IMT Nord Europe

The Centre in Materials and Processes at the IMT Nord Europe Engineering School is conducting research, among other things, on the development of low-carbon binders and the use of recycled concrete sand for 3D concrete printing.

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Introducing IMT Nord Europe

The Centre in Materials and Processes at the Institut Mines-Télécom Nord Europe, based in Douai, France, employs approximately fifty permanent staff members (lecturers, engineers, technicians, and secretaries) and an equal number of PhD and postdoctoral students.

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The research focuses

Advanced technology and materials

Circular economy and eco-materials

Mechanics, materials and digital processes in the fields of civil engineering and plastics and composites

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Development of low-carbon cement inks for 3D printing

In the Civil Engineering department, the research team has developed extensive expertise in the recovery of secondary raw materials, the development of low-carbon binders, sustainability, and environmental impacts, among other areas.

The laboratory uses both physico-chemical and mechanical characterization methods to formulate and characterize construction materials. This involves characterizations in both the fresh and hardened states.

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Our expertise

Specialization in the formulation of 3D-printable cementitious inks for concrete has been pursued for over 10 years through various projects: the regional Matrice project, then the European Interreg North West Europe CIRMAP project, as well as a regional project supported by the ERDF with the SME Constructions 3D.

Formulation method

This has enabled the development of a method for formulating and characterizing printable inks at the laboratory scale, as well as full-scale printing tests using the Cartesian 3D printer for concrete owned by IMT Nord Europe, and the creation of large-scale demonstrators with industrial partners such as Constructions 3D and Vicat's Lithosys.

Substitution of sand and cement

Very good results have been obtained both on the 100% substitution of natural sand with recycled concrete sands without significantly affecting the rheological and mechanical properties of the material (CIRMAP Project) and on the substitution of up to 70% of cement with mineral additions, again without too much impact on the performance of cementitious inks.

Role of the partner in the project

As part of this interreg FWVL 3Dformworks project and in collaboration with INISMa (leader), LaMé, CRIStAL laboratory and Buildwise, the Centre in Materials and Processes at IMT Nord Europe is developing low-carbon cement inks via, on the one hand, the substitution of cement with mineral additions including industrial secondary materials in the binding part in order to reduce the carbon impact and, on the other hand, on the granular skeleton part, the 100% substitution of natural sand with recycled concrete sand to recover the latter.

These cement inks will be characterized both in the fresh state (rheology, structuring, setting time, etc.) and in the hardened state (mechanical performance, shrinkage, etc.).

The printability of these inks will be tested at scale 1 with the 3D printer of IMT Nord Europe and those of the partners. Then, demonstrators in the formwork of complex-shaped printed concrete will be produced with our industrial partners.