Liquid stone all seminars

Date: Monday, May 20, 2019 Time: 3:00-4:00 pm Place: 1-131

Seminar from Sama

Abstract: Concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials; it is usually associated with Portland cement as the main component for making concrete. The cement industry alone is responsible for about 6% of all CO2 emissions, because the production of one ton of Portland cement emits approximately one ton of CO2 into the atmosphere. Cement is the product of the reaction between water and clinker. As a result, the main components formed from cement hydration reaction are calcium-silicate hydrate (CSH) and calcium hydroxide (CH). CSH is the main binding agent in cement and concrete. It progressively densifies as cement hardens and is ultimately responsible of concrete performances. CH’s presence is considered a weakness in cement as it might react with acids, and could be leached out leaving pore space. Over th...

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Date: Monday, May 6, 2019 Time: 3:00-4:00 pm Place: 1-131

Seminar from Keremidis

Abstract: Traditional structural mechanics approaches evaluate damage of structural elements (ie beams, plates, walls) in relation to a design code limit load, while not accounting for the contribution of non-structural elements (ie sheathings, windows). While there exist more detailed frameworks accounting for all elements, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s HAZUS-MH and P58, they are only limited to specific building types and qualitative damage description (ie slight, moderate, extensive damage and so on). Moreover, these approaches describe damage of individual elements separately, rather than consider them as parts of a building ensemble, where they interact with each other. This motivates the development of an approach that can quantitatively address the complexity of buildings in...

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Date: Monday, April 29, 2019 Time: 3:00-4:00 pm Place: 1-242

Seminar from Bensu

Abstract: Assessing hurricane resilience is inherently complex. In all approaches, potential hurricane events are translated to levels of damage through fragility functions and levels of loss through vulnerability functions. Approaches differ in factors and details incorporated into these functions. The multitude of interrelated and interdependent layers of vulnerability causes amplifications of loss in hurricane events. Hurricane resilience assessments need to acknowledge and thoroughly represent such amplifications.
In engineering studies, a common approach is to focus on the individual building scale. Vulnerability functions include loss factors for repair/replacement cost, repair/replacement time and number of morbidities. Considering hurricane resilience on the community scale enables placing physical damage i...

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Date: Monday, April 8, 2019 Time: 3:00-4:00 pm Place: 1-131

Romain Dupuis - Postdoctoral researcher (MIT)
E-mail: rdupuis@mit.edu / romaindupuis.com

Abstract: The formation of gels is a complex issue that has to be resolved to investigate manifold synthetic and natural materials (cement, geomaterials for radioactive waste sealing, minerals). Gels are amorphous phases that contain water. Therefore the gelation depends on pH of the initial solution, water to silicon ratio or ionic concentration. Simulations can provide detailed information on the structuration of gels and on their mechanical properties. We have recently developed a method to reproduce efficiently the formation of pure silica gels. The key features are in good agreement with experimental data. Being able t...

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Date: Monday, November 19, 2018 Time: 3:00-4:00 pm Place: 1-123

Thomas Pezeril - CNRS - MIT Researcher
E-mail: pezeril@mit.edu / thomas.pezeril@univ-lemans.fr

Abstract: Since the discovery of ultrafast lasers in the 90’s, pulsed lasers have been used to excite and detect ultrasound with corresponding frequencies up to the THz range. At this ultimate frequency range, the ultrasonic wavelength is on the order of a couple of nanometers only, that makes them suitable for the mechanical probing of nano-objects of similar dimensions. This technique perfectly fits the needs for non-contact, non-invavise, non-destructive mechanical probing of solid or liquid samples.
Depending on the laser peak energy used in the experiment, the ultrasound pressure can even be tuned to many GPa. In this high energy situation,...

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Date: Monday, November 5, 2018 Time: 3:00-4:00 pm Place: 1-123

Fengdi Guo

Abstract: Efficient budget allocation models could help improve pavement network performance within a limited budget. Current models mainly use benefit cost ratio to evaluate treatments. This approach, while convenient, is limited in current implementations because they only consider the benefits of a current treatment and assume a know, fixed future. A new approach called the probabilistic treatment path dependence (PTPD) model has been developed, in which treatment decisions consider benefits of each possible current action, the likelihood of future conditions (e.g., road deterioration, prices), and the optimal future actions to take given an uncertain future. This presentation introduces this new PTPD model in detail and also presents the benefits of incorporating uncertainties and treatment path dependence by comparing PTP...

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Date: Monday, October 29, 2018 Time: 3:00-4:00 pm Place: 1-123

 Edmond Zhou

Abstract: We developed a theory for freezing of electrolyte in porous media, elaborating the role of ions and nano-fluidic trapping mechanisms. Several curious facts about cement/concrete freeze-thaw damage are qualitatively explained by the theory, while none of the previous models can resolve all of them. I will discuss implications/potentials of this theory in ASR modeling.

Liquid stone all seminars

Date: Monday, October 15, 2018 Time: 3:00-4:00 pm Place: 1-123

Talal Al-Mulla

Liquid stone all seminars

Date: Monday, September 17, 2018 Time: 3:00-4:00 pm Place: 1-123

Yann Magnin

Tree centuries of science museums from Louis XIII to the present day

Abstract : Etienne Guyon will present on the creation of the national science museums in France : Museum d'histoire naturelle, Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, Musée de l'Homme and Palais de la Découverte. He will Analyse some pertinent characteristics of the scientific and cultural activities found in these projects, including the target audience and connections to research and development. He will focus in particular on the benefits of these projects to the public and the scientists involved. This presentation will include the consideration of new forms of outreach activities today.

About the Speaker : In addition to being a world-class fluid physicist, Etienne Guyon is active i...

The Concrete Sustainability Hub and UMI @ MIT presents

Date: Friday, January 31, 2014 Time: 3:00-4:00 pm Place: 1-131

Dr. Benjamin Rotenberg CNRS Researcher PHENIX Laboratory (Physical chemistry of electrolytes and interfacial nanosystems) Universite Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris, France) “Multiscale modelling of transport through charged porous media”

Abstract:The transport of fluids through charged porous media plays an important role in many industrial environmental contexts. For example, one can cite membranes for water treatment, ionic liquids in porous carbon electrodes for supercapacitors, or water of (beneficial or toxic) solutes transport in soils or in the underground. From the physical chemist point of view, the difficulty to understand these systems stems from the complexity of the interactions at play, from the molecular scale to that of the macroscopic sample: reactivity of surface sites, ion solvation in the bulk and at interf...

The Concrete Sustainability Hub @ MIT presents

DATE: Monday, November 25, 2013 TIME: 4-5pm
PLACE: Room 13-2137 (Von Hippel Room)

Kunal Kupwade-Patil, PhD Research Scientist – Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT “New sustainable solutions for Infrastructure Rehabilitation using Geopolymer Concrete”

Abstract:“Geopolymer (Inorganic polymer concrete) is an emerging class of cementitious material and could be the next generation concrete for civil infrastructure applications. The Geopolymer Concrete (GPC) does not use Portland cement as a binder. The production of Portland cement contributes 7 % of total global man-made CO2 emission to the atmosphere. Unlike Portland cement, which requires calcite (CaCO3) as a main raw material for the clinkerization, GPC could relish on fly ash, which is a byproduct of coal combustion. Global production of fly ash exceeds 800 million tons, and is expected to increase due to the excessive usage of ele...

France-MIT Forum on Energy unveils new joint laboratory, explores other potential collaborations.

This week, MIT President Susan Hockfield and other Institute representatives traveled to Paris for the France-MIT Forum on Energy, an event to advance collaboration between Institute researchers and their French counterparts. The event also marks the 10th anniversary of the MIT-France program.The forum, organized by the MIT-France Program, the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) and the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, took place Wednesday in Paris, serving to formalize new large-scale ventures between France and MIT as well as provide a platform to discuss other potential partnerships.“French research on energy is first rate, and for MIT faculty and students to collaborate with labs in France is a great opportunity,” says Suzanne Berger, the Raphael Dorman-Helen Starbuck Professor of Political Science and director of the MIT-France Program. “In puzzling over how to...