Materials

Surgical masks were widely used during the Covid-19 pandemic. To assess their effectiveness in real time, scientists at Mines Saint-Étienne have developed a smart mask, a device that collects data on the humidity of the mask and the wearer’s respiration. Moisture retention is often considered a factor that reduces mask …

To slow the spread of fire, compounds called flame retardants are often used to treat materials to give them fire resistant properties. The problem is that some of these additives can be harmful for humans and polluting for the environment. To solve this problem, research focuses on the production of …

Bernard Guy, Mines Saint-Étienne – Institut Mines-Télécom This photo shows basalt columns. They can be found all over the world where magma flows from volcanoes have cooled and solidified. These spectacular and fascinating structures have been, and still are, the subject of much study, from characterization on site and in …

3D printing is a manufacturing process used for both consumer and industrial applications in the aeronautics, automotive, rail and medical industries. The Shoryuken project being developed at IMT Nord Europe aims to improve the mechanical performance of the objects printed using plastic and composite materials. To accomplish this, it combines …

Baptiste PILLET, Mines Saint-Etienne – Institut Mines-Télécom The abdomen experiences intra-abdominal pressure, which varies according to the volume of organs, respiration, muscle activation and any physiological activity. As a consequence, the abdomen must resist forces exerted by this pressure, which can at times be high when coughing or vomiting, or …

Transforming industrial waste and unused by-products could make it possible to respond to issues of scarcity for civil engineering resources, recyclability and even reducing use of fossil fuels. Doan Pham Minh, process engineering researcher at IMT Mines Albi, explains several avenues for recycling and reusing materials explored by his work. …

Since the late 20th century, concrete has become the most widely used manufactured material in the world. Its high level of popularity comes alongside recurring problems, affecting its quality and durability. Among these problems is when one of the components in concrete, cement paste, sweats. Mimoune Abadassi, civil engineering PhD …

Plastics and composites aren’t recycled as often as we might wish, as a result of a lack of facilities, the right technologies not yet existing or not being profitable, or hazardous waste deposits. IMT Nord Europe have been working in partnership with manufacturers to develop and improve the available technologies. Plastics …

Estelle Hynek, IMT Nord Europe – Institut Mines-Télécom A two-story office building was “printed” in Dubai in 2019, becoming the largest 3D-printed building in the world by surface area: 640 square meters. In France, XtreeE plans to build five homes for rent by the end of 2021 as part of …

Thibaut Lalire, IMT Mines Alès – Institut Mines-Télécom “Material of the 21st century,” a “revolutionary material”: these are some of the ways graphene has been described since it was discovered in 2004 by Konstantin Novoselov and Andre Geim. The two scientists’ research on graphene won them the Nobel Prize in Physics …