Fabio Furcas

Fabio joined the “ Durability of Engineering Materials” research group as a PhD student in June 2020. Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Angst, his research is focused on reactive transport modelling in porous media, with particular emphasis on corrosion kinetics, corrosion product formation and transport within cementitious systems.

He obtained his Masters degree in Chemical Engineering (MEng) from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland in May 2020.

Project Description

Fabio is currently working on the speciation and phase assemblage of iron complexes and (hydr)oxides as well as mass transfer limited iron dissolution mechanisms in the prevailing chemical environment of interest. The project aims to contribute towards a holistic reactive transport model that fully describes the fate of iron in cementitious systems and uses a combination of theoretical and experimental means. The methodology comprises
• Thermodynamic analyses / Gibbs free energy minimization
• Kinetic modelling based on cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy
• XAS and ICP measurements