photographist

“I am a research engineer in the Civil Engineering Mechanics and Materials Laboratory in the University of Cergy-Pontoise. My job is to help researchers in their projects, particularly in the physical-chemical characterization of civil engineering materials. I also take care of the daily operation into the laboratory and of Health and Safety issues. Physical-chemical characterization focuses on manufacturing of materials, their preparation and also on their properties. In my first job I worked on zinc surface treatment. The goal was to color it while keeping its appearance and properties. The success of our experiment allowed, at the time, the move to a semi-industrial scale. Today I am working on cementitious materials, especially manufacture of new materials with special properties, but also on the interaction of these materials with their environment (fire resistance, freeze resistance etc).

A new project of the laboratory is recycling old buildings. The idea is to reuse them for new buildings. Rubble is recovered, broken up and crushed to obtain new sand or stone. The problem is that materials already have a story, they are not pure. The first study phases should help us to know if they will be sound enough for construction. A second route is explored for recycling: incorporate waste into building materials. For example, silt and clay from the Algerian or Tunisian basins is used for cement substitution in concrete manufacture. We also aim to decrease the carbon footprint of building materials by using new processes because cement production is energy intensive and highly polluting.”

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