CEE Seminar: Thermodynamic Modeling - a Framework to Predict the Performance of CaO- (AI2O3)-SiO2-H20 (C-(A-)S-H)-based Cements

Abstract:  There is an urgent need to produce cement-based infrastructure materials with better performance and sustainability, using a more diverse portfolio of raw materials and under a greater variety of environmental conditions, in the time frame needed to achieve sustainability goals (e.g. 2050 blue scenarios). Rather than relying on empirical testing that would take decades and is arguably impractical given the increasingly large variety of suitable raw materials, thermodynamic modeling can be applied as a broadly applicable framework to predict the performance of cement-based infrastructure materials from fundamental scientific principles. In this presentation,Myers will elaborate on the need for thermodynamic modeling and discuss some examples that demonstrate its use.

Bio:  Rupert J. Myers is a chemical engineer by training with a key interest in making industrial systems more sustainable. Since 2009 he has devoted his work to researching cement-based materials technologies, working on his Ph.D. in thermodynamic modeling at the University of Melbourne, the University of Sheffield and EMPA with primary mentors Professor John L. Provis and Barbara Lothenbach. Myers is currently completing a postdoc with Professor Paulo J. M. Monteiro at UC Berkeley on the kinetics of hydrated PC systems. In the future, he intends to broaden his research scope to include metals and other industrial materials with an aim to advance the circular economy, and will soon move to Yale to further develop this expertise.