Events

Drying and Wetting Mechanisms in Earthen Porous Media: From Microstructure to Material Performance

Earthen construction, an ancestral use of local resources, is experiencing renewed interest as a response to contemporary environmental challenges. However, controlling the moisture behavior of these materials remains a major challenge to ensure their durability. This seminar will focus on the physical mechanisms governing drying and wetting processes in earthen porous media. We will discuss the drying behavior of earth materials and strategies to mitigate shrinkage, adopting a multi-scale perspective. Wetting will be examined through controlled imbibition experiments, investigated using X-ray tomography. Finally, we will present how NMR relaxometry provides insights into the distribution and dynamics of water within complex pore structures, offering a novel approach to link microstructural evolution with macroscopic behavior during material evolution.

Rahima Sidi Boulenouar

Rahima has specialized in the study of various materials — including plants, silica gels, wood, clay, bentonite, and earthen materials — under varying water content conditions with NMR techniques. She defended her PhD in 2018, focusing on the development of an innovative portable low-field NMR relaxometry instrument for in situ measurement of water content in living plants. 

Following her PhD, she joined the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), where she applied NMR techniques at both high and low magnetic fields to investigate the relationship between structural properties and molecular dynamics in complex systems such as concentrated suspensions and gels. Since 2021, Rahima has been a researcher at Gustave Eiffel University. Her current research focuses on designing instruments and developing methodologies based on NMR relaxometry to study the hydric behavior of porous materials, with a particular emphasis on bio-based building materials.

Emmanuel Keita

Emmanuel Keita, who earned his PhD in physics in 2014 at Ecole des Ponts, is a researcher at Gustave Eiffel University. He specializes in the behavior of construction materials interacting with water, focusing on drying kinetics, imbibition phenomena, and 3D printing concrete. His work bridges applied physics and materials science to develop sustainable earthen and cement-based materials. He leads interdisciplinary projects, including the ANR-funded DuReTerre project on the repair and durability of earthen structures, and chairs a RILEM Technical Committee on the processing of earth-based materials. His research integrates experimental imaging methods, such as MRI and X-ray microtomography, to explore microstructural changes and improve building performance.