Job description
Mineral
materials such as cements, rocks, gypsum and ceramics in general, are
brittle materials and strong efforts are made to increase their
ductility and extend their usage conditions. This PhD projects
focusses on the study of the interparticle forces inside the cement
paste (before setting), responsible for the cohesion and brittleness
of the material. These forces will be investigated through various
rheometric measurements of the paste (oscillatory or continuous flow,
creep …). Simple organic molecules and polymers will be used to
modify the interparticle forces in the suspensions, thereby enhancing
the mechanical properties of the final solid material.
The candidate
should be highly educated in materials science, and show strong
ability in experimental physics. The PhD student will work in UCBL in
Lyon, France, with secondments at Chemiplastica, near Salerno,
Italy. The work will also have strong interactions with other groups
of the network.