One of the principles of green engineering is to minimize the depletion of non-renewable resources while limiting the impact of waste disposal. In order to meet this major societal challenge of the coming years, the proposed solutions are: 1/ the use of biosourced materials (from renewable resources), 2/ the recovery of by-products or waste, 3/ the use of recycled materials.
In the continuity of the projects currently carried out at GeM whose objective is to propose an alternative to materials with a high environmental impact, the materials studied in the UTR Approaches to green engineering are among others biosourced materials through plant fibers (used as reinforcement in composites or in civil engineering materials), recycled aggregates, alternative binders to cement (geopolymers…), raw earth, or dredged sediments for the raising of dikes for protection against marine submersion, for example.
The scientific barriers to be overcome for the development of these materials in the main sectors of activity such as aeronautics, automotive, wind energy, or civil engineering are:
– Understanding the microstructure of these new materials and its evolution as a function of time and environment,
– To make the performance of manufactured parts or structures more reliable, taking into account the possible variability of the materials used,
– Quantify the durability of the manufactured parts or structures and their aging over time (mechanical properties, hygro-thermal aging, mold aging, etc.),
– Ensure their dismantling at the end of their life,
To propose tools of analysis of the life cycle allowing to quantify the ecological impact of the produced parts or structures.
The scientific work carried out within this axis requires the use of both experimental and numerical approaches.