Laboratory of Soil Mechanics – LMS

We foster education, research and innovation in underground technologies to ensure a sustainable, accessible and resilient development of our infrastructures.

Our research group gives the priority to the protection against the geological hazards and the damage to the industrial environment and structures. Our experimental and modelling expertise allow for understanding, describing and forseeing the environmental impact of the future technologies

Professor Lyesse Laloui, Director

Achieving sustainability and resilience of our communities and environment has become one of the global challenges of the 21st century. It requires to ensure energy security to a growing population, sustainable food supply, resilience to natural hazards and extreme events while maintaining a decent and sustainable human development on Earth. Securing the future of the next generations rely on our capability to mitigate global warming, access to renewable, indigenous and efficient energy resources but also our resilience to natural hazards and extreme events.

Join us at LMS EPFL!

We are looking for PhD students and Post-docs in: THM behavior for nuclear waste storage application, bio-cementation of soils, CO2 storage and Energy geo-structures. Click here for more information about our open positions.

Award

GETE Winter School

We are pleased to announce that the 3rd edition of the Winter School on Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment will take place on January 21^st – 23^rd 2020 in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland.

Our research activities:

Energy Geostructures and Thermal Piles

Bio-improved Soils

Nuclear Waste Storage

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CO2 Storage

Behaviour of Shales

Landslide Analysis

Discover our Annual Report 2018

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Quick Links

Upcoming keynote lectures

by Prof. Laloui at international conferences

click here

Chair website

Gaz Naturel Pertrosvibri

click here

BIOGEOS

Biomediated Geomaterial Strengthening

click here

Recent news

Dr. Terzis in the prestigious Forbes 2020 list of 30Under30 Europeans

18.03.20EPFL

Congratulations! On behalf of EPFL’s Soil Mechanics laboratory (LMS), we are thrilled to announce that our post-doc scientist, Dimitrios Terzis, is in this year’s Forbes European Class of 30 Under 30, in the category Industry and Manufacturing.

Energy tunnels: novelty in energy and building techniques

05.02.20EPFL

An article on the recent advances in energy tunnels has appeared in Haustech magazine, which references the latest developments and news in the energy and building technology sector in Switzerland.

LMS makes the headlines: limiting induced seismicity

04.02.20EPFL

A recent article by researchers at the LMS has introduced a strategy to precondition the stress field of a potential Enhanced Geothermal System prior to stimulation. By altering the stress state, the eventual shear stimulation that is required to make the reservoir economical is predicted to be less likely to result in large seismic events.

All news

Social media

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Upcoming events

No scheduled events

Lab Logs

Intensive Course on Energy Geostructures: Analysis and Design

25-03-202027-03-2020

With: Lyesse Laloui (EPF Lausanne, CH), Alessandro F. Rotta Loria (Northwestern University, USA), Tony Amis (GI-Energy, USA), Didier Mülhauser (Marti SA, CH), Luis de Pereda Fernández (ENERES, ES)
Place and room: EPFL Innovation Park, Bâtiment E
Category: Public Science Events

GETE Winter School

21-01-202023-01-2020

With: Eduardo Alonso (UPC Barcelona), Alessio Ferrari (EPF Lausanne), Jean Sulem (ENPC ParisTech), Lyesse Laloui (EPF Lausanne), Russ Ewy (Chevron USA), Tomas Hueckel (Duke University).
Place and room: Eurotel Victoria, Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland
Category: Conferences – Seminars