With climate change, human societies must phase out fossil fuels. However, fossil fuels are versatile energy sources. They are present everywhere in our energy systems and daily lives. Studying fossil-free energy systems is complex as it must integrate all energy-consuming sectors and consider their synergies.

Nicolas Moës has been appointed as Faculty member within the Institute of Mechanics, Materials, and Civil Engineering of UCLouvain in 2024. He is located in the “Applied mechanics and mathematics” division (MEMA). Prof. Moës is an expert in theoretical and numerical mechanics. His work focuses on the mechanics of cracking, damage, fracture, and contact.

In light of new environmental regulations restricting the use of traditional refrigerants, carbon dioxide (CO₂) is emerging as an environmentally-friendly alternative. However, traditional CO₂ refrigeration systems cannot match the performance of those using synthetic refrigerants.

In recent years, additive manufacturing (AM) of metallic materials has expanded beyond standard structural materials to include functional materials and metamaterials, capitalising on their intriguing potential. However, the adoption of AM requires significant time to develop new materials, process parameters, and post-processing routes to meet performance requirements.

Antisolvent crystallization is a purification step that is widely used for the recovery of heat-sensitive compounds in pharmaceutical or agrochemical applications. An antisolvent like ethanol reduces the solubility of the targeted compound (such as amino acid in water) and allows it to transform into a solid crystalline form when it reaches supersaturation state.

Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are omnipresent in structural applications requiring high stiffness or strength and low weight.  The matrix, typically made from highly cross-linked epoxies, often plays a crucial role in the damage and failure mechanisms dictating the overall strength of the composite.

Carbon fibre reinforced polymer composites are broadly used in complex structures. Manufacturing of these structures requires joining composite parts with each other or with other materials. Adhesive bonding offers many advantages compared to mechanical fastening such as lightweight and homogeneous stress transfer.

The coastal ocean, covering a mere 8% of Earth's surface and 0.2% of the global ocean volume, plays a pivotal role in human activities and is thus crucial for study. These domains have to deal with large aspect ratio domains where the horizontal length scales can reach several thousands of kilometers while the depth is generally of the order of one kilometer or smaller.

The Fukushima and Chernobyl disasters tragically illustrated the risks associated with the civilian nuclear industry. In Belgium, there are two nuclear power plants (Doel and Tihange), whilst two others are located near its borders on the banks of the Meuse River (Chooz) and Scheldt Estuary (Borselle).

In recent years, the size of offshore wind turbines has grown significantly. While this increases the power that can be harnessed from the wind, it also increases the flexibility of the blades, which can lead to aero-elastic effects.