Most of the performed researches can be grouped into three major domains: rock instabilities, design of deep tunnels and, mechanical behaviour of poor rocks.     Supervised PhD theses

Rock instabilities:

  Design of protection galleries against rock falls (SNF)
  Comparison of trajectory programs for fragmental rock falls (EC - Interreg IIC; Canton du Valais)
  Experimental study of block bouncing (SNF)
  Run-out of rock avalanches (EC - Interreg IIIA; Canton du Valais; SNF)
  Methodology for rockfall hazard mapping (Canton de Vaud; EC - Marie-Curie)

Underground structures:

  Design of tunnels in saturated porous media (SNF)
  Brittle failure at the Lötschberg base tunnel (Alptransit Lötschberg)
  Long term behaviour of Swiss road tunnels (OFROU)
  Design and delayed convergences of tunnels in poor rock masses
     (Alptransit Lötschberg ; L.R.P.C. de Toulouse)
  Anisotropic failure mechanism around galleries in the Boom Clay formation (ONDRAF)
  Stability of underground quarries in chalk (INERIS)

Behaviour of rocks and rock masses:

  Correlation between geological and geomechanical properties of cataclastic rocks (SNF)
  Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical behaviour of the Excavation Damaged Zone in clay host rocks
      (Euratom Research Programme on Nuclear Energy)
  Acoustic emissions and Kaiser effect
  Mechanical deterioration of rocks submitted to freeze and thaw cycles