His background
Master in Civil Engineering at COPPE/UFRJ
Bachelor in Civil Engineering at POLI/UFRJ
Key facts
Interests: sustainable construction; sustainable building materials; hygrothermal and acoustical properties; interior comfort; building insulation.
Experience: bio-based materials; bio-concrete; green roofs.
Summary of his thesis
In the fight against climate change, the use of vegetal wools in the field of bio-constructions presents the major interests of a more sustainable exploitation of natural resources, as well as the storage of atmospheric carbon. The vegetal wools also contribute strongly to the improvement of the acoustic and hygrothermal interior comforts, which are relevant for living and workspaces. Nevertheless, these materials, which contain cellulose and hemicellulose, are generally poorly classified in terms of their reaction and resistance to fire because of their flammability and flame-spreading characteristics. In order to be used as a wall insulation material, it is necessary to apply a fireproof treatment onto the vegetal wools. However, the impact of these treatments on the acoustic and hygrothermal performances of wools, mainly associated with their fibrous and porous microstructure, remains poorly understood.
In this context, the main objective of the thesis is to adapt and optimize fireproof treatments compatible with plant wools. It will be necessary to better understand the influence of the treatments on the fibres and on the different material’s scales, and comprehend and it affects the material’s acoustic and hygrothermal performances. Then, to optimize the performance of the vegetal wools, the final objective of this project is to develop models to describe the correlation between their micro and macro properties. These models allow numerous simulations to be carried out by varying the input parameters, which are useful for identifying possible improvements to optimize the treated vegetal wool acoustic and hygrothermal performance.
What's next?
Meeting with partners for the better comprehension of the manufacturing process of the vegetal wools.
Planning the visits to the international partner, in Belgium, for the application and the study of fire proof treatment of the vegetal wools.