RMP

The Rheophysics and Porous Medium team comprises 14 researchers, 4 engineers and technicians, and around 15 doctoral and postdoctoral students. It specialises in the study and modelling of the physical properties of divided materials, consisting of solid particles, droplets or bubbles, stacked or suspended in the presence of one or more fluids. Our work combines experimental and theoretical approaches, as well as numerical simulations of discrete elements. It focuses mainly on granular materials, pastes, colloidal and non-colloidal suspensions, foams and aerated materials, gels, fibrous materials, capillary systems, porous media, etc. One of our specialities is to focus on model materials, deliberately designed to represent a simplified but generic version of the class of materials studied, with clearly identified and controlled physical parameters. This type of experimentation generally allows quantitative comparison with physical models or numerical simulations developed for this purpose. Our scientific objectives concern a thorough understanding of the generic properties of materials in order to pave the way for a wide range of applications in many fields, such as construction and housing, the environment, etc.