Alain Le Kouby
Chargé de recherche en Mécanique des sols
CFR / GERS - Département Géotechnique, environnement, risques naturels et sciences de la Terre
SRO - Sols, roches et ouvrages géotechniques
Marne-la-Vallée
Bâtiment: Building: Bienvenüe
14-20 Boulevard Newton$Champs-sur-Marne$77447 Marne-la-Vallée Cedex 2
Bureau: Office: C238
Alain Le Kouby
Chargé de recherche en Mécanique des sols
Researcher in Geotechnical Engineering
CFR / GERS - Département Géotechnique, environnement, risques naturels et sciences de la Terre
SRO - Sols, roches et ouvrages géotechniques
Name Alain LE KOUBY
Work address 14-20 boulevard Newton – Cité Descartes – Champs sur Marne
F77447 Marne La Vallée Cedex 2
Phone + 33 1 81 66 82 72
alain.lekouby@ifsttar.fr
WORK EXPERIENCE
• IFSTTAR / Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées (LCPC) France - Since 2005
Researcher in Soil Mechanics
Research activities
- Monitoring for geotechnical structure, Pile load tests (French removable extensometer technique and Fiber optics)
- Laboratory tests: static and cyclic triaxial tests, soil-cement mixing, and other soil mechanics tests
Design methods: Participation to research projects aiming at improving the design for reinforced earth structure with steel bars under dynamic loading, for piles under horizontal and axial cyclic loading and for deep soil mixing technique
Projects
- French National project SOLCYP: Piles under static and cyclic loading (field tests, laboratory tests, design)
- European Research project INNOTRACK (research 6th Framework Programme), in particular the research work on the feasibility of using the Deep Soil mixing methods to reinforce the subgrade. A French research project (RUFEX) has been launched in 2010 to validate the technique for specific applications.
- From 2013, research and engineering work on the reinforcement of dykes using the Deep mixing technique through the Loire River. One to 2 kilometers construction works each year. Validation of this technique and proposition of recommendations.
- Reinforced earth structure for railway infrastructure - Partnership with SNCF (2008-2011).
- Management and Organization of a four year research program at IFSTTAR-LCPC / CEREMA on Foundations and soil improvements.
- From 2017, project with Paris Express, impact of tunnelling on pile response
Teaching activities
- 60 hours for Undergraduate teaching per year : soil mechanics, retaining walls and foundations
- Ph.D. advisor for four Ph.D. candidates (from 2006)
• GINGER Group, France – 2004-2005
Geotechnical Engineer
• SYSTRA (Subsidiary of French Railway company SNCF), Paris, France – 2001-2003
Geotechnical Engineer
-- CTRL project, Rail Link Engineering (RLE), London, England - 2002
- Analysis of vertical and horizontal field cyclic load tests from screw, driven precast and CFA piles
- Validation of long term settlement for piled slab. Progressive checking of conditions as piling proceeds
--Paris office – 2001-2003
- Geotechnical Design for railway infrastructures (underpinning, retaining walls, shallow and deep foundations) within international projects
EDUCATION
2003 Ph.D. Degree in Soil Mechanics (1997-2001 and defended in 2003) - E.N.P.C. (Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées), C.E.R.M.E.S. (Research and Teaching Institute in Soil Mechanics), Paris.
Research topic: Micropiles under static and cyclic loading : French National Project F.O.R.E.V.E.R.
ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS
• Member of C.F.M.S. (French Soil Mechanics Committee).
• Member of ELGIP (European Large Geotechnical Institute Platform )
Urban centers in major cities worldwide are progressively densifying, due to the enormous population growth over the last years. These changes strain existing infrastructure, requiring expansion or construction of new underground transportation systems, for example in Paris and Toulouse. Considering the potential consequences of excavation challenges near adjacent structures and in particular piled structures, thus affecting citizens in their living environment and for their mobility, tunnel excavation outcomes could be significantly limited or controlled by predicting foundations behaviour during and following tunnel construction as well as operations phases. In particular, it would help to limit financial provision for constructions phases and improve environmental performance of the infrastructure project.
The research work proposed by the consortium will help to manage impact on existing structures during tunnelling and tunnel operation phase in the framework of actual important infrastructure projects in a metropole area.
Feedback and post-survey analysis of practitioners and academia highlight the potential impact of tunnelling on existing structures in terms of settlement and the impact due to ground borne vibrations during tunnel construction and operation.
These research topics have been identified as requiring collaborative work across the profession in a new National Research Project. They can be grouped into two research topics:
1) Improve modelling and optimized design of pile response to tunnelling and to tunnel railway operation from new data and 2) Improve numerical and analytical modelling of propagation of induced ground-borne vibrations in complex geological domains.
TULIP (Tunnelling and Limitation on the Impacts on Piles) project covers mainly point 1) and partly point 2). E-PILOT project will help to complete integration of data from literature and new projects, to improve numerical and analytical methods devoted to model effects for tunnelling and ground borne vibrations propagation.
The ANR project E-PILOT is associated to TULIP project and is a part of a global approach to adapting land use planning to the requirements of sustainable development. It also aims to study the pile response to tunnelling and railway traffic in underground structures not only on the quasi-static effects related to tunnelling but also on dynamic effects induced by ground-borne-vibrations during excavation and operation of tunnels.
Original and unique monitoring on underground structures will be carried out as well as new in situ tests and laboratory tests procedures to improve soil characterization during tunnelling phase.