ProMAP

New constraints on energy consumption impose a strong research effort in order to develop new materials, less energy-consuming during their production, energy-saving during their use, and more efficient in recycling processes. The incorporation of air into conventional materials appears to be a simple and efficient answer to these new constraints, in every stage of the material life, from the production stage to its use as thermal insulation material in buildings. This proposal concerns issues for aerated materials known as Particulate Aerated Materials (PAM), elaborated from granular pastes, such as cementitious and plaster pastes. The potential of development of these MAP is huge, especially in the field of the thermal renovation of buildings, because contrary to the nowadays used organic foams, these materials are incombustible and can be directly produced on construction site. Nevertheless, in order to increase their thermal performance at a level comparable to that of organic foams, important research effort must be undertaken in order to increase as much as possible the fraction of incorporated air, and so increase the energy benefits which we have just recalled. So, from slightly aerated materials, they are called to become foamy materials. This transition is under way in building materials companies, but it is nowadays hindered by several major scientific challenges that must be overcome to develop this class of new materials in an optimum way. This proposal aims at overcoming a decisive stage in the understanding and the development of the existing PAM. We like to elaborate model systems for which it is possible to control finely all parameters influencing their properties. These systems will allow us to study in a parametric manner the properties of solidified and non-solidified PAM. The most ambitious objective is to develop one or several functions of industrial interest (thermal, acoustical) without degrading the mechanical resistance of the material. The morphological evolution of these systems between the instant of their generation and their hardening, which poses serious difficulties in their elaboration nowadays, will be also studied to resolve the numerous issues encountered for this class of materials. This multidisciplinary proposal gathers academic and industrial partners with supplementary competences, covering all theoretical and experimental aspects in physics and chemical physics of cellular materials, in mechanics, in heat science and in acoustics. Dedicated work will be simultaneously devoted to model systems, allowing for a complete experimental study to be undertaken on problems of industrial interest, as well as a rigorous comparison of results obtained with theoretical predictions – also developed as part of this proposal. The optimization of industrial materials, such as foamed concrete, is also planned.