The work on fire and material resistance by Serge Bourbigot, University Professor at Centrale Lille and member of the UMET (Materials and Transformation Unit, CNRS UMR 8207) has been a reference for many years.

After receiving a grant from the European Research Council (ERC) in 2015 for his “Fire Bar-Concept” project, which aimed to develop materials and assemblies of materials with low flammability, protecting substrates and limiting the spread of fire, Professor Bourbigot’s appointment as a senior member of the IUF in October 2020 honoured the scientific and academic excellence of his research activities in chemistry and materials.

His appointment to the IUF comes with two direct advantages besides the recognition of the progress made by his work: it provides him with new financial means to enhance the results of his research. And the teaching load he receives allows him to devote two thirds of his time to his basic research work – knowing that at the same time, he continues to teach courses to engineering students in the 2nd and 3rd year of the ENSCL on the formulation and physics of polymers or on the safety of industrial sites. Multiplying the links between his activities, he is keen to involve the PhD students he follows at ENSCL in his research project for the IUF.

This “Odyssey of Extreme Fire Materials” project explores new ways to reduce the flammability of materials in “unusual” conditions. One of the objectives is to develop materials and assemblies of materials with low flammability, protecting various substrates and limiting the spread of fire. It is also a question of understanding the effects of microgravity on fire behaviour of FR polymers in addition to high heat flows.

Together with the 15 researchers in his team, he concentrates his current work on the resistance and fire response of polymer materials, his desire being to develop new materials that do not ignite in case of stress and to develop the fire-retardant properties of existing materials. He is also working on modelling the behaviour of materials and fire in an aggressive and complex environment and developing original characterisation methods and measurements. His work focuses on two axes:

  • Processes for the development of additive materials and coatings (synergy and formulation, reactive extrusion, nanocomposites, spectrochemistry);
  • Similarity and modelling (reduction of scale and dimensional analysis, kinetic analysis, pyrolysis model).

The applications are particularly relevant to three areas:

  • the nuclear sector – for example, to contribute to the longevity of power plants, which requires the installation of specific systems and equipment based on fire-appropriate materials (fire-proof valves, flaps, cables …).
  • Electric batteries such as those installed in cars or airplanes that require specific protection to prevent or delay the start of a fire.
  • Confined environments where thermal loads grow very fast and have a very large range of action, on specific sites such as oil platforms or refineries where fire spreads in the form of jets, or in microgravity spaces such as rockets and the International Space Station.
    On this point, a multi-partnership project is under way, mobilising teams from Centrale Lille, Sorbonne University and Aix-Marseille University. This project is filed with the CNES and analyses the behaviour of flame-retardant polymers acting in the gas phase (release of phosphorus free radicals) or in the condensed phase (phenomena of physical and chemical intumescence).

In conclusion, Serge Bourbigot insists on one point: “You should never stay in your comfort zone, not be afraid to fail (because it is OK to make mistakes) and always listen to those around you, especially younger people.” That is what he does… and this earned him two international patents. The field of possibilities therefore remains open to the daring.