The research and construction trade groups invite you to their first joint event, on May 11 at 7:00 pm at the Maison des Ponts:

3D printing and construction

with

Vivien Esnault

Research Engineer at LafargeHolcim

and

Justin Dirrenberger

Researcher at ENSAM and co-founder of XTreeE

The term additive manufacturing encompasses several realities, from 3D printing "for all", via printers that work by deand industrial 3D printing, which uses more expensive techniques, but delivers a high quality finish. Industrial applications are still few and far between in the construction industry, but several research projects, including the DEMOCRITE project led by Justin Dirrenberger, have demonstrated the potential of additive concrete manufacturing.

3D printing is a much-discussed technology in the media, and it's sometimes difficult to distinguish between myth and reality. The disruptive innovation potentially represented by additive manufacturing is a strategic challenge for players in the construction sector. Vivien Esnault, who heads LafargeHolcim's 3D printing research project, will talk about these issues, and how they are renewing working methods within research teams.

Vivien Esnault:

An alumnus of Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole des Ponts, Vivien Esnault defended a thesis in partnership with the Navier laboratory on cement grinding in 2012. Since 2012, he has been working at Lafarge Centre de Recherche on process issues and the development of new cementitious materials. He has led LafargeHolcim's 3D printing research project since its inception in January 2015.

Justin Dirrenberger:

With an engineering degree in materials science and a doctorate from Mines de Paris, Justin Dirrenberger is a lecturer in physical metallurgy at CNAM and a researcher at the PIMM laboratory at ENSAM. Using an interdisciplinary approach combining modeling, simulation and experimentation, his research focuses on the architecture of materials on multiple scales, from nano to macro. In particular, he led the DEMOCRITE project on large-scale additive manufacturing, and recently co-founded XtreeE, a start-up dedicated to the industrialization of this type of process.

A cocktail reception will be held at the end of the conference (10 euros for Ponts Alliance members, 20 euros for non-members, free for students).Students entitled to free admission are invited to register directly with frederic (dot) marazzato (at) ponts (dot) org.