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Environmental Hydraulics Laboratory LHE
Welcome on the LHE website.
Hydraulics and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Group
Le Laboratoire d'Hydraulique Environnementale (LHE, environmental hydraulics laboratory) is a laboratory of the Civil Engineering Institute (IIC) of the school of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC)
Mission
The Environmental Hydraulics Laboratory (Laboratoire d'Hydraulique Environnementale, LHE) is a laboratory within the Civil Engineering Institute of the School of Natural, Architectural and Constructed Environmental Sciences (Faculté Environnement Naturel, Architectural et Construit) (ENAC).
Scientific activities and applications
The LHE is a laboratory of environmental fluid mechanics whose research strives toward a better understanding of hydraulic processes in the environment, with particular emphasis on the problems encountered in the Alps. The laboratory also investigates how scientific knowledge is incorporated into land-use planning policies. The field of research covered within the LHE includes the following topics:
- Dynamics of free-surface flows on steep slopes, with the objective of modeling natural hazards induced by water such as mudflows and avalanches.
- Physics of bed load transport, aiming at better management of sediments in waterways.
- Hydrodynamics of waterways, with the objective of studying free surface flow to better understand dynamic, transport phenomena within rivers including floods and dambreak waves (in mountain areas).
- Scientific models and risk management, with the objective of providing decision makers with scientific tools related to land use planning and natural hazard mitigation in mountain areas.
LHE in pictures
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Torrential hydraulics
Field investigation of bedload transport in the Navisence river (Val d Anniviers, VS) with CREALP and the university of Jaén (prof. P. Bohorquez).
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Particle flow
Sediment transport experiments.
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Dam break problem
PIV experiments to measure velocity profiles within granular suspension flows.
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Suspension rheology
Couette cell and rheometric investigations of granular suspensions.
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Impulse wave
Experimental and numerical investigation of impulse waves generated by snow avalanches (a collaboration with prof. M. Brocchini, university of Ancona).
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Viscoplastic flow
Avalanche of a viscoplastic gel on a sloping bed
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Powder snow avalanches
Dynamics of powder snow avalanches (Vallée de la Sionne, VS) with SLF (Dr B. Sovilla) and the University of Durham (prof. J. McElwaine).
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Scientific models and natural hazard mitigation
Can we predict catastrophes? How can scientific expertise assist decision-makers in land use planning?
Particle segregation
Experimental investigation of particle segregation in granular flows, a collaboration with the University of Manchester (prof. J.M.N.T. Gray).
In memoriam
 | On 28 Jan 2012, Gaël Epely-Chauvin , PhD student in our laboratory, passed away in a diving accident just after he started exploring the "sources de la Chaudanne" (FR). Gaël was a shooting star, who lit up our lifes when passing overhead. . |
LHE News
Field of expertise of LHE
- Geophysical fluid mechanics
- Snow avalanches
- Torrential hydraulics
- Risk management (in mountain areas)
- Rheology of suspensions
- Particulate flows
Contacts
Laboratoire d'Hydraulique Environnementale (LHE)
EPFL-ENAC-LHE
Station 18
CH-1015 Lausanne
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Fax: +41 (0) 21 693 67 67