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Alba Yerro-Colom

Associate Professor

Alba Yerro-Colom

Alba Yerro-Colom, Associate Professor

111-A Patton Hall
Blacksburg, VA, USA 24061
Mail Code: (0105)



Program Area : Geotechnical Engineering
ayerro@vt.edu
(540) 231-2036

Areas of Interest

Numerical methods in geotechnical engineering; Material Point Method, Slope stability, Failure initiation and run-out prediction; Soil-water-structure interaction

  • Ph.D., Geotechnical Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain), 2015
  • M.Sc., Civil Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain), 2009
  • Assistant professor, Virginia Tech, Aug 2017-Jul 2024
  • Construction manager assistant, Cots i Claret (Spain), June 2007 - September 2007
  • Research Assistant, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Department of Geotechnical Engineering (Spain), Sep 2008 - Sep 2015
  • Research Visitor, Deltares (The Netherlands) Feb 2011 - July 2011, Sep 2011- Oct 2011
  • Research Assistant, International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering (Spain), Jan 2015 - Nov 2015
  • Postdoc, University of Cambridge, Engineering Department (United kingdom) Dec 2015 - May2017
  • NSF CAREER Award 2024
  • USUCGER Early Career Researcher Award 2023
  • Telford Gold Medal, 2015, Institution of Civil Engineers
  • Extraordinary Ph.D. Award, 2017, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya
  • CEE 3514: Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering
  • CEE 5500: Numerical Methods in Geotechnics
  • CEE 5984: (FALL 2018) Modeling with MPM
  • Swamy VS, Yerro A, Sandu C, Pandit R, Gorsich D, Sebeck K. (2024) Numerical analysis of tire mobility on deformable plastic clay in saturated conditions using total and effective stress frameworks. Journal of Terramechanics, 117, 101024. DOI: 10.1016/j.jterra.2024.101024.
  • Zambrano-Cruzatty L, Yerro A, Charbonneau BR, Stark N. (2024) A soil mechanics model to determine the onset of wind erosion. Coastal Engineering, 191, 104523. DOI:10.1016/j.coastaleng.2024.104523.
  • Urmi ZA, Yerro A, Saeidi A, Chavali RVP. (2024) Prediction of retrogressive landslide in sensitive clays by incorporating a novel strain softening law into the Material Point Method. Engineering Geology, 340 107669. DOI:10.1016/j.enggeo.2024.107669.
  • Ceccato F, Yerro A, Di Carluccio G. (2024) Simulating landslides with the material point method: Best practices, potentialities, and challenges. Engineering Geology, 107614. DOI:10.1016/j.enggeo.2024.107614.
  • Lu M, Ceccato F, Zhou M, Yerro A, Zhang J. (2024) Evaluating the exceedance probability of the runout distance of rainfall-induced landslides using a two-stage FEM-MPM approach. Acta Geotechnica, 19 (6), 3691-3706. DOI: 10.1007/s11440-023-02160-4.
  • Macedo J, Yerro A, *Cornejo R, *Pierce I. (2024) Cadia TSF failure assessment considering triggering and post-triggering mechanisms. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 150 (4), 04024011. DOI: 10.1061/JGGEFK.GTENG-11660.
  • Yost KM, Yerro A, Martin ER, Green RA. (2024) A cone penetration test database for multiple thin-layer correction procedure development. Earthquake Spectra, 40 (1), 803-827. DOI: 10.1177/87552930231217002.
  • Swamy VS, *Pandit R, Yerro A, Sandu C, Rizzo DM, Sebeck K, Gorsich D (2023) Review of Modeling and Validation Techniques for Tire-Deformable Soil Interactions. Journal of Terramechanics 109, 73-92. DOI:10.1016/j.jterra.2023.05.007.
  • Monzer A, Faramarzi A, Yerro A, Chapman D (2023) MPM Investigation of the Fluidization Initiation and Postfluidization Mechanism around a Pressurized Leaking Pipe. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 149(11), 04023096. DOI:10.1061/JGGEFK.GTENG-10985.
  • Urmi ZA, Saeidi A, Yerro A, *Chavali RVP. (2023) Prediction of post-peak stress-strain behavior for sensitive clays. Engineering Geology, 323, 107221. DOI:10.1016/j.enggeo.2023.107221
  • Urmi ZA, Saeidi A, Chavali RVP, Yerro A. (2023) Failure mechanisms, existing constitutive models and numerical modeling of landslides in sensitive clay: A review. Geoenvironmental Disasters, 10(1), 1-28. DOI:10.1186/s40677-023-00242-9.
  • Yost K, Martinelli M, Yerro A, Green R, de Lange D. (2023) Addressing Complexities in MPM Modeling of Calibration Chamber Cone Penetrometer Tests in Homogenous and Highly Interlayered Soils. Computers and Geotechnics, 158, 105378. DOI:10.1016/j.compgeo.2023.105378
  • Zalachoris G, Zekkos D, Yerro A, Bowers A, Wissmann KJ. (2023) 3D Numerical Assessment of Rammed Aggregate Pier Performance under Dynamic Loading in Liquefiable Soils. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 149(3), 04023001. DOI:10.1061/JGGEFK.GTENG-10795
  • Girardi V, Yerro A, Simonini P, Gabrieli F, Ceccato F. (2023) Wetting induced instabilities in layered slopes: A Material Point Method analysis. Engineering Geology, 106978. DOI:10.1016/j.enggeo.2022.106978.
  • Alsardi A, Yerro A. (2023) Coseismic site response and slope instability using periodic boundary conditions in MPM. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 15(3), 641-658. DOI:10.1016/j.jrmge.2022.09.016.
  • Zambrano-Cruzatty L, Yerro A, Macedo J. (2022) Constitutive modelling of non-cohesive soils under high-strain rates: a consistency approach. Géotechnique, 74(8), 743-760. DOI:10.1680/jgeot.21.00192.
  • Yerro A, *Girardi V, Martinelli M, Ceccato F. (2022) Modelling unsaturated soils with the Material Point Method. A discussion of the state-of-the-art. Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment, 32, 100343. DOI:10.1016/j.gete.2022.100343.
  • Yost K, Yerro A, Green R, Martin E, *Cooper J. (2022) MPM Modeling of Cone Penetrometer Testing for Multiple Thin-Layer Effects in Complex Soil Stratigraphy. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 148:04021189. DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002730.
  • Thum TS, Yerro A, *Saade A, *Ye E, Wissmann KW, Green RA. (2022) Numerical modeling of Rammed Aggregate Piers (RAP) in liquefiable soils. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 153:107088. DOI:10.1016/j.soildyn.2021.107088.
  • Cooper J, Martin ER, *Yost KM, Yerro A, Green RA. (2021) Robust identification and characterization of thin soil layers in cone penetration data by piecewise layer optimization. Computers and Geotechnics, 141:104404. DOI:10.1016/j.compgeo.2021.104404.
  • Alsardi A, *Copana J, Yerro A. (2021) Modelling earthquake-triggered landslide runout with the Material Point Method. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Geotechnical Engineering, 174(5):563-576. DOI:10.1680/jgeen.20.00235.
  • Girardi V, Yerro A, Ceccato F, Simonini P. (2021) Modeling large deformations in water retention structures with an unsaturated MPM approach. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Geotechnical Engineering, 174(5):577-592. DOI:10.1680/jgeen.21.00059.
  • Yost K, Green R, Upadhyaya S, Mauer BW, Yerro A, Martin ER, *Cooper J. (2021) Assessment of the Efficacies of Correction Procedures for Multiple Thin Layer Effects on Cone Penetration Tests. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 144:106677. DOI:10.1016/j.soildyn.2021.106677.
  • Alonso E, Pinyol N, Yerro, A. (2021) Dynamics of landslides in argillaceous rocks. Geotecnia, 152:273-305. DOI:10.14195/2184-8394_152_8.
  • Ceccato F, Yerro A, *Girardi V, Simonini P. (2021) Two-phase dynamic MPM formulation for unsaturated soil. Computers and Geotechnics, 129:103876. DOI:10.1016/j.compgeo.2020.103876.
  • Zambrano-Cruzatty L, Yerro A. (2020) Numerical Simulation of a Free Fall Penetrometer Deployment Using the Material Point Method, Soils and Foundations, 60(3):668-682. DOI:10.1016/j.sandf.2020.04.002.
  • Yerro A, Soga K, Bray J (2019) Runout evaluation of the Oso Landslide with the Material Point Method, Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 56(9):1304-1317. DOI:10.1139/cgj-2017-0630.