Doctoral theses

In this thesis, we are interested in the modeling of fracture propagation. Historical formulations have two types of drawbacks. In the case of local damage models, the limitations come from the fact that the results depend on the computational mesh.

Context. Nowadays, we are witnessing a rapid spread of multimodal mobility in our cities and a willingness on the part of communities to promote new mobility behaviors.

Many fluids are used in the energy, transport and environmental sectors, for various applications ranging from the production of renewable energy to the mobility of people. These fluids are often complex mixtures whose components are mainly made up of hydrocarbon species.

Following the rapid emergence of electric vehicles in the automotive market, manufacturers are seeking to regularly improve their product’s performance to stand out from the competition.

Powertrain electrification in the transportation field is currently a strong trend. Permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSM) are commonly used in this type of application because of their compact design and their high energy efficiency.

The Li-ion battery is the technology currently used by car manufacturers to provide the energy storage required for electrified vehicles. However, these Li-ion batteries can be the source of incidents with potentially dramatic consequences that can have various origins but are grouped under the term thermal runaway.

The massive introduction of electric vehicles presently is a key contributor to make automotive transport more durable. This in particular requires the ability to design more efficient and low-cost electric powertrains in order to increase the vehicles’ autonomy and to make them more competitive on the market. 

Due to the progressive hybridization and electrification of passenger vehicles, the optimization of electric motors is becoming a priority challenge for a responsible energy transition. 

The general context of transport is undergoing profound change, in particular through stricter considerations of the impact of its emissions on the environment and the air quality in real use. The use of innovative carbon-free fuels, such as hydrogen (H2) and ammonia (NH3), is a way to limit emissions at the source.

Today, the awareness by the public authorities of the ecological footprint and the health impact of existing transport systems requires a significant change in the mobility offer.

Within the context of CO2 emissions abatement, "Solar Fuels" production, i.e. energy carriers using sunlight as primary energy source, represents an appealing but challenging alternative. Inspired by natural photosynthesis, this alternative aims at storing solar energy in chemical bonds by achieving CO2 photo-reduction into valuable compounds.

Nowadays, solid electrolytes are considered to be the key to the development of next generation batteries. Polymers and inorganics are two types of lithium conducting solid electrolytes which have been widely studied but their performances are still limited. A promising route to reach efficient electrolytes is to use inorganic nanoparticles.