About me

Projects

• PFDEM
  

  Phase-Field Discrete Element Modelization.
  

• PF
  

  Phase-Field description.
  

• DEM
  

  Discrete Element Modelization.
  

• Generation of microstructures
  

  Generation of synthetic microstructures.
  

• DIC
  

  Digital Image Correlation.
  

Publications

in the process of publication:
• Stijn François et al.. The SAGE-SAND project: an insight in installation and ageing effects on the performance of monopile foundations. Chapter 19 in Offshore Wind Turbine Foundations. ?
• Shijin Li, Alexandre Sac-Morane, Jeroen Soete, Hannes Claes, Johan Vanhulst, Hadrien Rattez. Fines-Induced Shear Band Thickening in Gap-Graded Soils: Evidence from Digital Image and Volume Correlations. ?. ?

2026:
• Alexandre Sac-Morane, Manolis Veveakis, Hadrien Rattez. Stress state evolution of a cemented granular material subjected to bond dissolution by Discrete Element Modeling. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering. 10.1007/s00603-026-05514-y
• Alexandre Sac-Morane, Katerina Ioannidou, Manolis Veveakis, Hadrien Rattez. Predicting microstructure and mechanical properties during alite (C3S) hydration using a Phase-Field model. Construction and Building Materials. 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2026.145946

2025:
• Fanyu Wu, Alexandre Sac-Morane, Hadrien Rattez, Manolis Veveakis, Manman Hu. Onset of reactive brittle cracking in sandstones: DEM-informed phase-field modeling. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences. 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106319
• Alexandre Sac-Morane, Hadrien Rattez, Manolis Veveakis. Importance of the precipitation on the slowdown of the creep behavior due to pressure-solution. Journal of Engineering Mechanics. 10.1061/jenmdt/emeng-8360
• Alexandre Sac-Morane. Numerical Analysis of Chemo-Mechanical Couplings in Geomaterials at the Microscale. PhD thesis. Duke University & UCLouvain

2024:
• Alexandre Sac-Morane, Manolis Veveakis, Hadrien Rattez. A Phase-Field Discrete Element Method to study chemo-mechanical coupling in granular materials. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering. 10.1016/j.cma.2024.116900
• Alexandre Sac-Morane, Manolis Veveakis, Hadrien Rattez. Frictional weakening of a granular sheared layer due to viscous rolling revealed by Discrete Element Modeling. Granular Matter. 10.1007/s10035-024-01407-5

2022:
• Hadrien Rattez, Yaozhong Shi, Alexandre Sac-Morane, Timothée Klaeyle, Bolesław Mielniczuk, Manolis Veveakis. Effect of grain size distribution on the shear band thickness evolution in sand. Géotechnique. 10.1680/jgeot.20.P.120

Experience

June 2025 - Nowadays Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Champs-sur-Marne, France
Post-doctoral position under the supervision of Jean-Michel Pereira & Philipp Braun
Numerical and experimental investigations of synthetic rocks

September 2021 - June 2025 Duke University, Durham, NC, USA & UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
PhD under the supervision of Manolis Veveakis & Hadrien Rattez
Numerical analysis of chemo-mechanical couplings in geomaterials at the microscale

March 2021 - July 2021 UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Master Internship under the supervision of Hadrien Rattez
Discrete Element Model of an underground fault

May 2019 - July 2019 Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
Master Internship under the supervision of Manolis Veveakis and Hadrien Rattez
Digital Image Correlation during triaxial test on soil sample

July 2018 - August 2018 Ingerop, Paris, France
Licence Internship
Update a prices database and development of Excel sheet to design roofs to the shear phenomenon

Recognition

Lecture invitations
• May 2026 1st Redback/Moose Workshop
  Predicting the microstructure evolution of geomaterials under chemical interactions with a Phase-Field approach
• January 2026 ISRM Young Members' Seminar
  How the Chemistry threatens the Mechanical Integrity of Underground Reservoirs
• June 2025 W(H)YDOC 25 (International Workshop for Young Doctors in Geomechanics)
  A Phase Field Discrete Element Method to Model Chemo-Mechanical Couplings in Geomaterials at the Microscale
• May 2024 CFMR Jeunes Technical Workshop: Multiphysics Phenomena during Natural and Human-Induced Fluid Flow in the Subsurface
  Micro Chemo-Mechanical Modeling to understand Fault Reactivation and Reservoir Settlement during Subsurface Fluid Injection/Extraction

Awards
• May 2025 Outstanding Scholarship Award
  Duke University Civil & Environmental Engineering Department
• May 2024 Poromechanics Student Paper Competition EMI/PMC 2024 Runner Up
  for the paper titled: The competition between dissolution, precipitation and diffusion during pressure-solution creep in porous materials: a PFDEM investigation

Certifications
• March 2025 French certification (qualification)
  CNU Section 60: Mechanics, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering
• July 2020 French external certification in Engineering (agrégation externe)
  Major : Civil Engineering

Workshop Committees
• 2025-2026 CFMR Jeunes Technical Workshops
  

Review activities

International journals
Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment
International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics
Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
Mechanics of Time-Dependent Materials
Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering
National conference (France)
13eme Journées Nationales de Géotechniques et de Géologie de l'Ingénieur

Education

September 2021 - May 2025 Duke University, Durham, NC, USA & UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
PhD under the supervision of Manolis Veveakis & Hadrien Rattez

September 2020 - September 2021 Université Grenoble Alpes, Saint-Martin-d'hères, France
Master Geomechanics, Civil Engineering and Risks

September 2018 - September 2020 Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, Cachan, France
Master of Civil Engineering

September 2017 - September 2018 Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, Cachan, France
3rd year of Engineering License

September 2015 - September 2017 Lycée Déodat de Séverac, Toulouse, France
Highly selective classes to prepare for the competitive exams of French schools, Option Physics and Technologies