Durable Infrastructure Materials Modified by self-assembled hollow nanostructured materials

Descrizione del progetto

Nanotecnologie per migliorare cemento e asfalto

Il progetto DIMMs, finanziato dall’UE, formerà un ricercatore professionista affinché possa ricoprire un ruolo di primo piano nel campo delle infrastrutture sostenibili. Questo progetto multidisciplinare si concentra su materiali nanostrutturati cavi autoassemblati per realizzare l’allineamento microstrutturale del cemento e del conglomerato bituminoso e, di conseguenza, migliorare la loro durata quando sono esposti a un ambiente aggressivo. DIMM combinerà un’analisi microstrutturale per illustrare i meccanismi di base della nanomodificazione. Svilupperà inoltre un modello integrato per descrivere il processo di percolazione degli agenti aggressivi nel cemento e nel conglomerato bituminoso. Il progetto chiarirà il controllo microstrutturale dei materiali infrastrutturali attraverso le nanotecnologie.

Obiettivo

This Fellowship aims to train a professional researcher to become a leading EU based scholar in sustainable infrastructure area through a multidisciplinary project entitled as “Durable Infrastructure Materials Modified by self-assembled hollow nanostructured materials” (DIMMs). This interdisciplinary project is focused on using self-assembled hollow nanostructured materials to realize the microstructural aligning of both cement and asphalt concrete, thus improve their durability when exposed to the aggressive environment such as corrosion along with freeze/thaw attacks. Furthermore, an integrated model will be developed to describe the percolation process of the aggressive agents in cement and asphalt concrete by combining a microstructural analysis to illustrate the underpinning nano modification mechanisms. This project will shed a light on the microstructural control of infrastructure materials through nanotechnology, by developing the correlations between the microstructures and engineering properties of infrastructure materials in a various and aggressive service environments. The Fellow will be intensively trained in the multidisciplinary fields of chemical engineering, materials science, microstructural analysis and civil engineering. The Fellow’s professional skills will be significantly elevated in the project and intellectual property management, outreach and networking via an inter-sectoral training. The training will be provided by a multidisciplinary supervision team at the host – Aston University, two academic secondment institutions – University of Nottingham and TU Delft, and two industrial secondment partners Nynas Sweden and Nanoco UK. The international academic and research experience gained by the Fellow will also enrich EU's Research area in the fields of producing sustainable infrastructure materials through nanotechnology and bringing new ideas for development of the infrastructures with low energy consumption.