDIT programme.EDONA is a project of the Automobile and Transport thematic group of the System@tic competitiveness pole, which involves a design platform for automobile software systems. Our contri-bution focuses on developing a human/machine interface design tool, based on our implementation architecture.

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Robotics centre (mines paristech / caor)

Director:ClaudeLAURGEAUArnauddelaFORTELLE(asfrom�mars2008)

Telephone 01�0519255Fax 01��2�1051Email [email protected]

Webandpublications http://www.mines-paristech.fr/Fr/CAOR

Researchacademics 1�Otherstaff �MINESParisTechPh.D.students 21Specializedcourses 19

�0 applied mathematics, compUter science, systems and control: activity report 2007 �1mines paristech / caor

Perception and comprehension of real-time situations through multi-sensors fusion and learning techniques

Samer Ammoun, Alexandre Bargeton, Amaury Breheret, Arnaud de La Fortelle,

Gwennaël Gâté, Hicham Ghorayeb, Omar Hamdoun, Claude Laurgeau, Fabien Moutarde, Fawzi Nashashibi,

Bogdan Stanciulescu, Bruno Steux, Philippe Zhang

The detection of objects via multi-sensor fusion

The involvement of the Centre in various projects of the competitiveness poles (notably NUM@TEC of the System@tic Pole) has made it possible to place emphasis on multi-sensors fusion for the detection and recognition of road obstacles and elements. Parti-cular attention has been given to the detection of pedestrians in the context of the LOVe project (Logi-ciels d’observations des vulnérables). Collaboration with major industrial groups (notably VALEO) has continued and has contributed to consolidating the team’s acknowledged expertise in the field of driving assistance. Our past endeavours have therefore risen from the research level to a status of industrial inte-gration and optimization.

The algorithms and tools developed by CAOR for visual detection and recognition of categories of objects, have obtained the best result in the ROBIN competition, organized in the context of the Techno-vision programme of the Ministries of Research and Defence.

Moving towards communicating vehicles

The fleet of the Robotics Centre’s equipped vehicles possessing means of long-distance communication V2I (vehicle towards infrastructure) and short-distance communication V2V (vehicle to vehicle) has conduc-ted its preliminary applications in road safety. These demonstrations, unique in France and probably in Europe, have displayed the distinct contribution of communication technology in the field of road safety and management of traffic flows. The results of this research have been published on an international level and have been validated in the context of a Ph.D. thesis and through the European COM2REACT project. Today, the path is now open towards new concepts and further research in this field which can be imple-mented within a European context.

Visual detection and recognition of road traffic signs

The aim is to enable a driver to be aware at all times of the applicable speed limit, including temporary speed limits that are not recorded in the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) of GPS navigators.

Collaboration with VALEO continued on this subject in 2007 with research providing significant improve-ments in the rate of satisfactory recognition of speed limit signs. Furthermore, new operating facilities have been developed: recognition of end-of-speed-limit signs, detection and recognition of certain minor signs located under road signs which modify their message (exits, types of vehicles concerned, etc.), and recognition of luminous signs (LED-type). Lastly, the combination of information derived from embed-ded numerical cartography (GIS) with that derived from image-analysis has been achieved on the basis of a theoretical framework of uncertain fusion. As for visual recognition, it is obtained through real-time analysis of video flows from an embedded camera, making use jointly of image analysis and processing algorithms and learning techniques for pattern-reco-gnition (neuron networks).

Interface of embedded signalling. It displays the various speed limits resul-ting from: the detection of speed limit signs by vision (left), the cartographical database (right), and the combination of both items of information (centre).

Towards smart videosurveillance…

A new research theme was opened, in partnership with the Mathematical Morphology Centre, aimed at transposing our experience of embedded perception and multi-sensor fusion in the field of surveillance for the security of goods and people. The VIGILE upstream project is funded by the CARNOT M.I.N.E.S. Institute. Preliminary research conducted by CAOR has focused on the tricky problem of the re-identification of a given person in fields of separate cameras on the basis of a “characteristic signature”.

The CAOR and CMM Centres have also taken part in undertaking the KIVAOU project, aimed particularly at the a posteriori reconstitution of people’s trajectories through several cameras. This project, coordinated by SAGEM, has been selected by the ANR and will begin in 2008.

Mobile mapping systemsXavier Brun, Safwan Chendeb,

Jean-Emmanuel Deschaud, François Goulette, Keerthi Narayan, Fawzi Nashashibi, Taha Ridene,

Joël Senpauroca, Hyun-Jae Yoo

We have continued our research on mobile mapping systems of which we are developing a prototype, the LARA-3D platform. This type of system responds to

�0 applied mathematics, compUter science, systems and control: activity report 2007 �1mines paristech / caor

a new, growing need for the intensive production of geographical maps for various applications (roads, tourism, etc.). The LARA-3D prototype vehicle is equipped with localization sensors (differential GPS, inertial Measurement unit IMU, odometer) for deter-mining spatial localization and an embedded laser scanning telemeter for conducting the digitizing of urban and road environments while the vehicle is moving. Ongoing research work on the installation of colour numerical cameras will make it possible to produce more realistic models through the addition of textures.

In scientific terms, we are working on the geome-trical and photometrical quality of models, on the fusion of various sources of geographical informa-tion (terrestrial and aerial) for producing more complex and realistic multi-resolution models and on improving the quality of the vehicle’s trajectories and localization.

This theme enables us to be involved in two appli-cation fields, road safety (the PREDIT projects VIZIR and DIVAS) and general public applications in terms of virtual navigation and preservation of the heritage (TERRA DATA project).

Research activities on the modelling of soft bodies in medical robotics were completed in 2007, with the end of the RNTS SIMV@L project and the presentation of Safwan Chendeb’s thesis. This work enabled to devise a new algorithm for real-time modelling of soft bodies coined as HEML (Hyper-Elastic Mass Links) – a more fruitful and rapid solution than the more commonly used algorithms on this subject – and an interface with virtual reality in order to simulate the use of surgical tools in endoscopy.

Interfacing in virtual reality and in augmented reality

Rasul Fesharaki, Philippe Fuchs, Laure Leroy, Alexis Palijic, Vincent Meyrueis

The Centre’s expertise in virtual reality focuses on the behavioural interfacing of man in a virtual world. Within the System@tic pole, in partnership with vehi-cle manufacturers and suppliers, and the CEA LIST, we took part in the IHS10 (Interface Homme Système en 2010) project whose aim is to simulate the interior of a car in order to study the design and ergonomy of the driver’s interfaces.

A room for the adapted relief visual immersion (with tracked head and eye) was installed at MINES ParisTech during 2007.

CAOR immersive room 3I2.

Scientific work focuses on:improving stereoscopic vision through the processing of spatial frequencies in wavelets and the validation of correspondence between the virtual model and the corresponding real object;the feasibility of modifying the product design directly in immer-sion. This consists in efficiently coupling the potentialities of CAO and RV, particularly with the exchange of CAO models and RV models, via the 3DXML standard.

With the PERF-RV2 platform, we have been studying, with vehicle manufacturers, the optimization of the configurations of effort response interfaces for the total immersion of a body. A programme has been developed for the optimization of the configuration of a cable inter-face. A thesis is nearing completion on the development of a new effort response interface with eight cables for major display devices, coupled to an exoskeleton. The aim of this research is to simulate control tasks on a dashboard or an assembly bench.

Advanced control systemsBrigitte d’Andréa-Novel,Clément Boussard, SungWoo,

Jean-Michel Coron, Choi, Michel Fliess, Hugues Mounier, Jorge Villagra

Assessment and automatic control of vehicles

In the area of automatic vehicle control, we have developed estimators devices for the absolute speed of the centre of gravity of the vehicle on the basis of measurements available on mass-produced vehicles. The estimations were obtained on the basis of recent algebraic methods of identification developed by the ALIEN team at INRIA Futur-Orsay. In this instance, we worked with their researchers on this project and, in particular, Michel Fliess. This research benefited from financial support of GdR MACS of the CNRS. Obtaining speed parameters is fundamental, inter alia, for identifying in real time the friction coeffi-cient of tyre/ground contact which is a determining safety factor.

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Collaboration has also begun with the VALEO company on the issue of lane keeping and adaptive cruise control, the purpose of which is to develop sound algorithms which take into account measure-ments of errors by sensors (radar, cameras, odome-ters, accelerometers) as well as obstacles detected by sensors. The algorithms must be implemented on a prototype vehicle produced by VALEO with the aid of data fusion software developed by another team at the Centre.

Infinite dimensional control

In the case of monodimensional hyperbolic non-linear systems of conservation laws, we have displayed a strict Lyapunov function which leads to the analysis of the exponential stability of the system through boundary feedback à la frontiere. Particularly favou-rable application conditions remain those of irrigation channels.

With regard to the ANR CONSONNES project (CONtrôle de SONs instrumentaux Naturels Et Synthétiques), we have pursued our research along two lines:

as regards the slide whistle, with the aid of the Musical Acoustics Laboratory of the University of Paris VI, we took into account the modelling of the dynamics of the air jet coupled with that of the resonator. A modal analysis on the basis of linearized boundary conditions made possible the elaboration of our automatic control algorithm. Production of the valida-tion model is continuing in the context of the School’s mecha-tronics project.

In cooperation with IRCAM, we have pursued our study of the observation and inversion of a simplified trumpet model for estimating the parameters of the musician’s performance on the basis of measurements of pressure exerted on the system. The system coupling the resonator to the mouthpiece was modelled in the form of a neutral, delaved non-linear system.

Production systems and logistics (SPL)Éric Ballot (in collaboration with the CGS), Loïc Delaitre,

Frédéric Fontane, Hugues Molet

Research activities linked to production models have continued to focus principally on the management of the global logistical chain.

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The study conducted with the Groupement Galia has continued on the use of TICs with automotive sector suppliers. The study has entered the phase of pilot projects with the partner regions.

Similarly, “internal” training programmes have been developed for the benefit of Arcelor. The objec-tive is to enable executives to integrate problems of supply chain management in their operational acti-vities.

Furthermore, training programmes have continued to be developed in synergy with the MISL specialized mastère.

The industrial delegation to Mexico for the SPL specialized module provided an opportunity for clear identification of the location characteristics of foreign companies. The SPL team is coordinating the Vendôme research group, on a national scale, with regard to the development of logistical chains.

significant eventsThe Robotics Centre is very active in the competitive-ness poles, particularly System@tic, Moveo and Cap Digital, as well as in various governance bodies, parti-cularly Numatech Automotive, the source of several research projects: LOVe, IHS10, AROS and EDONA.

At the European level, thanks to collaboration with INRIA (JRU LARA), CAOR has taken part in many European contracts, notably COM2REACT, Cybercars2, COOPERS, GEONET and Have It.

Direct collaboration with industrial partners, parti-cularly VALEO and PSA, has continued.

In 2007, the Centre’s scientific output included 5 theses, 14 publications, 23 presentations at confer-ences and approximately 10 scientific dissemination communications.

Work to install the 3I2 virtual reality room at MINES ParisTech has progressed well and the room will be inaugurated during 2008.

�2 applied mathematics, compUter science, systems and control: activity report 2007 ��

Director:Jean-PhilippeVERT

Publicrelations: IsabelleSchmittTelephone 01��9��81Fax 01��9��05Email [email protected]

Webandpublications http://cbio.mines-paristech.fr/

Researchacademics �Otherstaff 1MINESParisTechPh.D.students �Ph.D.studentsinanotherinstitution 2

Centre for computational biology (mines paristech / cBio)

. trainingThe CBIO’s contribution to the training of civil engi-neers at MINES ParisTech takes the form of specialized module courses, specialized courses in biotechnology and participation in the Engineer and health MIG. The Centre also contributes to teaching in the 2nd year of the master’s degree on Probabilities and applications at the University of Paris 6, as well as in the master’s degree on Mathematics, vision and learning at the École Normale Supérieure de Cachan.

researchThe main research activity at the Centre consists in developing innovative computational and mathema-tical methods for the analysis and modelling of biolo-gical and chemical data. These methods are usually developed within the context of joint projects of a biological or medical nature with academic and indus-trial partners.

Bioinformatics and cancerWe have intensified our efforts aimed at achieving greater understanding and modelling of various types of cancer and their progression at a molecular level, and at developing new therapies. For example, we have developed a strategic partnership with the bioinformatics department of the Institut Curie and

INSERM, which will lead in 2008 to the creation of an INSERM joint unit for research on the bioinformatics of cancer (U900), bringing together MINES ParisTech, the Institut Curie and INSERM, in which CBIO will be involved.

Our collaboration on the description of tumours with the Institut Curie (KERNELCHIP project, ACI Minis-try of Research funding 2004-2007) has led us to put forward new algorithms for integrating knowledge of genetic and protein networks in the analysis of gene expression data, in order to shed light on the biological processes that characterize various types of tumours. We have also extended our analysis to take account of detectable chromosomic aberra-tions through comparative genomic hybridization technology (CGH). This project also benefits from European support via the ESBIC-D project (European Systems Biology Initiative to Combat Complex Diseases, 2005-2007), which is aimed at developing a systems biology approach for studying cancer on a European scale, with the collaboration of the Institut Curie and other European partners (Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, German Cancer Research Centre, Tel-Aviv University, Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, Medical University Graz).

We have continued to develop statistical tools for the normalization of data produced by a new genera-tion of biochips in the context of the INDIGO project (Integrated highly sensitive fluorescence-based biosensor for diagnostic applications). This project, in which the Mathe-matical Morphology Centre is also involved, enjoys European funding (2005-2008) with partners such as Genewave, e2v, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, and Centro de Investigacion Principe Felipe.

Our collaboration CEA Grenoble, begun with the support of the Ligue contre le cancer (2005-2007), is aimed at developing a new technology of cell chips for high-flow cellular phenotyping. In that context, we have continued to develop the CellArray software integrating visualization functions and statistical tools for exploiting the data produced by the chips. Furthermore, our work on the analysis and prediction of efficiency of siRNA has led to experimental valida-tions of the control of the expression of certain genes involved in various cancers. We have also launched new collaboration with the CEA Biopuces Laboratory and other laboratories at MINES ParisTech (CMM, CEP

�� applied mathematics, compUter science, systems and control: activity report 2007 �5

and CDM), funded by the National Research Agency (ANR), in order to exploit cell chip technology for studying the toxicity of nanoparticles.

The BIOTYPE project (Multidimensional molecular and cellular biotyping, with funding from the competiti-veness pole, Medicen 2006-2009), aimed at achieving a detailed description of prostate tumours thanks to the use of various technologies, has continued. We were involved in particular in the modelling of phenomena of cellular proliferation visible with the aid of cell chips. The project, in which the Mathema-tical Morphology Centre is also involved, brings into play several academic partners (CEA, CeRePP, Insti-tut Pasteur, CEDIB) and industrial partners (IMSTAR, Sanofi-Aventis, SIBIO, Genomic Vision, PartnerChip, Genewave, Serial Genetics).

Lastly, we have launched new collaboration, involving in particular Pierre Fabre, the CNRS and the Mathematical Morphology Centre, aimed at discovering new anti-cancer molecules with the aid of screening through high-resolution imaging. This RAMIS project benefits from funding from the Cancer-Bio-Santé competitiveness pole (2007-2010).

Bioinformatics and malariaTwo ongoing projects are aimed at elucidating new therapeutic targets and offering new molecules for treating malaria.

We have, firstly, made progress in analysing data regarding the presence of the Plasmodium falciparum parasite, the cause of malaria, in collaboration with teams from the Institut Pasteur. We have in particular been able to highlight the complexity of the reaction of the parasite subject to various stresses in the expres-sion of its genes.

Secondly, we have been able to pursue our SUB2 inhibitor research, a protein which plays an important part in the parasite’s capacity to penetrate the red cells. SUB2 plays a critical part in the maturation of key membrane proteins for the invasion of the erythro-cyte. Our endeavours have enabled us to understand the way SUB2 interacts with the membrane and its reconnaissance mechanism for its natural substrates. It has also made it possible to identify three families of molecules that are capable of inhibiting the function of SUB2 and of stopping the cycle of parasites put in culture with human red cells.

Virtual screening and structural biologyWe are developing new methods for virtual scree-ning of the Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) and docking type on the basis of recent statisti-cal learning algorithms, particularly kernel methods. We have tested these methods on subjects of interest for the pharmaceutical industry, in collaboration with an industrial partner. We have also put forward a new strategy for in silico chemogenomics, whereby it is possible to predict protein inhibitors whose 3D structure is not yet known and which possess few or no known ligands. We have obtained promising results with regard to the screening of GPCR, the main current therapeutic targets. These developments have benefited since this year of specific support from the Institut CARNOT M.I.N.E.S.

MethodologyLastly, we have been very active in developing metho-dology for statistical learning by putting forward in particular:

new theoretical foundations and new algorithms for problems aimed at constructing predictive models for observation pairs (collaboration with INSEAD and the University of Berkeley), with applications in marketing, immunology and chemogenomics;new methods for the reconstruction of edges of a graph on the basis of observations on the vertices (collaboration with the University of Montpellier, the University of Kyoto and NIH funding with the Universities of Washington and Berkeley), with applications in the reconstruction of metabolic networks in particular;new inference algorithms for graphical models (draft project on Graphical Models and Applications 2007-2009 of the ANR, in collaboration with the École Normale Supérieure, TELECOM ParisTech and the École des Ponts et Chaussées, and collabora-tion with the University of Berkeley supported by the France-Berkeley Fund).

significant eventsThe principle of closer cooperation between CBIO and the Institut Curie and INSERM was acknowledged by the governing bodies of the various institutions and will materialize in 2008 through the creation of an INSERM mixed unit entitled “Cancer and Genome: bioinformatics biostatistics and epidemiology of a complex system”.

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�� applied mathematics, compUter science, systems and control: activity report 2007 �5

Director:NadiaMAïZIPublicrelations: DominiqueMicollierTelephone 0�9�15�0��Fax 0�9�15�0��Email [email protected]

Webandpublications http://www.mines-paristech.fr/Fr/CMA

Researchacademics 12Otherstaff 9MINESParisTechPh.D.students 2�Ph.D.studentinanotherinstitution 1Specializedcourses 20

Applied mathematics centre (mines paristech / cma)

trainingThe CMA plays a part in the executive engineering programme, organizes a MIG on the subject of embedded systems, takes part in the Athens weeks and is in charge of Ph.D. training on Real-time computer science, robotics and automatic control systems at MINES ParisTech, co-accredited with the STIC Doctoral School at UNSA. The CMA is also involved in the master’s degree courses at UNSA and at the University of Marseille-Provence.

Furthermore, the CMA is in charge of the specialized mastère in Energy engineering and management (OSE): http://www.ose.cma.fr which has hosted its eighth class of 20 students. For the first time, admission was open to two business graduates from ESSEC and HEC. The other students are from executive engineering schools (École Polytechnique, ESPCI, ENMSE, Supelec, Centrale Paris/University of Liège, Agro ParisTech, ENSMA, INSA and ENSTB). The sponsors which have now become regular include EdF, AREVA, AREVA T&D, ALCAN, SCHNEIDER Elec-tric, TOTAL and AIR LIQUIDE, together with the arrival of new entrants, TOPNIR and CNIM.

researchControl systems and optimisationA thesis on the global optimisation of the trajectories of interplanetary missions is in progress (funding from CNES and THALES-ALENIA-SPACE). A study on the use in such interplanetary missions of impulse manoeuvres in deep space is conducted with ESA. Another study being

conducted with ESA, and now completed, is a study on the design of multi-objective regulators (using an all-pass representation of the Youla parameter of the corrector and disturbance methods derived from conical programming). This study is being conducted at present with THALES-ALENIA-SPACE on a specimen of a satellite provided by the company. The same parametering of systems without losses is used in a study with CNES, IRCOM and THALES in collaboration with the APICS project of INRIA, for the synthesis of hyperfrequency filters and the optimisa-tion of the response of exit multiplexers in telecommunication satellites.

Identification and inverse problemsWith the APICS and ODYSSEE projects managed by INRIA, we have been studying a class of inverse problems concerning the detection of cracks on the basis of measu-rements of heat flows or electric potential on the edge of the field and the detection of dipolar sources on the basis of electro-encephalogram data for biomedical applications. In both cases, the internal model is gover-ned by a Laplacian and internal singularities of the solution are investigated. We tackle the more realistic case of dimension 3 and apply these methods to test data from industrial sources.

Design of embedded systems

We are developing, in collaboration with INRIA and UNSA, an environment dedicated to the design of synchro-nous factual systems present in embedded systems and founded on the formal methods of operating reliability. This project is being undertaken and supported in the context of an INRIA Color initiative.

The reactive approach is being developed in the context of a joint project with INRIA (the MIMOSA project (MIgration, MObilité, Sémantique et Applications).

Behaviour recognitionWe are involved in the SECMAR label project, of the MER PACA worldwide vocation Competitiveness Pole whose objective is to ensure “the safety of goods, persons and installations present in a sensitive maritime area” for which we are collaborating with industrial companies and suppliers such as THALES Underwater Systems, DEGREANE-HORIZON, DIGINEXT, ACSA, BERTIN Techno-logies, CHRISAR, CESIGMA and the I3S, LIRMM, LSEET (Toulon) and ENSSAT research teams.

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the Fos-sur-mer site selected for secmar In the SECMAR project, the CMA contributes to the design of the device for the automatic detection of the behaviour of suspicious objects present in the super-vised area. Two theses, begun in 2006 and 2007 on the modelling of suspicious behaviour are under way, the former based on Bayesian networks and Hidden Markov Models, while the latter is based on the recognition of scenarios on the basis of formal languages. The algorithms put forward by the CMA will be inte-grated into the prototype of the intrusion detection system, to be used on the Fos-sur-Mer site, and developed in the framework of this project..

Forecasting and optimisation

The aim of this project is to bring to light original exper-tise focusing on the energy sector in a changing context by regrouping our skills in modelling, optimisation and operational research, control theory and decision-making, and real-time computer science. We have developed a forecasting approach based on the optimisation of a tech-nical and economic representation of the energy system by means of the MARKAL/Times optimisation model, thanks to which it is possible to assess CO2 emissions from the energy system in France for the year 2050.

Our MARKAL/Times model for France has been operated by the Conseil d’Analyse Stratégique (CAS) in the context of the energy commission chaired by Jean Syrota in order to assess how CO2 emissions could be reliably reduced in France by the year 2050. It has also made it possible, on behalf of the CAS, to assess France’s potential responsibility in meeting European commitments to reduce CO2 emissions by the year 2020. Lastly, this model is used in the context of the Energy Technology Prospective 2008 of the Interna-tional Energy Agency.

Two new theses have been started for perfecting the representation of our forecasting model. The first, in partnership with EdF concerns households under the carbon constraint. The second, in partnership with Schnei-der, focuses on prospective modelling and the spatio-temporal analysis of network integration and dynamics. Two theses, in collaboration with the EPI department (Eco Efficacité et Procédés Industriels) of EdF, are under way on the evaluation of high-energy consumption industrial sectors and scattered industrial concerns with a view to arbitration between energy technologies in the context of the Kyoto protocol commitments.

The CMA has launched, in collaboration with CIRED, the creation of a ParisTech chair on prospective model-ling for the benefit of sustainable development.

In collaboration with the INRIA TOSCA project, an approach has been established for assessing the impact

of a CO2 tax and quotas on the price of CO2 (the dynamic optimisation of an industrialist’s expectations of profit with or without a CO2 market enables the price of indif-ference to be calculated, via the resolution of a Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation). Preliminary results have been the subject of a presentation in Prague, in the context of EURO XXII, and have enabled the launching in 2007 of a thesis benefiting from a presidential allowance after selection by the President of the University of Nice.

significant eventsThe Conseil d’Analyse Stratégique submitted its conclu-sions to the Prime Minister in October 2007 in the Syrota report entitled “Energy prospects for France by 2020-2050” to which CMA contributed. The prospec-tive scenarios devised by the CMA thanks to its MARKAL-Times France optimisation model, in order to assess the feasibility of dividing French CO2 emissions by four by the year 2050, are widely referred to in the report.

The CMA has been invited to submit its long-term prospective vision in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bali.

The CMA has been designated by DGEMP as the reference laboratory for France in the International Energy Agency ETSAP programme thanks to support from ADEME.

The odometer of the French high-speed train (TGV Est), which holds the world speed record, was devised by Faiveley on the basis of a CMA study.

The hardware design of the STAR 1 C1 telecommuni-cations satellite, commissioned by the Brazilian operator STAR 1, integrates hyper-frequency filter settings produced thanks to the results of a CMA/INRIA research project.

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Director:FernandMEYER

Telephone 01��9��0�Fax 01��9��0�Email [email protected]

Webandpublications http://www.mines-paristech.fr/Fr/CMM

Researchacademics 8Otherstaff 8MINESParisTechPh.D.students 10

Centre for Mathematical morphology (mines paristech / cmm)

Since it was founded in 1967, CMM has contributed to the growth and dissemination of the theoretical and algorithmic corpus of mathematical morpho-logy, making use of very broad fields of application, thereby providing a rich experimental terrain for the development of new concepts and tools. Its activities centre around collaboration with industry, research and teaching.

trainingThe specialized module entitled Vision and morphology is linked to the modules on Robotics and Automatic control systems within the MAREVA macro-module. This grouping makes it possible to share certain courses and to offer the students a richer curriculum with a far wider choice of placements in 3rd year. Beatriz Marcotegui is in charge of the specialized module.

CMM is responsible for specialized courses at the School, such as Physics and mechanics of random media and Models of random structures, open to ParisTech and ATHENS network students.

The CMM researchers are also involved externally in 2nd and 3rd cycle training courses. For example, Dominique Jeulin provides the course on Random image models in the research master’s degree on Optics, Images and Vision (Université Jean Monnet, Saint-Étienne); Francis Bach is in charge of the cour-se on Graphical models for students preparing the research master’s degree in Mathematics, Vision and Learning at ENS Cachan; Petr Dokladal teaches, at ENSTA, two Master II courses on methods of proces-

sing images with partial derivative equations and the development of specialized equipment for image processing.

In 2007, CMM organized a training course in image processing adapted to the needs of a research team in the Michelin company. New, more advanced modu-les will be offered in 2008.

researchMultimediaCMM participates in MUSCLE (Multimedia Understan-ding through Semantics, Computation and Learning), the network of excellence of the 6th PCRD on the indexa-tion of images. In that context, techniques for the segmentation of natural images have been developed. They provide a local characterization of areas of an image with a view to content-based indexing (Beatriz Marcotegui and Youssouf Cherawala).

Thomas Retornaz submitted his thesis (under the supervision of Beatriz Marcotegui) on the loca-lization of hidden text in general image bases. This research ranked first in the “localization of text” category in the ImagEval campaign for the evaluation of algorithms for image processing. Currently, these algorithms have been adopted in the context of the i-towns project (ANR-MDCO) for the localization of text in an urban environment (Jonathan Fabrizio, Beatriz Marcotegui).

With funding from the National Research Agency (ANR), CMM is working on the restoration of the opti-cal soundtrack of cinematographical films in collabo-ration with the University of La Rochelle, the TEVISA company and the National Cinematographical Centre (Abdelâali Hassaïne, Étienne Decencière).

The world of healthcare

Ophthalmology

Close collaboration on the study of tracers of age-related macula degeneration has continued with the Clinical Investigation Centre at the Quinze-Vingts Hospital, thanks to doctoral funding from the Île-de-France Regional Council (Adnan Raschid, Jean-Claude Klein). An industrial contract on the same

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theme (a post-doctoral placement for Estelle Parra-Denis) is under way.

Angiogenesis

Continuation, thanks to post-doctoral funding from the Fondation de France, and to collaboration with the Collège de France, of developing automatic methods for the quantification of angiogenesis. Application to the evaluation of anti-angiogenic molecules for treating cardiovascular diseases and cancer (Nicolas Elie, Jean-Claude Klein).

DNA chips, cell chips, biomedical microscopy

In collaboration with the Biotechnology Centre, CMM has, for four years, developed software for the automatic quantification of DNA chips (technological transfer to the Genewave company). These developments have enabled CMM to take part in several projects including the INDIGO project (European IST-NMP) for developing new types of chips for the amplification of light and a dedicated reading robot, with Genewave, e2v (formerly ATMEL) and academic partners (Jesus Angulo, Michel Bilodeau, Fernand Meyer).

CMM has developed image analysis methods for other parallelism techniques in biomedical microscopy, such as for cell chips used in studies on the toxicology of nano-particles (PARTOX project in collaboration with the CEA de Grenoble, the Materials Centre (MAT) and the Energy and Process Engineering Centre (CEP) of MINES ParisTech), or for high-flow, high-content analy-sis of cellular cultures for testing new active molecu-les in pharmacology (RAMIS project with Pierre Fabre, funded by the Fonds de Compétitivité des Entreprises) (Jesus Angulo, Dalila Benboudjema, Beatriz Marcotegui, Fernand Meyer).

CMM has been involved in developing a multidimen-sional molecular and cellular biotyping platform with five Parisian biotech SMEs within the BIOTYPE project of the Medicen Competitiveness Pole (Jesus Angulo, Michel Bilodeau, Fernand Meyer).

For some five years, CMM has been collaborating with the Gustave Roussy Institute and the Institut Curie on the interactive segmentation of scanner and MRI images, in the context of the Île-de-France cancer treatment pole. The functional properties of the demonstration platform have been enriched; the processing of the temporal sequences of 3D images is now possible (thesis by Jean Stawiaski, Étienne Decen-cière, Fernand Meyer, Dominique Jeulin).

Physics of heterogeneous media

In 2006, the “Nanomines” think tank on Nanoma-terials was set up at MINES ParisTech. It is headed by Dominique Jeulin. The group brings together some 20 academic researchers from 6 research laboratories at MINES ParisTech. The group has devised a “Nanos-tructures” research project in the context of the Institut CARNOT M.I.N.E.S., funded by the ANR, and bringing together all of the Écoles des Mines attached to the Ministry of Industry. This initiative began at the end of 2006 and will last 4 years. On the basis of a range of nanocomposites with an organic matrix and a nanometric load, it deals with the following points: development, nano- and macro-description and nano-micro-macro homogenization. In this context, valida-tion has been granted to a 3D reconstruction method through nanotomography, on the basis of MET photo-graphs which opens up new prospects for studying nanostructures (post-doctoral research by Maxime Moreaud). The mechanical modelling of nanocom-posites is the subject of a post-doctoral placement for François Willot (2007-2008).

The spatial arrangement and the mechanical beha-viour of carbon black-based nanocomposites have been modelled in the thesis by Aurélie Jean, in colla-boration with Michelin, Samuel Forest and Sabine Cantournet (MAT).

The optimization of the transport properties of the network of porous electrodes for fuel cells has been the subject of a thesis by Rémi Costa (Tectonic project funded by the ANR, with EdF), in collaboration with Alain Thorel, Marie-Hélène Berger (MAT), Almeida de Oliveira and Jean-François Hochepied (CEP).

The processing of 3D morphological images of microtomography has given rise to several research endeavours: segmentation and modelling of granular material images (post-doc by Matthieu Faessel, with the Gramat DGA-CEG), analysis of 3D images, micro-mecha-nical classification and behaviour of non-metallic parti-cles in aluminium [theses by Estelle Parra-Denis (LTSI, Saint-Étienne) and by Nicolas Moulin (École des Mines de Saint-Étienne), in collaboration with ALCAN, INSA de Lyon and ESRF], analysis of paper images (thesis by Sabine Rolland du Roscoat with LTSI and Jean-Francis Bloch, EPFG and ESRF, Grenoble). The thesis by Charles Peyrega, begun in 2007 with funding from the ANR (Silent Wall project), focuses on the 3D microstructure and prediction of the acoustic behaviour of fibrous composites, in collaboration with USBB (Bordeaux), LPMC (École Polytechnique), IAUM (Le Mans) and six industrial partners.

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Two studies have focused on the rugosity of surfa-ces: modelling the paint deposit on abrasive steel panels and the optical behaviour of painted surfaces (thesis by Thibauld Nion, with ARCELOR Research); automatic classification of the surface textures of flat products, making use of statistical learning tools, with VAI-SIAS (SIEMENS) (Aurélien Cord, Dominique Jeulin and Francis Bach).

Seismic imagingAfter the presentation of Timothée Faucon’s thesis, research conducted with the ERM.S company on the analysis of seismic cubes will continue through a new cooperation contract (Étienne Decencière, Serge Beucher).

Computer-assisted visionAt the end of 2007, the first phase of a project laun-ched in 2006 with the Colas company for evaluating continuous roads came to an end. In liaison with this theme, CMM co-supervises a thesis with ESIEE (Petr Dokladal).

The VIGILE project, bringing together the Centre for Mathematical Morphology (CMM) and the Robo-tics Centre (CAOR), with the support of the Institut CARNOT M.I.N.E.S., bears on the integration of various sensors for safety purposes. It is conducted in parallel with other projects jointly managed by the two labo-ratories (LOVE, KIVAOU, TERRANUMERICA).

CMM, along with CAOR, is one of the two centres at MINES ParisTech to take part in the Num@tec Auto-

motive initiative in the context of the development of the SYSTEMATIC technological innovation pole. It is involved in particular in the LOVE project (Logiciels d’Observation de Vulnérables), and the PREDIT project for devising embedded imaging tools for the detection of pedestrians, in partnership with RENAULT, VALEO and various research laboratories. In 2007, CMM developed various scene segmentation tools in order to improve the detection of pedestrians conducted by other project partners (Serge Beucher, Romaric Audigier).

The KIVAOU project, approved by the National Research Agency (ANR) and conducted in collabora-tion with SAGEM, will begin in 2008. It is aimed at developing tools and algorithms for video-surveillance applications. The project will enable the CMM to pursue research activities begun in this field over the last three years (Louise Naud, Romaric Audigier, Serge Beucher). Several collaborative projects are also under prepara-tion in the field of security and safety in the context of the CARNOT institutes and in relation with the FRAUNHOFER institutes in Germany (Fernand Meyer, B. Nickolay for IPK in Berlin).

In 2007, CMM conducted a study on the imple-mentation of real-time industrial applications, such as the analysis of infrared sequences for the benefit of the VALEO company (Beatriz Marcotegui, Youssouf Cherawala).

Software and material architecturesMost embedded vision projects require the design of new architectures for image processing processors in order to improve performance. To achieve this, CMM

embedded vision for carsWhen reference is made to embedded vision in a car, we tend to think first of all of assisted driving: detection of pedestrians or cars, parking assistance, etc. The car industry would increasingly like to use embedded vision inside the car. Use could be made, for example, of visual biometrics as an anti-theft device. Use could also be made of cameras to recognize the passengers in order to activate personalized services automatically.CMM has participated with FAURECIA in developing an embedded demonstrator for vision control of the triggering of a vehicle’s airbags, an application produced in the context of the PICS project (MEDEA+ project, 2006 laureate of the annual prize “Jean-Pierre Noblanc for Excellence”). The demonstrator, shown on the right, was presented at the MEDEA forum in Budapest (Hungary) in November 2007. CMM has developed the equipment architecture as well as the algorithms which make it possible to modulate the speed with which the airbag is deployed.

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launched sustained research activity in this field two years ago. This work, conducted first of all in the PICS project (see box), is continuing, both through new projects such as FREIA (ANR approved project in 2007) and through the launching of initiatives to develop equipment related to projects under way, such as LOVE and KIVAOU (Christophe Clienti, Michel Bilodeau).

Raffi Enficiaud submitted his thesis on multidi-mensional algorithms with a meta-programming approach (Michel Bilodeau). This research lies at the basis of the Morph-M image processing library which brings into play advanced programming techniques.

ProspectiveSegmentation continues to be one of the outstanding research fields of CMM. Work aimed at improving existing tools and at defining new operators has conti-nued, leading to the production of high-performance tools for the segmentation of complex images in natu-ral scenes in the context of the LOVE, TERRANUMERICA and IMA projects. Two studies, the first for a proba-bilistic framework for morphological segmentation, the second on the application of minimal cuts to the region adjacency-graph produced by a watershed tranform, have proved very promising (Jesus Angulo, Serge Beucher, Étienne Decencière, Dominique Jeulin, Beatriz Marcotegui, Fernand Meyer, Jean Stawiaski). The introduction of viscosity in the filtering and morphological segmentation ensures better detection of fine structures in the case of micro-viscosity (Jesus Angulo, Fernand Meyer) and better segmentation of objects whose contours are ill-defined in places (Fernand Meyer, Corinne Vachier).

CMM has been working for two years in the context of a thesis (Guillaume Noyel, Jesus Angulo, Dominique Jeulin) on the extension of mathematical morphology to multi/hyper-spectral images. The aim is to develop algorithms for processing multi-valued images. This opens up new application prospects such as micro-spectroscopy for the diagnosis of cancerous cells, satellite imaging and medical drip imaging, etc.

significant eventsWe organized the 11th International Symposium on Continuum Models and Discrete Systems in Paris, from 30 July to 3 August 2007 with 64 papers. CMM also

took part in organizing the International Congress of Stereology (ICS XII, Saint-Étienne, 3-7 September) and the International Symposium on Mathematical Morphology (ISMM, Rio de Janeiro, 10-13 October).

We have contributed to preparing a European ERASMUS Mundi programme, ECMI Masters in Indus-trial Mathematics, involving 8 academic partners from 7 European countries (including MINES ParisTech). This programme has been accepted for 2008-2009.

The Approches probabilistes en mécanique des milieux hétérogènes group of the MECAMAT association (Mecha-nics and materials) led by Dominique Jeulin, hosted 20 participants at the École des Mines de Saint-Étienne, on 12 July and 20 participants for 8 papers at MINES ParisTech on 19 July.

Dominique Jeulin took part, as guest speaker, in the Workshop “3D image analysis and modelling of microstructures” (ITW, Kaiserslautern, Germany, 25-27 April), at the MCM8 Congress (Prague, Czech Republic, 17-21 June), at the ICIAM (Zurich, Switzer-land, 16-20 July), at the 17th Dymat meeting (Caven-dish Laboratory, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 6-7 September) and at the “14th Workshop on Stochastic Geometry, Stereology and Image Analysis” (Neudieten-dorf, Germany, 23-28 September). Serge Beucher was guest speaker on morphological segmentation tools in the context of the International Conference on Stereology (ICS 07) which was held in Saint-Étienne in September 2007.

Dominique Jeulin was elected French represen-tative to the Council of the European Consortium for Mathematics in Industry (ECMI) for 2008 and 2009.

Five of the leading European technical univer-sities (Imperial College, London; TU, Delft; ETH, Zurich; RWTH, Aachen and ParisTech) have joined together under the name of IDEA League for promo-ting joint master’s degrees and research initiatives. The CMM is contributing to efforts to set up colla-borative research projects with industry in the fields of health and the information and communication sciences and technologies (STIC).

�0 applied mathematics, compUter science, systems and control: activity report 2007 �1

Director:RobertMAHL

DeputyDirector:FrançoisIrigoin

Telephone 01��9��08Fax 01��9�8��Email [email protected] www.mines-paristech.fr/Fr/CRI

Researchacademics �Otherstaff 5MINESParisTechPh.D.students �Specializedcourses 9�

Computer science research centre (mines paristech / cri)

teachingRegarding the school’s pedagogical activities, CRI is actively engaged in core curriculum courses, the Acte d’entreprendre and the courses related to the Mana-gement of Information Systems specialized module, the organization and supervision of which it is responsible for. Four specialized courses in computer science are proposed to student engineers: Hardware and Software Computer Architecture, Information Systems, Fundamentals of Computer Science and Distributed Applications.

CRI also organizes three mastères for which it provi-des a significant share of the teaching. The first, Mana-gement of Information Systems and Technologies (MSIT), is co-supervised with HEC and is evenly distri-buted between MINES ParisTech (in Paris) and HEC (Jouy-en-Josas); the tenth class, admitted in September 2007, comprises 33 students who benefited from the positive results of the active collaboration between the two schools, both in terms of teachers and administra-tive, financial and communication services. The second mastère, Engineering Production and Infrastructure in Open Systems (IPISO), resulting from a collaboration with the École des mines de Saint-Étienne, the École des mines de Nancy and France Télécom, focuses on a key issue for companies: computer production and technical infrastructure. Its fourth year was admitted in November 2007 and comprises 20 participants. The third mastère, Management in Project Mode, is organized in Morocco in partnership with the Caisse

de Dépôt et de Gestion; the second class is made up of 30 participants.

researchCRI’s research work is focused on two main axes:

static analyses, instrumentation and program transformations;collaborative tools, with the development of multi-user advan-ced environments.

Static analyses, instrumentation and program transformationsThe overall aim of this research is to reduce the opera-ting costs of computers, whether they be development costs or run time costs, by devising tools that are as automatic as possible in order to conduct analyses, instrumentation and program transformations. These tools are used during the development phase for facilitating code reuse or performing software or test synthesis. They are also used for reducing programs’ running time without significantly increasing develo-pment or maintenance costs.

Two specific research paths have been pursued in 2007: the compilation of specifications for signal proces-sing applications on embedded processors (Teraops project) and the exploitation of certain graphic cards (see box on following page). The Teraops project of the Pôle de compétitivité mondial SYSTEM@TIC PARIS-

REGION is aimed at the design of a parallel architecture and the development of an overall environment for the programming of intensive processing applications (image and signal). CRI provides its expertise in the field of the compilation of specifications for signal processing applications for embedded processors. Its PIPS compiler is used for generating the specifications of applications that contain information aimed at their automatic mapping on the target machine.

Collaborative toolsThis line of research leverages the advanced tech-nology skills available CRI in order to develop new collaborative environments.

In the wake of the Pads’n’Swing project (http://padsnswing.w3sites.net), which came to an end in 2006 with the defence of a PhD thesis on the use of collaboration within a multi-player video game for

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teaching musical improvisation, the MAWii project began in 2007. It makes use of the same kind of tech-nologies in the context of analytical musical group therapy. This approach is encouraged in France by the group for psychodynamic psychotherapy through mediation within the Institut de psychologie (Univer-sité Paris V), supervised by Professor Édith Lecourt, with whom we work in close collaboration. This project aims to assess to what degree the new 3D “Wiimote” haptic interface, put forward by Nintendo for its Wii game console, can be used to devise an innovative digital instrument for improving the therapeutic process of musical group therapy at the motivational and analytical levels. An experiment is planned at the Sainte-Anne hospital in 2008 with children suffering from attention deficit.

Research in the field of collaborative manage-ment of digital documents uses two tools, Plinn and GeLaBa, developed within the CRI. Plinn is a suite of tools dedicated to collaborative work on the web in which the aim is to reduce network transfers to make applications run faster, whether for standard pages displayed by web browsers or very high resolution images. The GeLaBa (Générateur de langage de balisage) development environment for XML schemas makes it possible to design, maintain and validate XML sche-mas. This tool can be used to guarantee the satisfiabi-lity and relevance of the created schemas, so that the corresponding language satisfies strong structural and semantic constraints. These constraints correspond to a set of conditions that enable the automatic genera-

tion of tools for manipulating documents defined in this way while guaranteeing simplified maintenance and development of the language.

We use these tools in many projects, ranging from the online storage of photo plates from the book The Description of Egypt to the production of a site for managing pictures for a photo agency (Realis), and for the CTDP project of the Geosciences Centre. We have also integrated GeLaBa within the Plinn project, whereby documents defined with GeLaBa can be manipulated in the Plinn collaborative environ-ment. This environment is used for the LHEO project, funded by the Délégation générale à l’emploi et la formation professionnelle (DGEFP), which defines a language for exchanging vocational training offers in XML (http://www.iheo.org).

significant eventsCreation of droit.org, the Institut français d’infor-mation juridique, a member of the Legal Informa-tion Institutes international network: its aim is to promote, defend, create and undertake endeavours to encourage the dissemination of law on the Inter-net and to improve unrestricted access to law. This endeavour partly leverages the last ten years of research in legal information computer management conducted CRI.

is your playstation a war weapon?For more information, contact Fabien Coelho

([email protected]) Graphic cards fascinate researchers in computer science as well as realistic 3D video game enthusiasts! The recent NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX card offers, for a few hundred euros, a peak computing power of 512 billion floating point operations per second, which is what the largest supercomputer in the world offered only 15 years ago. Its architecture, similar to that of a supercomputer, can be used for efficiently carrying out sizeable financial and scientific calcula-

tions, to such an extent that restrictions may sometimes exist regarding the export of certain consoles that use this type of equipment to certain sensitive countries!This card enabled us to obtain an 80-fold speedup compared to a general purpose processor for an industrial application that is very demanding in terms of computing power. The Cell processor of a PS3 PlayStation, offering parallel features of a different kind, has also been used for improving the performance of another application by a factor of the order of 6. The software efforts required for obtaining promising results of this kind are by no means negligible but one can hope that automatic or partially automatic methods, particularly those developed CRI over many years, will simplify the required adaptation process and offer this type of advantage to an increasing number of applications in the near future.

organizing innovative design

A study trip, in October 2007, led the students in the specialized module on Design Engineering and the research academics from the Scientific Management Centre to Boston. The students were able to visit MIT’s Media Lab (new building on the left) in particular and met researchers in the “Smart Cities” group (the “City Car” project below).Beyond that, the aim of the trip was to provide an opportunity for an exchange of views with specialists in innovation management and to discover the innovative ecosystem which is developing an original link between companies, universities and research centres around Boston.

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MINES ParisTech was one of the first schools to inte-grate training in economics and the social sciences in its civil engineer programme, particularly thanks to Professor Maurice Allais, alumni and professor at the School, Nobel laureate for economics. Research in this field subsequently developed from the late 1960s with the successive creation of four centres:

the Scientific Management Centre (CGS),the Sociology of Innovation Centre (CSI),the Industrial Economics Centre (CERNA);the Research on Hazardous Activities and Crises Centre (CRC).

In accordance with the principles of the School, this research was conducted in close collaboration with the players involved in

society, by alternating work in the field, where events are taking place, and theoretical construc-tions. Each of the centres has developed an original approach which goes beyond traditional borders between academic disciplines and has often played a pioneering role in its field. Exchanges between centres, already plentiful in terms of teaching, have grown in the field of research, in view of the

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increasingly interdisciplinary nature of economics and the social sciences.

The organizational sciencesOn the basis of how to optimize choices, in tune with the tradition of operational research, the Scientific Management Centre (CGS) soon found it necessary to broaden the analysis of determining factors in the real behaviour of players in organizations, thereby highlighting implicit local approaches, that were in contradiction with global optimization.

This analysis is not merely sociological, in terms both of its evaluation and its methodology. Emphasis is placed both on practical provisions for delegation, coordination and evaluation, which gives substance to relations between players, and on the knowledge these players have, with a view to dynamic interaction between knowledge and relationships. As regards the methodology, it is based on strong interaction with the players concerned where the researcher is not a mere observer but can also put forward decision-making tools and new procedures for management and model-

�� economics, manaGement, society: activity report 2007 �5

be scientific, technological, artistic or related to the media.

For studying ongoing innovations in the field, CSI analyses subjects of controversy between the players involved, while maintaining symmetry between tech-nical and social arguments and the implementation of networks, mediation and adaptation which precede the emergence of a market.

The CSI’s research, which has made it possible to shed light on the programming and evaluation of research, is open to themes linked to major public debates, particularly with regard to the problems of responsibility and ethics thereby raised (biology, health, environment, security and exclusion).

In theoretical terms, the issues currently explored focus on modes of coordination, both economic and sociological, on the dividing line between private and collective assets, and on the appraisal of public servi-ces and use.

RisksSociety, the public authorities and industry are calling today for greater control of hazardous situations. The Research on Hazardous Activities and Crises Centre was set up to study this complex topic which has many facets according to the angle it is viewed from. The approach put forward here is resolutely transdiscipli-nary and centres around three main axes:

evaluation of hazards and public information;information systems for the management of hazards;the formalization of experience and organizational apprenti-ceship

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Doctoral coursesEconomicsandfinance

Person in charge: Matthieu Glachant, Paris.

ManagementsciencesPerson in charge: Armand Hatchuel, Paris.

Thesocio-economicsandinnovationPerson in charge: Antoine Hennion, Paris.

ScienceandengineeringofhazardousactivitiesPerson in charge: Franck Guarnieri, Sophia Antipolis.

ling, to which the players may react. Such reactions therefore provide new keys to the comprehension of the phenomena in question.

The CGS’s approach has made it possible, in parti-cular, to analyse recent developments in productive systems, in liaison with that of the various trades and sectors of expertise, and the progress of modernization in public services. It now extends to fields in which managerial tools are still relatively ill defined: product design, project management, research, training and cultural activities.

Industrial economicsEver since it was set up, CERNA has focused on the economics of natural resources. It was soon to become an industrial economics centre and broadened its research fields to numerous economic sectors. The approach has given priority to analysing the dynamics of economic developments on the basis of in-depth case studies, chosen from among activities and coun-tries faced with significant change.

The theoretical questions derived from these analy-ses have made it possible to arrive at a new approach to matters of company strategy and public policy such as taking account of environmental concerns, indus-trial transformations in the former communist coun-tries, the restructuring of the weapons industries, the deregulation of public companies and the numerical economy.

CERNA strives to make its research fields evolve in such a way that it can act as a pioneer, opening up new prospects while its investigations remain focused on general problems of relations between State and industry (the role of the State and markets, regulatory policies), and underlying trends in the development of the organization of the industrial fabric (the degree of integration, sub-contracting and partnerships, and networks).

The sociology of innovationBased on the wager of the fecundity of a pluridis-ciplinary approach integrating scientific, technical and cultural targets within the analysis of society, CSI devised theoretical and practical tools for socio-tech-nical analysis which have acquired wide recognition. Thanks to them, it is possible to devise a framework for the phenomena of creation and dissemination of innovations in the most varied fields, whether they

�� economics, manaGement, society: activity report 2007 �5

CERNA is the industrial economics and finance centre of Mines Paris. Our research focuses on the dynamics of companies and markets, as well as on the economic and competitive effects of public intervention (competition policy, regulation, the environment, technological policy and trade agreements). The rationale of industrial econo-mics and regulatory economics is now a central feature in the formulation of company strategies, their finan-cial communication, and the choice of instruments for public policy, as well as for legal arbitration (commer-cial and regulatory disputes). CERNA’s research centres on six major fields: numerical economics, regulation, the environment, globalization, quantitative finance and the management of innovation. The corresponding projects are conducted within the context of varied (academic and industrial) partnerships, both national and international.

trainingCERNA is in charge of three specialized modules in the civil engineer programme of MINES ParisTech: Industrial economics, Company law and economics and Quantitative finance. We are also involved in training civil engineers in economics and finance through the common core courses (Initiation in economics, Economic calculation), and specialized courses (Industrial economics, Introduction to market finance, Project Finance, Stochastic processes, Globa-lization of the world economy). Furthermore, CERNA is also in charge of cycles such as Public assets and global gover-nance and Company strategy, as well as the supervision of dissertations by the graduate engineers in the French State Technical Corps. In combination with the CEP, it supervises the professional master’s degree in Energy strategies, approved for the School in 2004.

Lastly, CERNA researchers are involved externally in third-cycle training courses: Master’s degree in the economics of sustainable development, the environment and energy and a Master’s degree in the management of risks in finance and insurance of the University of Paris X-Nanterre, Mastère ISIGE, Mastère TRADD, Boalt School of Law, University of Berkeley.

research

Numerical economicsIn 2007, the team continued its analysis of the dyna-mics of deploying numerical innovations focusing on network effects. It also made progress in analysing vertical relationships in the discriminate distribution of audiovisual contents.

Two projects have structured our research work during 2007:

the evaluation of the economic impact of the European direc-tive on conditional access decoders (CAD), permitting the protected distribution of immaterial audiovisual contents. This study, finalized in December 2007, emphasizes the economic importance of discrimination tools linked to the immaterial distribution of media contents. It provides a basis for a consul-tation launched by the European Commission in January 2008 for modernizing the 1998 Directive;Contango2, a research programme financed by the ANR, focusing on the numerical distribution of audiovisual contents. The programme, also involving TF1, Google, VirginMega, the Syndicat de l’Édition Vidéo (SEVN) and the Syndicate of inde-pendent producers (SPI), focused in 2007 on the economy of DRMs and that of on-demand video markets. This research has given rise to working memoranda, widely distributed in the industry concerned.

Continuation of the project in 2008 should make it possible to finalize a thesis on the economy of DRMs and to tackle the practical stakes involved in the development of a regulatory system for the French audiovisual media.

RegulationLiberalization of the network industries

Our research on this theme focuses particularly on energy and mobile telecommunications. Particular

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Director:MatthieuGLACHANT

Telephone 01�0519091Fax 01�05191�5Email [email protected]

webandpublications http://www.mines-paristech.fr/Fr/CERNA

Researchacademics 9Otherstaff �MINESParisTechPh.D.students 10Ph.D.studentsinotherinstitutions 2

Industrial economics center (mines paristech / cerna)

�� economics, manaGement, society: activity report 2007 ��

emphasis is placed on the pricing of access, the structure of markets and the regulation of incentives. In 2007, François Lévêque coordinated a European project on the security of gas and electricity supplies.

Competition policy

Competition law focuses on two types of company beha-viour which are prejudicial to consumers: collusion and exclusion. It also intervenes in the authorization of deci-sions concerning mergers and takeovers, some of which can have anti-competitive effects. Our research is aimed at the justification for rules involved in competition law and its application in Europe. In 2007, research focused mainly on an econometric analysis of the regulation of industrial concentrations and the application of compe-tition law in the high-tech industries.

Intellectual property lawResearch on intellectual property is part of the framework of the Industrial Chair in Law and economics of patents, supported by Air liquide, Microsoft, Philips and SAP. Research conducted by the Chair in 2007 has focused on the reform of patents in Europe, problems of compe-tition law raised by patents included in technology standards, and complementarity between independent software and owner systems. In addition to academic presentations and publications (European Economic Review, Review of Economic Research on Copyright Issues, Reflets et Perspectives), 2007 was marked by the drafting of two reports on the themes of Intellectual Property and Competition Law and Patents, Antitrust and Technology Standards and the construction by a Ph.D. student of a database of 25,000 independent software projects.

Environmental economics and policyIn the field of policies to combat the greenhouse effect, CERNA has been involved in a research programme on the transfer of greenhouse gas saving technologies from industrialized to developing countries. The programme is funded by ADEME. It bears principally on a study of the role of project mechanisms provided for under the Kyoto Protocol. Theoretical and empirical research work (construction and operation of a detailed database concerning 600 projects launched to date) has resulted in the publication of a widely distributed report, together with the publication of an article in Energy Policy.

There has been vigorous activity in publications on the theme of voluntary agreements and the social liability of companies with the publication of the work entitled Reality Check: The Nature and Performance of Volun-tary Environmental Programs in the US, Europe and

Japan (RFF Press) to which the team has contributed and the publication of an article entitled Non-Binding Voluntary Agreements in the Journal of Environmen-tal Economics and Management.

Lastly, the CERNA has continued to work on trans-port policies. A thesis is in progress, aimed at measu-ring the distributive consequences of various taxation scenarios for transport, particularly on roads.

GlobalizationThe team is currently working on three research axes. One of the three, The sustainability of urban growth in the South, is the subject of the box on the opposite page.

Economic globalization and the dynamics of inequality

Pierre-Noël Giraud has pursued his research in colla-boration with Joël Ruet in the field of the evaluation of the effects of globalization on industry in the major emerging countries, particularly India. This has led in particular to publication of an article entitled An Essay on Global Economic Prospects, published in the American journal, Constellations.

Natural capital and development in Africa

A study on the impact of mining revenue on the growth of sub-Saharan African countries (more parti-cularly Gabon, Guinea, Nigeria, Botswana and Mauri-tania) has been undertaken for AFD and is under press. Ongoing research on ground natural capital has produced a chapter by Pierre-Noël Giraud and Denis Loyer entitled Pour une révolution doublement verte, in a collective work published by Laurence Tubiana and Pierre Jacquet, Regards sur la Terre 2008.

Quantitative financeElectricity markets

In the early stages of the liberalization of electricity prices, EdF introduced financial products referred to as Virtual Power Plants (VPP) which enabled compe-titors to buy electricity produced by nuclear power stations. These products were sold on an auction basis. We undertook a study to understand how they operated and to determine whether these VPPs have ultimately been beneficial for their purcha-sers. In parallel, we have taken an interest in the strategy of a company operating a gas-fired power station, seeking to cover the risks of price fluctua-tions thanks to “futures contracts” quoted on the

�� economics, manaGement, society: activity report 2007 ��mines paristech / cerna

French stock market, Powernext. What exactly was involved was to determine an optimal price for its purchasing orders in order to maximize its hope of being nominated while the price of contracts was below its operating costs.

CommoditiesThe hike in the oil price has had a considerable impact on users of jet fuel, particularly airlines and the armed services. One of the ways of covering this risk is to use derivated products based on jet fuel. At the same time, it is necessary to cover the risk linked to the currency in which these products are sold, namely the US dollar. The price of products permitting such a double cover is complex to evaluate and their main determining aspect, implicit volatility, is difficult to determine in view of the limited number of contracts available. To overcome this problem, we have deve-loped, with Delphine Lautier from the University of Dauphine, an integration method whereby it is possible to use data regarding the implicit volatility of liquid options during evaluation of the implicit volatility of less liquid options. Furthermore, this research has continued with Delphine Lautier on the way of covering long-term physical positions through the rotation of short-term positions and is virtually complete. Lastly, 2007 was marked by the beginning of

a thesis on commodity models with the Pricing Partners company.

Dynamic couplings

Research for Daniel Totouom’s thesis on dynamic couplings was completed in November 2007. This work is particularly topical at this time as the market has considerably underestimated risks associated with CDOs. Whereas in conventional approaches, the probability of systemic risks is virtually nil, these methods permit a more direct approach, within the context of a dynamic model, the parameters of which are deduced from CDS spreads.

Real options

The team has continued its research on the application to natural resources of evaluation by the real options method of Schlumberger-Doll (United States) and the De Beers company (Great Britain).

Statistical arbitration

The study of statistical arbitration models has conti-nued, partly with the support of the BRED. Attention has focused in particular on improving decision-making methods based on thresholds.

Results of application of the TRANUS-SETU “Transport-Land usage” integrated model on Bangalore (India). Research bearing on the capacity of transport technologies to position cities of the South on environmentally sustainable trajectories. (Benoît Lefevre, Pierre-Noël Giraud, CERNA).

the sustainability of urban growth in the south

For the last three years, CERNA’s Globalization team has studied the economics of water supply services and the articulation between transport and the use of land in emerging cities. This research has given rise to a preliminary set of publications in collective works and periodicals with a reading panel, as well as a substantial number of presentations at scientific seminars and before bodies which funded such research. Work on the second theme has been conducted in particular on mastering and improving a simulation model of “TRANUS-SETU” urban policies. This model is being used for a case study on the Indian city of Bangalore which shows that joint policies on public transport and land use, financially accessible for emerging cities, can significantly alter the patterns of greenhouse gas emissions.

Bau scenariogrowthproperty consumption

Métro+ scenariogrowthproperty consumption (m2)

Innovation managementPublic research and innovation policies

The competitiveness poles observatory, led by a mixed team combining CERNA and CGS (with the assistance of the Paris-Dauphine IMRI) and funded by the Regions of France Association, has fostered fruitful exchange between research teams, observers and participants in various poles. A monthly seminar, a quarterly letter and a website with its documentary resources and thematic forums have facilitated the development of a community of practice. The research of the managerial team has focused particularly on the description and typology of poles (in collaboration with the LATTS of the École des Ponts et Chaussées, the ESIEE Manage-ment group, the IAE in Tours and INRA’s partnership delegation), in order to identify families with a degree of homogeneity, within which benchmarking and an exchange of practice are relevant. We have continued a more detailed survey of certain poles (Cap Digital, Pôle nucléaire de Bourgogne, Qualitropic, etc.). The funding by ANR of the Epictete project will make it possible to prolong this research and to explore more fully problems related to the governance of the poles and the piloting of this public policy.

We have also taken part in the FutuRIS group on the monitoring of new instruments of public policy for supporting innovation, followed by research on sectoral innovation systems and have contributed to an exchange of experience regarding transnational and community research programmes (ERANET) in the hydrogen field.

Management of innovation in companiesThe monthly seminar entitled “Technological resour-ces and innovation”, organized in partnership with the Paris School of Management, nurtured for the eleventh consecutive year wide-ranging debates between innovation practitioners on practical cases. In 2007, its work focused in particular on the inter-nationalization of innovation, original modes of colla-boration between major groups and start-ups, the exploration of emerging markets and the valorization

of university research, based on the experience of Google, Dassault Systèmes, Solvay, Axane-Air Liquide, Renault-Samsung Motors, EdF, Fabel Novel, LTU Tech-nologies, Stanford University and UCSF, and the thou-ghts of Arnoud De Meyer, Dean of the Cambridge Business School.

In parallel, REMI (the network on the study of inno-vation management) continued to provide opportuni-ties for debates within a pluridisciplinary community, scattered among many institutions, with a focus on original research and ongoing theses.

Lastly, we were able, with FutuRIS, to define a programme for identifying trends in innovative prac-tices in companies to be implemented in 2008.

significant eventsPublication of Gratuit ! Du déploiement de l’écono-mie numérique by Olivier Bomsel, by Folio Actuel publishers.

Olivier Bomsel’s participation in the Olivennes assignment on the downloading of audiovisual works.

Creation of an academics’ blog on energy policies (http://www.energypolicyblog.com/). Renown econo-mists from throughout the world can bring their work to the knowledge of a wide public. Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner in charge of energy posted a contribution. 60,000 hits since May 20007.

Acceptance of Yann Ménière’s article entitled Non-Obviousness and Complementary Innovations, to be published in the European Economic Review.

Montage of a new consortium on real options for the mining industry. Work will begin in 2008.

Daniel Totouom was invited to present his thesis research work at the Quants Congress Europe in Novem-ber 2007.

�8 économie, manaGement, société : rapport d’activité 2007

Director:DanielFIXARIFranckAGGERI(asfrom2janvier2008)

DeputyDirector:ArmandHatchuel

Telephone 01�0519095Fax 01�05190�5Email [email protected]

Webandpublicationshttp://www.mines-paristech.fr/Fr/CGS

Researchacademics 1�Otherstaff �MINESParisTechPh.D.students 20Ph.D.studentsinotherinstitutions 2

scientific management centre (mines paristech / cGs)

The research of the Scientific Management Centre (CGS) is focused on the design and evaluation of management tools, a research path which has proved to be particularly fruitful in the analysis of contem-porary dynamic forces underlying collective action. This research has significant links with the numerous training activities provided by the Centre.

trainingThree of the School’s specialized modules are super-vised by the CGS: Scientific management, Design engi-neering and Production systems and logistics. The CGS provides courses in Economic calculation, Accountancy, Product design and innovation, Design and dynamics of organizations, Cost evaluation, Operational research, Global logistic chain and Statistics. It also supervises operational placements and is involved in various MIGs. It plays a part in the training of the engineers in the Corps des Mines, in the mastère on Produc-tion process engineering and the ParisTech-Fondation Renault professional master’s degree in Transport and sustainable development.

CGS is in charge of the doctorate in Management sciences, attached to the Doctoral School on Economics, Organizations and Society, in which Mines ParisTech is

co-accredited with the University of Paris X, while CGS is in charge of running its Management pole. It is also involved in the training of Ph.D. students in other disciplines. In liaison with the École Poly-technique, ESSEC, ESCP-EAP, ENA and the University of Paris X, the CGS is involved in two research master’s degrees, Management and the dynamics of organizations, which it heads, and Management of organizations and public policies. The CGS also participates in research master’s degrees such as Project, Innovation and Design, with the École Polytechnique, the École des Ponts et Chaussées and Marne-La-Vallée, Design and conduct of innovation, with Strate College, Modelling, optimization, decision-making and organization, with the University of Paris IX and the École Polytechnique, and Econo-mics of sustainable development, energy and environment, with the University of Paris X, the École des Ponts et Chaussées and Agro-ParisTech.

researchThe main research themes of CGS, closely linked to its activities in the field and in teaching, are currently as follows:

design, innovation: design tools and theories, piloting of innovation in partnership, assessment and management of research.occupations, identities and professional careers: manage-ment of skills, individual accompaniment and career guidance, health in the work place and organization, timetables and working hours.environment and sustainable development: integration in company strategies, eco-design, water management.hospital and health care system management: tools for regulating and planning the hospital system, piloting of reform, strategy and governance of health care institutions.industrial management and logistics: integrated computer systems, inter-company relations tools for optimization and measurement of performance.public initiatives: modernization of public management (management of human resources, relations with users), pilo-ting and evaluation of public policies, regional public action.

Two themes have emerged:Governance and the company model: collective action models, link between law and management.Management of artistic and cultural activities: professions in the cultural sector, audience-oriented policies, cooperation between artists and managers.

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80 economics, manaGement, society: activity report 2007 81

Research problems focus in particular on mana-gement instruments and provisions (assessment tables, analytical accountancy, decision-assisted models, organizational structures, contractuali-zation, project management procedures). These tools are studied in liaison with two closely linked trends, those of knowledge and that of relationships between players. These trends have brought to light new management instruments and new uses for them. Therefore, the task invol-ved is to seek organizational factors which ensure that these instruments are vectors of exploration and learning. This contributes to a broader reflec-tion on the forms taken by “rationalization” of collective action, from Taylorism to methods of

exploring fields of innovation, sustainable deve-lopment and risk management.

Design, innovationFor several years, CGS has guided Renault’s innovative design process. This type of research is continuing with Vallourec, Thales, Schlumberger and RATP, parti-cularly in the form of design workshops. The design of ecologically friendly cars with Volvo has been studied in collaboration with the University of Chalmers (see box). A research project on “R&D, innovation and transformation of companies”, conducted jointly with economists, sociologists and historians and coordina-ted by the CGS, has been accepted by the ANR.

volvo and the design of ecological cars For 30 years, driven by regulations or prospective considerations, manufacturers have endeavoured to reduce the environ-mental impacts of vehicles (reduction of polluting emissions and energy consumption). These innovation strategies have nevertheless seemed difficult to sustain over the long term, not only because consumers do not seem to be ready a priori to pay more for these new technologies, but also because the latter differentiate only slightly between what manufactu-rers have to offer. For Volvo, the make which is traditionally associated with the premium sector and ecological values, the capacity to develop an innovative prospect capable of enhancing product value has become absolutely critical in order to prevent its products from becoming commonplace.The study which Volvo entrusted to CGS was aimed at reinforcing capacity for innovation and enriching action conducted with regard to “premium ecological vehicles”. Given the hypothesis according to which the identity of a car can be jeopardi-zed by the emergence of environmental concerns, the task is to accompany the process which will regenerate the traditional representation and the concept of an “ecological car”.With the aid of the latest modelling of design initiative, CGS offered a collective approach in order to tackle these issues. The study was conducted in collaboration with Chalmers University and brought into play the method of innovating design workshops (KCP® workshops) developed by Mines Paris on the basis of the C-K theory of design (Hatchuel et al., 2004, Hatchuel et Weil, 2002). It brings together experts from various departments (Business Strategy, Strategic R&D, Product Planning, Advanced Engineering, Market Intelligence), as well as external experts (public bodies, town-planners, ethno-graphers), in order to organize in a collective manner the design of new standards of performance and the elaboration of new research programmes. On the basis of themes carefully prepared by the researchers, the experts were thereby able to identify new areas of innovation for Volvo. The study has contributed to giving new impetus to notions of “premium” and “green” by establishing the basis for new design and innovation strategies.

RATP and CGS have organized a seminar to assess innovative design methods developed in partnership, particularly with regard to future underground trains and alternative modes of mobility. The specialized module on Design engineering involved a study trip to the United States which combined visits to industrial R&D laboratories (Saint-Gobain High Performance Material R&D, Schlumberger Corporate Research Center, etc.), and visits to university centres (MIT Media Lab) and seminars with reputed acade-mics (C. Baldwin, A. MacCormack, E. Von Hippel, M. Beer). The aim of the trip was to improve familiarity

with a particularly innovative ecosystem which has been developed near Boston and which brings into play companies, universities and research centres in an original way, as well as to have an exchange with specialists in the design and management of innova-tion with whom CGS researchers were able to establish new collaboration.

Professions, identities and careersA study was conducted with Renault on monitoring trends in the engineering professions on an internatio-

80 economics, manaGement, society: activity report 2007 81mines paristech / cGs

nal level. Another study, conducted with France Télé-com, focused on developing professional prospects. Trends in the mediation professions in the cultural sector was the subject of research for the Ministry of Culture. The CGS has continued to be involved in the theme of structuring the management of skills within the Syndex consultancy which conducts expert assessments for works councils by enlarging the theme to company governance.

Environment and sustainable development

CGS has provided methodological support to a minis-terial working group on the integrated design of buil-dings with a view to environmental protection. A study is being conducted for ADEME on possible new uses of vegetable fibres, an issue that, inter alia, has prompted a broad overview conducted by CGS with the ANR on innovative design methods applied to sustainable development issues. A study was conduc-ted for the Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives on the part its advisers could play in promoting practi-ces that were more environmentally-friendly. Lastly, a comparative eco-design study in the automotive field between France and Sweden was pursued with the support of the Île-de-France Regional Sustainable Development Network.

Hospital management and the health care systemCGS, which has been involved since its creation in the National Commission for the Assess-ment and Auditing of Hospitals (MeaH) of the Ministry of Health, has helped to record its experience and convey it to the public through books and articles. A study for the Ministry of Health focuses on trends in methods of orga-nization of health establishments, in the wake of the setting up of new tariff rates on an acti-vity basis. CGS will also assess an experimen-tal procedure conducted by the City of Paris and the AP-HP in the geriatrics sector and will analyse use made of procedures set up by the relevant ministries for assessing the autonomy of dependent elderly people.

Industrial management and logistics

CGS has assisted EADS in producing, for the benefit of the European Union, a tool for comparing logis-tical solutions for crisis management conducted by multi-national forces. For Danone Eaux France, the problems raised by the dispatching of production from the Evian site has been studied. Research has been conducted with many partners on the links between logistics and sustainable development.

logistics and sustainable developmentEvidence in recent years has brought to light the growing recourse to logistical chains in regard of transport, particularly by road, for just-in-time deliveries. In parallel, a rise in environmental concern has raised the threat of a marked reduction in logistical activities. This analysis has led to a research project for exploring logistical organizations striving to improve the use of means of transport.A partnership with the Déméter group bringing together many directors of logistics of the French retail distribution network (brands, industries, suppliers) has given researchers access to the logistical databases of the 100 leading suppliers to the two national brands over a period of 20 weeks in regard to three major product groups (liquids, groceries and household-hygiene products).It has been possible to explore joint solutions on the basis of a single database: the same loading location for suppliers, jointly located brand platforms, direct flows to retail outlets, etc. The first part of the research work focused on case studies and showed reductions in CO2 emissions of the order of 20 to 30%. These savings were obtained by grouping together industrial activities at joint points of departure whereby better use could be made of the means available. This concentration of flows also opens up the possibility of increased use of rail transport, on account of adequate volumes for this type of transport, while maintaining delivery frequencies. This research work is focusing on more global, prospective patterns which would bring about combined optimization for a substantial number of variables on the basis of research conducted by Éric Ballot during his four-month sabbatical period spent in the Operations Management group of the MIT Sloan School of Management. A thesis on this subject has, furthermore, received support from the Île-de-France region.

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Public actionStudies already conducted on territorial industrial redynamization endeavours have been pursued through the analysis, for the DIACT (formerly DATAR), of the interface between various types of institu-tional provisions aimed at structuring cooperation between players on a territorial level: on the one hand, poles of competitiveness, on the other hand, poles of research and higher education (PRES),

Advanced research theme networks (RTRA) and the Instituts Carnot. Researchers have also been invol-ved, in collaboration with CERNA, in setting up a poles of competitiveness observatory (see box). A research project, combining CGS and CERNA, focu-sing on “Companies, poles of competitiveness and regions”, has been accepted by the ANR. Training courses on this theme will be provided by DRIRE staff at the request of the DGE.

the observatory of poles of competitivenessThe launching of the policy on poles of competitiveness, in July 2005, prompted a new phase in French economic deve-lopment policies. Drawing inspiration from various experiments of clusters already conducted throughout the world, but seeking to devise a specific model, the French initiative led to the creation of 66 poles of competitiveness (71 in 2007).Several researchers in economics and the social sciences from Mines Paris, in both the CERNA and the CGS, who are inte-rested in the conduct of public policies, territorial economic development and innovation policies and the management of research, had formed a small group to monitor and analyse the development of these two institutional provisions, their composition and governance, their strategies, and the impact they could have on employment and the competitiveness of companies and regions.This informal initiative acquired a more structural form in the spring of 2007 with the creation of an Observatory of poles of competitiveness, with the support of the Association des régions de France. On the evidence of the extreme diversity of existing poles, this observatory is aimed at federating a number of research endeavours conducted on these themes and at seeking to speed up collective experience which could be derived from these endeavours, by setting up forums for exchange and discussion as well as a resource centre at the disposal of the players of the poles and the researchers working with them.The main activities of the observatory (http://observatoire.org) include:

the organization of a monthly seminar for exchange between observers of different poles;the publication of a quarterly information bulletin;the organization of an exchange forum on the Internet in the form of thematic discussion groups;the organization, with the Association des régions de France, of an annual colloquium bringing together the pole players.

This initiative is complementary to contractual research conducted specifically with CGS researchers on these themes, as in the case of that which is currently under way, for the benefit of the DIACT, on linkage between poles of competitiveness and new arrangements for the organization of research resulting from the Pacte pour la Recherche.

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Research on risk management has continued with the completion of a thesis conducted within the context of the Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN) on consideration of human and organizational factors in expert surveys conduc-ted by that body. CGS, in liaison with the CEPREMAP, has conducted two studies, on behalf of DEXIA and the Caisse des Dépôts, on the prevention and insurance of risks linked to the management of staff of regional authorities (absenteeism, accidents, illness, etc.).

significant eventsIn the wake of his research on links between the theory of design and the mathematical theory of “forcing”, A. Hatchuel has been given the task by the Design Society of organizing the Design Theory thema-tical group. A world survey published by Business Week selected two French training courses in design, including Strate College, while emphasizing the origi-nal partnership of the latter with the Design engi-neering specialized module. Research conducted by CGS on innovative design was presented at the world congress of the International Technology Roadmap for Semi-conductors (ITRS) and at the Schlumberger Innova-tion Hub international seminar, where they were given a very positive response.

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The Centre for research on Risks and Crises (CRC) endeavours to formalise and unify the many multi-disciplinary sources of knowledge about industrial safety. The laboratory performs this task for the benefit of organizations (and more particularly companies) which seek to reduce their vulnerability and to increase their capacity of resilience with regard to particularly disruptive and damaging disasters (major technologi-cal accidents, industrial injuries, occupational diseases, natural and environmental events, project risks and operational risks). CRC majors on the multidisciplinary scientific expertise of its researchers in sciences for the engineer, ergonomics, management, geography, law, psychology and computer science. This combination of skills supports the research work in the context of closely knit and sustainable partnerships with industry, the public authorities and the European Union.

trainingCRC’s research academics are involved in the civil engineer programme of Mines-ParisTech through the ATHENS week: Introduction to risk management, Industrial security MIG (Module of initiation in the professions of an executive engineer), and the DIPA specialized module in collaboration with CEP. CRC also contributes to training engineers from Corps des Mines. They run the Science and engineering of hazardous activities doctoral training programme. They coordinate, with Chimie Paris-ParisTech, a Master’s degree in Mastery of industrial risks. Finally, they deliver, with ESCP-EAP (European management school) and ICSI (Institute for an Indus-trial Safety Culture), an Executive post-Master’s degree in the Management of human and organizational factors in industrial safety.

researchThe main research themes of CRC are currently as follows:

Experience feedback and learningThe team, led by Jean-Luc Wybo, deals mainly with the concept of experience feedback, a significant concept as it enables organizations to progress towards safety on the basis of acquired experience. It is particularly valuable when exceptional situations occur which require adaptation to change. The research work relies in particular on the REXAO scientific interest group (http://www.rexao.org).

The thesis by Cédric Denis-Rémis (defended in December 2007, in partnership with Sanofi Aventis) focused in particular on the processes for the appropria-tion of knowledge and expertise of stakeholders with regard to risk control. Two theses deal with the early detection of precursory signals of dangerous situations. The thesis by Ambre Brizon (in partnership with ICSI) deals with this issue from the vigilance angle. The thesis by Aïnhoa Paré-Chamontin (in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture) focuses on forms of organization which ensure that such a process is efficient. Furthermore, the thesis by Audrey Auboyer (in partnership with the Centre for the Study of Tunnels ; CETU) and the French Society of the Fréjus Road Tunnel ; SFTRF) studies the factors and conditions which can destabilise an orga-nization and make it tip into a crisis situation. Lastly, François-Régis Chevreau (in collaboration with Sanofi Aventis) has been completing his thesis on the theme of the industrial safety culture.

Resilience engineeringThe team, headed by Erik Hollnagel (who holds the chair of Industrial safety), has continued its activities in the field of resilience engineering and the promotion of related concepts and methods.

In his thesis, Eduardo Runte focuses on real-life working conditions in complex processes. The aim is to model adaptations to work contingencies and to develop an auditing tool focused on the prediction of performance of a socio-technical system. François Pieri’s thesis on the management of industrial safety is aimed at identifying factors which improve the efficiency of a safety manage-ment system, and at developing a method whereby the

Director:FranckGUARNIERI

Telephone 0�9�95�5��Fax 0�9�95�581Email [email protected]

Webandpublicationshttp://www.cindy.mines-paristech.fr/fr/index.html

Researchacademics 8Otherstaff 12MINESParisTechPh.D.students 2�Ph.D.studentsinotherinstitutions 1Otherstudents 1�

Centre for research on risks and crises (mines paristech / crc)

8� economics, manaGement, society: activity report 2007 85

safety-related decision-making process can be made more reliable. Luigi Macchi’s thesis on discrepancies in mental models consists in picking out existing incompatibility between the mental representations of operators control-ling an industrial process, and in developing a method whereby these discrepancies can be solved. The thesis by Damien Fabre on the role of accident analysis is aimed at analysing possible deficiencies in the various stages of accident analysis and formulating solutions in order to make the whole of the analytical process more reliable. Lastly, Josephine Speziali (in collaboration with Deutsche Flugsicherung and Eurocontrol) has focused her interest on human reliability in air traffic control.

Furthermore, development of the FRAM method (Func-tional Resonance Analysis Method) has continued with a graphical tool (FRAM visualizer). Lastly, the CREAM method (Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method) has conti-nued to be used and improved.

Performance methods and toolsThe team, headed by Franck Guarnieri, has worked on consolidating the use of theoretical tools for the descrip-tion and explanation of multiple fields of vulnerability, where organizations (and more particularly companies) are exposed. Also the team has laid the exploratory foun-dations for assisted decision-making instruments which can enable corporate managers to anticipate undesirable effects of the performance of their organisation.

Julien Cambon defended his thesis in December 2007 on the measurement of performance of health and working safety management systems. Karim Hardy continues his research (in collaboration with Solvay) on the safe design of innovative processes. Bertrand Le Masne (in collabo-ration with AFNOR) has been involved in the modelling of risks in small and medium-sized companies. Gabrièle Rasse (with the support of the Provence, Alpes and Cote d’Azur council) is publishing a book in the Sciences du Risque et du Danger collection (Lavoisier) and is deve-loping her PhD research on Plans for the Prevention of Natural and Technological Risks. Julien Iris (in collabora-tion with the Mission for Natural Risks funded companies and insurance companies (FFSA and GEMA)) is completing a software platform for geo-decision-making and natural hazards. This thesis is conducted in partnership with that of Jérôme Chemitte (in collaboration with MRN). Denis

Overal is completing his research on the contribution of the concept of virtual organization to professional health and safety. Lastly, Christophe Martin continues his research in the of field health and safety and working conditions of micro-entreprises.

The year 2007 was marked by the conclusion of the TMDNIS project in partnership with the University of Genoa, the object of which was the definition and proto-typing of a decision-assisted system dedicated to the trans-port of hazardous goods (TMD). A partnership was signed with the R&D department of DCNS, a European leader in the construction of warships and the development of naval combat systems. Collaboration with the Loire Bretagne Water Agency on the reduction of the vulnera-bility of small and medium-sized companies with regard to flooding was completed this year with the unfolding of a diagnosis guide. Lastly, activity has continued in the context of the European NEUROPRION and FIREPARADOX projects.

significant eventsThe Cindyniques pole has become the CRC. The name was changed in order to improve comprehension on an international level and among academic and industrial partners alike. The option chosen was to put forward tangible research topics : risks and crises. The notions, concepts and methods put forward by the sciences for the engineer, management sciences, sociology, ergono-mics, hazard management, geography and law obviously continue to be the foundations of the laboratory’s scien-tific efforts.

The doctoral course in Science and engineering of hazar-dous activities has awarded doctorates to its first graduates. Congratulations are due to Saber Aloui, Julien Cambon, Cédric Denis-Rémis, Emma Haziza and Céline Sanchez.

PREVENTEO, the company linked under a collaboration contract to CRC (contact Franck Guarnieri), specialized in the field of handling Hygiene, Safety and Environmental risks (HSE), has continued to grow. Its various clients now include Eurocopter, Schneider, Thales, Air France, Apave, Galderma, Merck, Gaz de Strasbourg and Caterpilar.

lavoisier, a collection on the sciences of hazards and dangerThis new collection, directed by Franck Guarnieri, is to become a vast library on this subject, bringing together scientific productions from very varied horizons in a single editorial area. This collection has been organized on the basis of three series of works:

the Notes de synthèse et de recherche series describes a particular issue, notion or method in approximately 80 pages;the Références series is made up of introductions to various disciplines and wider concepts. Composed of a deliberately limited volume, its intended audience is particularly final year BS students and beyond, or professionals wishing to acquaint themselves with new scientific fields;the Innovations series is usually derived from edited doctoral theses, after drastic selection, on account of their original and innovative scientific contribution. Find more at http://www.lavoisier.fr

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Director:MadeleineAKRICH

Telephone 01�0519191Fax 01��5�5�28Email [email protected]

Webandpublications http://www.mines-paristech.fr/Fr/CSIResearchacademics 10Otherstaff 5MINESParisTechPh.D.students 10

Centre for the sociology of innovation (mines paristech / csi)

The Centre for the Sociology of Innovation (CSI), founded in 1967, develops research on the analysis of scientific, technical and cultural innovation, from a perspective grounded in the sociology of science, law and culture. Initially, the centre focused on the dyna-mics of research in companies, the anthropology of laboratories, the socio-technical analysis of innovation and scientometrics. Various themes took form in the 1980s around three complementary fields in which CSI has acquired an international reputation: the anthro-pology of sciences and techniques, research and inno-vation policies (public authorities, associations and private companies) and, lastly, the development of publics, markets and uses. CSI has a total staff of 20 people. It is currently working in association with CNRS (UMR 7185). Research contracts provide funding of €350,000 per year on average, approximately 30% of its resources.

trainingResearch academics at CSI are involved in many trai-ning activities. In the Civil Engineer programme of Mines ParisTech, CSI provides two common core courses (Controversy analysis and The making of modern society) and four specialized courses (Dynamics of scien-ces and techniques, Management of research and techno-logy, Sociology of markets and Publics, markets and users), which in varied pedagogical forms, provide students with the tools and the basic culture which will help them to apprehend more clearly the role their future activities will play in society. The specialized module on Innovation and entrepreneurship, set up recently,

pursues this experience further with a distinct managerial dimension. Its aim is to train engineers into company creation and into the development of innovative activities within major industrial groups. Furthermore, the CSI supervises students from the specialized Master in Engineering and management of the environment at the ISIGE in the conduct of a survey on environmental controver-sies. CSI also organizes a doctorate seminar and supervises a number of Ph.D theses (on average, three theses submitted per year).

CSI’s research team provides third-cycle courses and other pedagogical collaboration in various insti-tutions in France and internationally (universi-ties, engineering schools, business schools and specialized institutes which, recently, have inclu-ded: École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Sciences Po, Copenhagen Business School, London School of Economics, Harvard University, Golds-miths College and Collège Universitaire Français de Moscou). Since 2004, CSI has taken part in deve-loping the Unités de formation au management asso-ciatif (UMA), a new continuous education activity in partnership with ADEMA (Association pour le développement du management associatif).

researchThe themes and problems shared by its research team led CSI in 2007 to define four priority research streams:

innovation, entrepreneurship and public policies;the shaping of markets;medicine and health care;experimentation and politics.

Innovation, entrepreneurship and public policiesThe work of CSI related to this particular domain bears on three complementary themes: the analysis of networks of relationships existing between the various players involved in innovation processes

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8� economics, manaGement, society: activity report 2007 8�

(with special attention focusing on areas common to both the public and private sectors), the analysis of public policies in the research field (with the aim of perfecting instruments of analysis and manage-ment of public policies) and, lastly, the creation of innovative enterprises on the basis of research (with an analysis of technology transfer activities in higher education and research institutions).

In 2007, this research domain was developed particularly around the European REBASPINOFF programme (Addressing the Knowledge Gap: Toward a Better Understanding of Research Based Spin-Offs) and the PICO project (Academic Entrepreneurship: From Knowledge Creation to Knowledge Diffusion), directed by Philippe Mustar. The REBASPINOFF research programme, integrated into the PRIME network of excellence, is aimed at improving knowledge of companies born out of research or RBSO (Research Based Spin-Offs). Companies such as these have been the subject of growing attention as they have increased considerably in number recently. Their creation has become a new task for research bodies and a whole range of public poli-cies have been implemented in order to promote them. The European PICO project (STREPS of the 6th PCRD) focuses on this particular phenomenon, by placing emphasis on three objectives: to analyse determining factors in the function of creation and transformation of knowledge of RBSOs, to examine the impact of the innovation activity of RBSOs on their competitiveness and their growth and, lastly, to study the impact of RBSOs on the capacity for inno-vation and the growth of their clients and partners. Two doctoral theses under way at CSI are related to this research field (Liliana Doganova and Marie Renault). An invited Ph.D. student was hosted in spring 2007 (Riccardo Fini). Recent publication of the work entitled Academic Entrepreneurship in Europe (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2007), co-authored by Mike Wright, Bart Clarysse, Philippe Mustar and Andy Lockett, provides testimony of the role of CSI in scientific progress in this field.

The shaping of marketsThe shaping of markets (their creation, stabilization and transformation) is the result of initiatives taken by a wide range of players with diverse interests and viewpoints. Economic sociology, a discipline which has acquired genuine theoretical and methodolo-gical independence, is focused on describing these processes. The perspective developed at CSI, parti-cularly on the basis of work produced by Michel Callon, Antoine Hennion, Fabian Muniesa, Made-

leine Akrich, Cécile Méadel and Vololona Reabe-harisoa, has contributed to developing this field in an original manner. This perspective is particularly attentive to the variety of players involved in the formation of markets, the central role of technical and scientific knowledge, and the process of quali-fication of goods and services. It also focuses on a pragmatic analysis of forms of attachment (listening, tasting, etc.) specific to “amateurs” and on the study of collective procedures (often set up by professio-nal players: industrialists, distributors, etc.) who wish to define, ensure and prescribe the quality of such and such an object.

In 2007, the members of CSI involved in this research field pursued their empiri-cal research in various fields (large-scale retailing, the wine market, the market for luxury goods, energy markets). The year 2007 was also strongly marked by the scientific valoriza-tion of CSI’s work in this field with the publication of two major works, Do Economists Make Markets? (Princeton University Press, 2007), edited by Donald MacKenzie, Fabian Muniesa and Lucia Siu, and Market Devices (Blackwell Publishing, 2007), edited by Michel Callon, Yuval Millo and Fabian Muniesa, and by the new edition of La Passion musicale (Métailié, 2007), a work by Antoine Hennion which had become a classic in the sociology of taste. Four Ph.D. theses under way at CSI are linked to this research field (Catherine Grand-clément-Chaffy, Anne-Sophie Breitwiller, Alexandra Minvielle and Trine Pallesen, the last being jointly supervised by the Copenhagen Business School). In 2007, CSI also welcomed, within this research field, an invited Ph.D. student (Martha Poon). A post-doctoral student (Elena Simakova) was welcomed in the context of a partnership between ParisTech and Telecom ParisTech: she conducted an ethnogra-phical monitoring survey of the launching of an innovative product in the field of information and communication technology.

Medicine and health careResearch conducted at CSI in this field tackles three main objectives: describing and analysing the role

The birth of the shopping cart (1938). An invention analysed by Catherine Grandclément in her Ph.D. thesis.

8� economics, manaGement, society: activity report 2007 8�mines paristech / csi

of various groups of patients in the structuring and articulation of diverse spaces for intervention (scien-tific, medical, political, economic and media spaces), studying the emergence of new modes of producing knowledge and medical practice (and the concomi-tant constitution of new groups involved in such production such as patients’ organizations) and, lastly, understanding the stakes, whether normative, ethical or political, which are the distinctive features of a particular field of health care and medicine.

CSI’s research in this field in 2007 was pursued on several projects. The MAPO project, “Mapping and Analysing Patient Organization Movements on Rare Diseases” (Vololona Rabeharisoa, Michel Callon, Florence Paterson and Frédéric Vergnaud) made it possible to establish a database on patients’ asso-ciations and thereby to study, with the appropriate analytical tools, their relations with the research world: the project has been pursued therefore with an extensive survey via a questionnaire laun-ched at national level with more than 520 patients’ organizations (rare diseases). The statistical proces-sing of these results provides visualization of the dynamics of social networks which make up this field, thanks in particular to skills which CSI has acquired in the field of network analysis software. Furthermore, in the wake of the European ITEMS thematic network of which CSI is the main coor-dinator and which has brought together some 20 research centres in the social sciences of medicine and health care in 10 European countries, the CSI is in charge of coordinating one specific European action, MEDUSE, Governance, Health and Medicine: Opening Dialogue between Social Scientists and Users (Madeleine Akrich, Florence Paterson, Vololona Rabeharisoa), the purpose of which is to establish a dialogue between researchers an professional and political players with regard to the main stakes in the field of medicine and health care. During 2007, three conferences were organized in Paris, Utrecht and Liège: they provided an opportunity to produce a collective description of questions and problems raised by each of the chosen themes: the dynamics of patients’ associations in Europe, the emergence of new technologies and responsibilities in home care services, and national and European prospects for health care agencies. Other research in the field of health care and medicine is to be added to this particular field, particularly through the theme of

“altered humanities” (Antoine Hennion, Florence Paterson) towards which a range of ongoing surveys converge (psychiatry, day care, Alzheimer’s disease) and which was sustained by a joint seminar invol-ving several research laboratories. By combining

its research on information technologies, the CSI has also developed research on the production of health care information on the Internet, with a focus on the production of lay information and on contents dealing with cancer (Madeleine Akrich, Cécile Méadel, Catherine Rémy). Lastly, Catherine Rémy, CNRS research fellow who joined the CSI team in 2007, has begun research on the produc-tion and regulation of xenotransplantation, with particular attention bearing on ethical questions raised by such biomedical innovation. Two Ph.D. theses under way at CSI are related to this particular field (Christelle Routelous and Franck Guichet). A guest researcher was hosted in 2007 (José Manuel de Oliveira Mendes).

Experimentation and politicsWhile being an integral part of ongoing research work conducted within CSI on the theme of tech-nical democracy and public debate since the mid-1990s, this particular research field, coordinated by Yannick Barthe, Dominique Linhardt and Michel Callon, corresponds to a desire to broaden and trans-form the question of public action beyond the field of scientific and technological policies. Just as, in the 1980s, the introduction into CSI’s work on concepts related to the analysis of politics (spokesperson, representation) had contributed to the understan-ding of the dynamics of science and techniques, the notion of experimentation should make it possible to have a new look at the State, government action and the controversies and conflicts which are the substance of political life.

In 2007, CSI was deeply involved in conceptual systematization and categorical standardization in the field of the analysis of scientific and tech-nical controversies, particularly with regard to the development of specific tools for the mapping of controversies (under the leadership of Dominique Linhardt and Frédéric Vergnaud). In 2007, the PRAG-

MALOLF project (“public action, accountancy trials and performance: sociological analysis of the reform of public finance in France”), was pursued, princi-pally under the leadership of Dominique Linhardt and Fabian Muniesa, thanks to funding from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR). The aim of the programme was to analyse, through a series of case studies, the reform process introduced through the passing of the 2001 Act on public finance (LOLF) in France. With similar funding from the ANR, the RETRORISK project (“Retrospective evaluation of collective risks: the case of the impact on health of nuclear tests”), developed by Yannick Barthe, seeks

88 economics, manaGement, society: activity report 2007

to examine the boundaries of politics on the basis of the case of nuclear test veterans and the analysis of the

“political debatability” of the latter, in retrospective terms. Furthermore, CSI has developed research in a number of other fields within this domain: nuclear policy, online public debate and regulation of the Internet (which has been the subject of a contract with the ANR (National Research Agency) piloted by Cécile Méadel). Two Ph.D. theses under way at CSI complete this research stream (Nicolas Benvegnu and Benjamin Lemoine). Furthermore, a post-doctoral student (Florence Jacquemot) joined CSI within this particular field in 2007.

significant eventsIn the context of MEDUSE, an international conference on “The dynamics of patient organizations in the European area” was held at Mines ParisTech on 10 and 11 July 2007. It brought together a number of leading players and thereby constituted a privileged forum for intense exchanges on the role of associations in interactions between clinics, research, the pharmaceutical industry and association militancy.

On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, CSI undertook to organize a major symposium at Mines ParisTech on 27 and 28 September 2007 on the theme of “Experimenting, testing and assembling”. The purpose was to present and to discuss, with a hundred or more French and foreign researchers, new pathways for research enterpri-ses within CSI and its collaboration network. These new orientations highlight the crucial role of experimental activities in an increasing number of fields, the political aspects of those activities, the collective repercussions which they bring about and renewed questioning of public proof that such trends call for.

Two major distinctions were granted in 2007 to members of the CSI:

Madeleine Akrich was awarded the insignia of Chevalier in the National Order of Merit;

and Michel Callon was awarded the CNRS Silver Medal.

The “Trinity Test”, first atomic test (16 July 1945).Can the debate on health effects of nuclear tests be reopened?

· np activity report 2007 research...

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