A scientific paper from the Laboratoire des Solides Irradiés has been awarded the prestigious Brunauer Prize. The award, presented annually by the Cements Division of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS), recognizes the best paper on cements published in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society. The announcement was made at the “15th Advances in Cement-based Materials” International Conference, at the University of Colorado at Boulder (USA, June 2025).
This research project, involving the Laboratoire des Solides Irradiés (CEA-CNRS-École Polytechnique), the Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne and the Syndicat français de l’industrie cimentière, was motivated by the need to better control the reactivity of cements in sulfate environments, a crucial factor in cement durability, particularly in marine environments or gypsum soils.
The originality of the study lies in the fact that the compound of interest, calcium ferrites (brownmillerites Ca2AlxFe2-xO5), was isolated by two stages of selective dissolution of industrial cements, so that its crystallochemistry could be studied in detail using various structural characterization techniques. Joint analysis by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and Castaing microprobe has enabled us to specify the crystallographic structure (mesh parameters, space group) and solid solution domain of calcium ferrites from industrial cements. This study then enabled the intrinsic reactivity of industrial calcium ferrites to be studied systematically, as a function of the Al/Fe ratio, opening up new prospects for the formulation of more resistant cements.
This award highlights the scientific excellence of the work carried out at LSI, as well as the impact of fundamental research on concrete industrial issues related to construction materials.
Reference:
From selective dissolution to crystal chemistry of brownmillerite in sulfate resisting cement,
Alexis Mériot, Marie-Noëlle de Noirfontaine, Mireille Courtial, Laurent Izoret, Sandrine Tusseau-Nenez, Mélanie Labourel, Sandrine Gauffinet, Frédéric Dunstetter, Journal of the American Ceramic Society 106 (2023) 709.
Contact: Marie-Noëlle de Noirfontaine (LSI/DDSM).