IMAP
Place Sainte Barbe 2/L5.02.02
1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
Thibaut Heremans
I trained as a Materials Science Engineer specializing in mechanics of materials (EPL, June 2020). I also did an Erasmus in Copenhagen, at the Denmark Technical University, focusing on metal forming processes (DTU, autumn 2019).
I supplement my technical training by developing soft skills with regular training in pedagogy, shared governance, non-violent communication and other areas. I'm also a certified facilitator for the Fresque du climat and the Atelier 2 Tonnes.
Curious by nature, I love learning about new subjects and I'm very interested in socio-ecological issues through the prism of trans-disciplinarity.
I spend a lot of my free time designing and doing low-tech DIY projects. As a keen mountaineer and snowboarder, I'd like to transfer my technical skills to the outdoor industry and rethink the materials and their environmental footprint in high-performance sports applications (durability, dismantling/reuse/recycling). To this end, I am supervising a dissertation (2023-2024) on the characterisation and development of the mechanical performance of skis made by the Belgian manufacturer Gérondal.
Founding member of Ingés En Transition, our project aims to provide EPL students with tools and ideas to broaden their scope and rethink the role of the engineer of tomorrow. In particular, I co-organise low-tech construction workshops. In 2023, we built a solar thermal panel from reused materials. You can find out more about this and all our other activities on our website: https://sites.uclouvain.be/ingesentransition/
- Diploma
Year Label Educational Organization 2020 (missing information) Université catholique de Louvain
I supervise some practical work at the École Polytechnique de Louvain at both bachelor's and master's level. My teaching activities concern the following courses:
- [LMAPR1805] Introduction to Materials Science
- [LMAPR2013] Physical Metallurgy of Metals and Ceramics
- [LEPL1804] Sustainable Development and Transition
- [LEPL2351] Tutoring Learning
- [LKIMA2990] Final year dissertation
I have also been giving private lessons for many years (300h+) at high school level (physics, chemistry, maths) and university level (general mechanics, inorganic chemistry, etc.).
It was during my master thesis that I developed a taste for research, particularly through the experimental and applied aspects of a field like materials science. My master thesis revolved around the 3D printing of a beta-metastable titanium alloy with exceptional work hardening rate (Selective Laser Sintering of TiCrSn).
I started a PhD thesis in October 2020 under the supervision of Professors Pascal Jacques and Thomas Pardoen as a FRIA fellow. My research aims at understanding the fracture behaviour of 3rd generation steels for automotive applications (forming, passengers safety). My activities focus on the development of materials and their mechanical behaviour through large-scale deformation and fracture testing campaigns. The general idea of my research partner, ArcelorMittal, through the S-in motion project, is to reduce the thickness of sheet metal used in body-in-white applications while maintaining excellent mechanical properties (strength, ductility, toughness) in order to reduce vehicle weight (-20%) and thus limit vehicle emissions and fuel consumption.
In particular, I am interested in the influence of the loading configuration (shear proportion) on crack propagation through an Arcan setup. I am also using in-situ imaging techniques (Digital Image Correlation) to characterise crack propagation and the associated deformation fields. The fracture mechanism highlighted shows a periodic shift from a classic ductile damage mode to a more brittle mode, all organised in the form of chevrons on the fracture surfaces. I also took part in the European ToughSteel project, which aims to democratise the study of toughness of thin steel sheets for the automotive industry.
2024
Heremans, Thibaut ; Perlade, Astrid ; Jacques, Pascal ; Pardoen, Thomas. Alternating ductile and brittle cracking mode in medium manganese steel sheets. In: Scripta Materialia, Vol. 257, p. 116450 (2025). doi:10.1016/j.scriptamat.2024.116450.
2023
Heremans, Thibaut ; Perlade, Astrid ; Jacques, Pascal ; Pardoen, Thomas. Patterned ductile-brittle failure mode transition in medium-manganese steel sheets. 3rd Benelux Network Meeting & Workshop on Damage & Fracture Mechanics (BDFM-2023) (Antwerp, Belgium, 25/05/2023). In: BDFM-2023_Book of abstracts, 2023, p. Poster No. 8.