![Enrico Masoero](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/3897?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Enrico Masoero
Senior Lecturer
- MasoeroE@cardiff.ac.uk
- Queen's Buildings - South Building, Room 4.02, 5 The Parade, Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 3AA
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
My research and teaching is in the mechanics and chemistry of infrastructure materials. I mainly use and develop computational methods based on discrete interacting particles, to simulate the formation and degradation of materials. Most of my work is on concrete, which is the most widely used artificial material on Earth and whose improvement is critical to achieveing the current environmental targets in the UK and internationally. Another important thread of my researhc relates to structures, in particular their (topological) optimization to resist accidental damage coming for example from explotions or impacts.
Publication
2023
- Alex, A., Freeman, B., Jefferson, A. and Masoero, E. 2023. Carbonation and self-healing in concrete: Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of mineralization. Cement and Concrete Composites, article number: 105281. (10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2023.105281)
- Duque-Redondo, E., Yamada, K., Masoero, E., Bañuelos Prieto, J. and Manzano, H. 2023. Adsorption and migration of Cs and Na ions in geopolymers and zeolites. Materials Today Communications 36, article number: 106496. (10.1016/j.mtcomm.2023.106496)
- Masoero, E. 2023. MASKE: particle-based chemo-mechanical simulations of degradation processes. Presented at: SynerCrete: International RILEM Conference on Synergising Expertise towards Sustainability and Robustness of Cement-based Materials and Concrete Structures, 15-16 June 2023International RILEM Conference on Synergising Expertise towards Sustainability and Robustness of Cement-based Materials and Concrete Structures, Vol. 43., (10.1007/978-3-031-33211-1_15)
- Wang, J., Yio, M. H., Zhou, T., Wong, H. S., Davie, C. T. and Masoero, E. 2023. Water sorption isotherms and hysteresis of cement paste at moderately high temperature, up to 80 °C. Cement and Concrete Research 165, article number: 107076. (10.1016/j.cemconres.2022.107076)
- Doyle, M. E., Dalgarno, K., Masoero, E. and Ferreira, A. M. 2023. Advances in biomimetic collagen mineralisation and future approaches to bone tissue engineering. Biopolymers 114, article number: e23527. (10.1002/bip.23527)
2022
- Bagga, M. et al. 2022. Advancements in bacteria based self-healing concrete and the promise of modelling. Construction and Building Materials 358, article number: 129412. (10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.129412)
- Wilkins, A., Rigopoulos, G. and Masoero, E. 2022. Coarse graining in time with the functional renormalization group: Relaxation in Brownian motion. Physical Review E 106(5), article number: 54109. (10.1103/PhysRevE.106.054109)
- Ioannidou, K., Labbez, C. and Masoero, E. 2022. A review of coarse grained and mesoscale simulations of C–S–H. Cement and Concrete Research 159, article number: 106857. (10.1016/j.cemconres.2022.106857)
- Masoero, E., O'Shaughnessy, C., Gosling, P. and Chiaia, B. 2022. Topology optimization using the discrete element method. Part 2: Material nonlinearity. Meccanica 57, pp. 1233-1250. (10.1007/s11012-022-01492-x)
- O'Shaughnessy, C., Masoero, E. and Gosling, P. 2022. Topology optimization using the discrete element method. Part 1: Methodology, validation, and geometric nonlinearity. Meccanica 57(6), pp. 1213-1231. (10.1007/s11012-022-01493-w)
- Alex, A. and Masoero, E. 2022. Autogenous healing in cement: A kinetic Monte Carlo simulation of CaCO3 precipitation. In: Meschke, G., Pichler, B. and Rots, J. G. eds. Computational Modelling of Concrete and Concrete Structures. Taylor and Francis, pp. 102-107., (10.1201/9781003316404-12)
- Duque-Redondo, E., Masoero, E. and Manzano, H. 2022. Nanoscale shear cohesion between cement hydrates: The role of water diffusivity under structural and electrostatic confinement. Cement and Concrete Research 154, article number: 106716. (10.1016/j.cemconres.2022.106716)
2021
- Lolli, F., Thomas, J., Kurtis, K., Cucinotta, F. and Masoero, E. 2021. Early age volume changes in metakaolin geopolymers: Insights from molecular simulations and experiments. Cement and Concrete Research 144, article number: 106428. (10.1016/j.cemconres.2021.106428)
- Wilkins, A., Rigopoulos, G. and Masoero, E. 2021. Functional renormalisation group for Brownian motion I: The effective equations of motion. [Online]. Cornell University. (10.48550/arXiv.2008.00472) Available at: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2008.00472
2020
- Masoero, E. and Di Luzio, G. 2020. Nanoparticle simulations of logarithmic creep and microprestress relaxation in concrete and other disordered solids. Cement and Concrete Research 137, article number: 106181. (10.1016/j.cemconres.2020.106181)
- Coopamootoo, K. and Masoero, E. 2020. Simulations of crystal dissolution using interacting particles: prediction of stress evolution and rates at defects and application to tricalcium silicate. Journal of Physical Chemistry C 124(36), pp. 19603-19615. (10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c04633)
- Masoero, E. 2020. CASCO: a simulator of load paths in 2D frames during progressive collapse. SN Applied Sciences 2(9), article number: 1471. (10.1007/s42452-020-03201-3)
- Rahimi-Aghdam, S., Masoero, E., Rasoolinejad, M. and Bazant, Z. 2020. Correction to: Century-long expansion of hydrating cement counteracting concrete shrinkage due to humidity drop from selfdesiccation or external drying (Materials and Structures, (2019), 52, 1, (11), 10.1617/s11527-018-1307-8). Materials and Structures 53(2) (10.1617/s11527-019-1423-0)
2019
- Pathirage, M., Bentz, D. P., Di Luzio, G., Masoero, E. and Cusatis, G. 2019. The ONIX model: a parameter-free multiscale framework for the prediction of self-desiccation in concrete. Cement and Concrete Composites 103, pp. 36-48. (10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2019.04.011)
- Liu, H., Dong, S., Tang, L., Anoop Krishnan, N., Masoero, E., Sant, G. and Bauchy, M. 2019. Long-term creep deformations in colloidal calcium–silicate–hydrate gels by accelerated aging simulations. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 542, pp. 339-346. (10.1016/j.jcis.2019.02.022)
- Zhou, T., Ioannidou, K., Masoero, E., Mirzadeh, M., Pellenq, R. J. and Bazant, M. Z. 2019. Capillary stress and structural relaxation in moist granular materials. Langmuir 35(12), pp. 4397-4402. (10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b03400)
- Rahimi-Aghdam, S., Masoero, E., Rasoolinejad, M. and Ba?ant, Z. P. 2019. Century-long expansion of hydrating cement counteracting concrete shrinkage due to humidity drop from selfdesiccation or external drying. Materials and Structures 52(1), article number: 11. (10.1617/s11527-018-1307-8)
2018
- Masoero, E., Cusatis, G. and Di Luzio, G. 2018. C–S–H gel densification: The impact of the nanoscale on self-desiccation and sorption isotherms. Cement and Concrete Research 109, pp. 103-119. (10.1016/j.cemconres.2018.04.014)
- Lolli, F., Manzano, H., Provis, J. L., Bignozzi, M. C. and Masoero, E. 2018. Atomistic simulations of geopolymer models: The impact of disorder on structure and mechanics. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 10(26), pp. 22809-22820. (10.1021/acsami.8b03873)
- Coopamootoo, K. and Masoero, E. 2018. Cement pastes with UV-irradiated polypropylene: Fracture energy and the benefit of adding metakaolin. Construction and Building Materials 165, pp. 303-309. (10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.12.143)
- Lolli, F. and Masoero, E. 2018. Towards a mesoscale model of geopolymers: Interaction potential from the molecular scale. Presented at: 2018 Conference on Computational Modelling of Concrete and Concrete Structures (EURO-C), Bad Hofgastein, Austria, 26 February - 01 March 2018 Presented at Meschke, G., Pichler, B. and Rots, J. G. eds.Computational Modelling of Concrete Structures. CRC Press pp. 87-92., (10.1201/9781315182964-9)
- Masoero, E., Shvab, I., Di Luzio, G. and Cusatis, G. 2018. Nanoscale simulations of cement hydrates precipitation mechanisms: Impact on macroscopic self-desiccation and water sorption isotherms. Presented at: Computational Modelling of Concrete and Concrete Structures (EURO-C 2018), 26 Feb-1 Mar 2018 Presented at Meschke, G., Pichler, B. and Rots, J. G. eds.Proceedings of the Conference on Computational Modelling of Concrete and Concrete Structures (EURO-C 2018), February 26 - March 1, 2018, Bad Hofgastein, Austria. CRC Press pp. 93-102., (10.1201/9781315182964-10)
- Pathirage, M., Bentz, D., Di Luzio, G., Masoero, E. and Cusatis, G. 2018. A multiscale framework for the prediction of concrete self-desiccation. Presented at: Computational Modelling of Concrete and Concrete Structures (EURO-C 2018), 26 Feb-1 Mar 2018 Presented at Meschke, G., Pichler, B. and Rots, J. G. eds.Computational Modelling of Concrete Structures: Proceedings of the Conference on Computational Modelling of Concrete and Concrete Structures (EURO-C 2018), February 26 - March 1, 2018, Bad Hofgastein, Austria. Taylor and Francis pp. 203-208., (10.1201/9781315182964-25)
2017
- Thomas, J., Ghazizadeh, S. and Masoero, E. 2017. Kinetic mechanisms and activation energies for hydration of standard and highly reactive forms of β-dicalcium silicate (C2S). Cement and Concrete Research 100, pp. 322-328. (10.1016/j.cemconres.2017.06.001)
- Bauchy, M. et al. 2017. Topological control on the structural relaxation of atomic networks under stress. Physical Review Letters 119(3), article number: 35502. (10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.035502)
- Shvab, I., Brochard, L., Manzano, H. and Masoero, E. 2017. Precipitation mechanisms of mesoporous nanoparticle aggregates: Off-lattice, coarse-grained, kinetic simulations. Crystal Growth and Design 17(3), pp. 1316-1327. (10.1021/acs.cgd.6b01712)
2016
- Ioannidou, K. et al. 2016. Mesoscale texture of cement hydrates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113(8), pp. 2029-2034. (10.1073/pnas.1520487113)
2015
- Bauchy, M., Masoero, E., Ulm, F. -. and Pellenq, R. 2015. Creep of bulk C-S-H: insights from molecular dynamics simulations. Presented at: 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 Sept 2015CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 511-516., (10.1061/9780784479346.061)
- Bazant, Z. P., Donmez, A., Masoero, E. and Aghdam, S. R. 2015. Interaction of concrete creep, shrinkage and swelling with water, hydration and damage: nano-macro-chemo. Presented at: 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 Sept 2015CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 1-12., (10.1061/9780784479346.001)
- Davie, C. T. and Masoero, E. 2015. Modelling damage from the nano-scale up. Presented at: 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 Sept 2015CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 613-620., (10.1061/9780784479346.074)
- Del Gado, E., Ioannidou, K., Masoero, E., Pellenq, R. J. -., Ulm, F. and Yip, S. 2015. The meso-scale texture of cement hydrate gels: out-of-equilibrium evolution and thermodynamic driving. Presented at: 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 Sept 2015CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 34-38., (10.1061/9780784479346.005)
- Ioannidou, K., Masoero, E., Levitz, P., Pellenq, R. J. -. and Del Gado, E. 2015. Hydration kinetics and gel morphology of C-S-H. Presented at: 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 Sept 2015CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 565-573., (10.1061/9780784479346.069)
- Bazant, Z., Donmez, A., Masoero, E. and Aghdam, S. R. 2015. Interaction of concrete creep, shrinkage and swelling with water, hydration, and damage: Nano-macro-chemo. Presented at: 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, 21-23 September 2015 Presented at Hellmich, C. and Kollegger, J. eds.CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 1-12., (10.1061/9780784479346.001)
- Pinson, M. B. et al. 2015. Hysteresis from multiscale porosity: modeling water sorption and shrinkage in cement paste. Physical Review Applied 3(6), article number: 64009. (10.1103/PhysRevApplied.3.064009)
- Masoero, E. et al. 2015. Kinetic simulations of cement creep: mechanisms from shear deformations of glasses. Presented at: CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 September 2015Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 555-564., (10.1061/9780784479346.068)
- Masoero, E. et al. 2015. Modelling hysteresis in the water sorption and drying shrinkage of cement paste. Presented at: CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 September 2015Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 306-312., (10.1061/9780784479346.035)
- Qomi, M. J. A. et al. 2015. C-S-H across length scales: from nano to micron. Presented at: CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 September 2015Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 39-48., (10.1061/9780784479346.006)
- Manzano, H., Duque-Redondo, E., Masoero, E., Lopez-Arbeloa, I., Hellmich, C., Pichler, B. and Kollegger, J. 2015. The role of water on C-S-H gel shear strength studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Presented at: CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 September 2015 Presented at Hellmich, C., Pichler, B. and Kollegger, J. eds.CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. pp. 899-907., (10.1061/9780784479346.107)
2014
- Del Gado, E., Ioannidou, K., Masoero, E., Baronnet, A., Pellenq, R. J. -., Ulm, F. -. and Yip, S. 2014. A soft matter in construction - Statistical physics approach to formation and mechanics of C-S-H gels in cement. European Physical Journal - Special Topics 223(11), pp. 2285-2295. (10.1140/epjst/e2014-02264-1)
- Masoero, E., Thomas, J. J. and Jennings, H. M. 2014. A reaction zone hypothesis for the effects of particle size and water-to-cement ratio on the early hydration kinetics of C3S. Journal of the American Ceramic Society 97(3), pp. 967-975. (10.1111/jace.12713)
- Masoero, E., Del Gado, E., Pellenq, R. J. -., Yip, S. and Ulm, F. 2014. Nano-scale mechanics of colloidal C-S-H gels. Soft Matter 10(3), pp. 491-499. (10.1039/c3sm51815a)
- Masoero, E. et al. 2014. Modelling cement at fundamental scales: from atoms to engineering strength and durability. Presented at: EURO-C 2014 Conference, St. Anton am Arlberg; Austria, 24th - 27th March 2014 Presented at Bicanic, N. et al. eds.Computational Modelling of Concrete Structures, Volume 1, Vol. 1. CRC Press pp. 139-148.
2013
- Masoero, E., Daro, P. and Chiaia, B. M. 2013. Progressive collapse of 2D framed structures: an analytical model. Engineering Structures 54, pp. 94-102. (10.1016/j.engstruct.2013.03.053)
- Manzano, H., Masoero, E., Lopez-Arbeloa, I. and Jennings, H. M. 2013. Shear deformations in calcium silicate hydrates. Soft Matter 9(30), pp. 7333-7341. (10.1039/c3sm50442e)
- Jennings, H. et al. 2013. Water isotherms, shrinkage and creep of cement paste: Hypotheses, models and experiments. Presented at: 9th International Conference on Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability Mechanics 2013 (CONCREEP-9), Cambridge, MA, USA, 22-25 September 2013 Presented at Franz-Josef, U., Hamlin, J. M. and Pellenq, R. J. -. eds.Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete: A Tribute to Zdeněk P. Bažant. ASCE pp. 134-141., (10.1061/9780784413111.015)
- Manzano, H., Masoero, E., Lopez-Arbeloa, I. and M. Jennings, H. 2013. Mechanical behaviour of ordered and disordered calcium silicate hydrates under shear strain studied by atomic scale simulations. Presented at: 9th International Conference on Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability Mechanics 2013 (CONCREEP-9), Cambridge, MA, USA, 22-25 September 2013 Presented at Franz-Josef, U., Hamlin, J. M. and Pellenq, R. J. -. eds.Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete: A Tribute to Zdeněk P. Bažant. ASCE pp. 86-97., (10.1061/9780784413111.009)
- Masoero, E., Manzano, H., Del Gado, E., Pellenq, R., Ulm, F. and Yip, S. 2013. Kinetic simulation of the logarithmic creep of cement. Presented at: 9th International Conference on Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability Mechanics 2013 (CONCREEP-9), Cambridge, MA, USA, 22-25 September 2013 Presented at Franz-Josef, I., Hamlin, J. M. and Pellenq, R. J. -. eds.Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete: A Tribute to Zdeněk P. Bažant. ASCE pp. 166-173., (10.1061/9780784413111.019)
2012
- Masoero, E., Wittel, F. K., Herrmann, H. J. and Chiaia, B. M. 2012. Hierarchical structures for a robustness-oriented capacity design. Journal of Engineering Mechanics 138(11), pp. 1339-1347. (10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0000437)
- Masoero, E., Del Gado, E., Pellenq, R. J., Ulm, F. and Yip, S. 2012. Nanostructure and nanomechanics of cement: polydisperse colloidal packing. Physical Review Letters 109(15), article number: 155503. (10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.155503)
2010
- Masoero, E., Wittel, F. K., Herrmann, H. J. and Chiaia, B. M. 2010. Progressive collapse mechanisms of brittle and ductile framed structures. Journal of Engineering Mechanics 136(8), pp. 987-995. (10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0000143)
2009
- Masoero, E., Vallini, P., Fantilli, A. P. and Chiaia, B. M. 2009. Energy-based study of structures under accidental damage. Key Engineering Materials 417-41, pp. 557-560. (10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.417-418.557)
- Cennamo, C., Chiaia, B. M. and Masoero, E. 2009. Optimization of cutting process for ancient masonry: the Greek gymnasium in Naples. International Journal of Architectural Heritage 3(3), pp. 235-257. (10.1080/15583050902731049)
- Chiaia, B. M. and Masoero, E. 2009. Analogies between progressive collapse of structures and fracture of materials. International Journal of Fracture 154(1-2), pp. 177-193. (10.1007/s10704-008-9287-2)
- Chiaia, B., Wittel, F., Herrmann, H. and Masoero, E. 2009. DEM simulations of the progressive collapse of framed structures. Presented at: 12th International Conference on Fracture (ICF 2009), Ottawa, ON, Canada, 12-17 July 2009.
2008
- Cennamo, C., Chiaia, B. M., Masoero, E., Scaini, S., DAyala, D. and Fodde, E. 2008. Optimization of cutting processes in archaeological sites. Presented at: 6th International Conference on Structural Analysis of Historic Construction (SAHC 2008), Bath, England, 2-4 July 2008 Presented at D'Ayala, D. and Fodde, E. eds.Structural Analysis of Historic Construction: Preserving Safety and Significance, Two Volume Set. CRC Press pp. 867-874.
Articles
- Alex, A., Freeman, B., Jefferson, A. and Masoero, E. 2023. Carbonation and self-healing in concrete: Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of mineralization. Cement and Concrete Composites, article number: 105281. (10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2023.105281)
- Duque-Redondo, E., Yamada, K., Masoero, E., Bañuelos Prieto, J. and Manzano, H. 2023. Adsorption and migration of Cs and Na ions in geopolymers and zeolites. Materials Today Communications 36, article number: 106496. (10.1016/j.mtcomm.2023.106496)
- Wang, J., Yio, M. H., Zhou, T., Wong, H. S., Davie, C. T. and Masoero, E. 2023. Water sorption isotherms and hysteresis of cement paste at moderately high temperature, up to 80 °C. Cement and Concrete Research 165, article number: 107076. (10.1016/j.cemconres.2022.107076)
- Doyle, M. E., Dalgarno, K., Masoero, E. and Ferreira, A. M. 2023. Advances in biomimetic collagen mineralisation and future approaches to bone tissue engineering. Biopolymers 114, article number: e23527. (10.1002/bip.23527)
- Bagga, M. et al. 2022. Advancements in bacteria based self-healing concrete and the promise of modelling. Construction and Building Materials 358, article number: 129412. (10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.129412)
- Wilkins, A., Rigopoulos, G. and Masoero, E. 2022. Coarse graining in time with the functional renormalization group: Relaxation in Brownian motion. Physical Review E 106(5), article number: 54109. (10.1103/PhysRevE.106.054109)
- Ioannidou, K., Labbez, C. and Masoero, E. 2022. A review of coarse grained and mesoscale simulations of C–S–H. Cement and Concrete Research 159, article number: 106857. (10.1016/j.cemconres.2022.106857)
- Masoero, E., O'Shaughnessy, C., Gosling, P. and Chiaia, B. 2022. Topology optimization using the discrete element method. Part 2: Material nonlinearity. Meccanica 57, pp. 1233-1250. (10.1007/s11012-022-01492-x)
- O'Shaughnessy, C., Masoero, E. and Gosling, P. 2022. Topology optimization using the discrete element method. Part 1: Methodology, validation, and geometric nonlinearity. Meccanica 57(6), pp. 1213-1231. (10.1007/s11012-022-01493-w)
- Duque-Redondo, E., Masoero, E. and Manzano, H. 2022. Nanoscale shear cohesion between cement hydrates: The role of water diffusivity under structural and electrostatic confinement. Cement and Concrete Research 154, article number: 106716. (10.1016/j.cemconres.2022.106716)
- Lolli, F., Thomas, J., Kurtis, K., Cucinotta, F. and Masoero, E. 2021. Early age volume changes in metakaolin geopolymers: Insights from molecular simulations and experiments. Cement and Concrete Research 144, article number: 106428. (10.1016/j.cemconres.2021.106428)
- Masoero, E. and Di Luzio, G. 2020. Nanoparticle simulations of logarithmic creep and microprestress relaxation in concrete and other disordered solids. Cement and Concrete Research 137, article number: 106181. (10.1016/j.cemconres.2020.106181)
- Coopamootoo, K. and Masoero, E. 2020. Simulations of crystal dissolution using interacting particles: prediction of stress evolution and rates at defects and application to tricalcium silicate. Journal of Physical Chemistry C 124(36), pp. 19603-19615. (10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c04633)
- Masoero, E. 2020. CASCO: a simulator of load paths in 2D frames during progressive collapse. SN Applied Sciences 2(9), article number: 1471. (10.1007/s42452-020-03201-3)
- Rahimi-Aghdam, S., Masoero, E., Rasoolinejad, M. and Bazant, Z. 2020. Correction to: Century-long expansion of hydrating cement counteracting concrete shrinkage due to humidity drop from selfdesiccation or external drying (Materials and Structures, (2019), 52, 1, (11), 10.1617/s11527-018-1307-8). Materials and Structures 53(2) (10.1617/s11527-019-1423-0)
- Pathirage, M., Bentz, D. P., Di Luzio, G., Masoero, E. and Cusatis, G. 2019. The ONIX model: a parameter-free multiscale framework for the prediction of self-desiccation in concrete. Cement and Concrete Composites 103, pp. 36-48. (10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2019.04.011)
- Liu, H., Dong, S., Tang, L., Anoop Krishnan, N., Masoero, E., Sant, G. and Bauchy, M. 2019. Long-term creep deformations in colloidal calcium–silicate–hydrate gels by accelerated aging simulations. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 542, pp. 339-346. (10.1016/j.jcis.2019.02.022)
- Zhou, T., Ioannidou, K., Masoero, E., Mirzadeh, M., Pellenq, R. J. and Bazant, M. Z. 2019. Capillary stress and structural relaxation in moist granular materials. Langmuir 35(12), pp. 4397-4402. (10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b03400)
- Rahimi-Aghdam, S., Masoero, E., Rasoolinejad, M. and Ba?ant, Z. P. 2019. Century-long expansion of hydrating cement counteracting concrete shrinkage due to humidity drop from selfdesiccation or external drying. Materials and Structures 52(1), article number: 11. (10.1617/s11527-018-1307-8)
- Masoero, E., Cusatis, G. and Di Luzio, G. 2018. C–S–H gel densification: The impact of the nanoscale on self-desiccation and sorption isotherms. Cement and Concrete Research 109, pp. 103-119. (10.1016/j.cemconres.2018.04.014)
- Lolli, F., Manzano, H., Provis, J. L., Bignozzi, M. C. and Masoero, E. 2018. Atomistic simulations of geopolymer models: The impact of disorder on structure and mechanics. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 10(26), pp. 22809-22820. (10.1021/acsami.8b03873)
- Coopamootoo, K. and Masoero, E. 2018. Cement pastes with UV-irradiated polypropylene: Fracture energy and the benefit of adding metakaolin. Construction and Building Materials 165, pp. 303-309. (10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.12.143)
- Thomas, J., Ghazizadeh, S. and Masoero, E. 2017. Kinetic mechanisms and activation energies for hydration of standard and highly reactive forms of β-dicalcium silicate (C2S). Cement and Concrete Research 100, pp. 322-328. (10.1016/j.cemconres.2017.06.001)
- Bauchy, M. et al. 2017. Topological control on the structural relaxation of atomic networks under stress. Physical Review Letters 119(3), article number: 35502. (10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.035502)
- Shvab, I., Brochard, L., Manzano, H. and Masoero, E. 2017. Precipitation mechanisms of mesoporous nanoparticle aggregates: Off-lattice, coarse-grained, kinetic simulations. Crystal Growth and Design 17(3), pp. 1316-1327. (10.1021/acs.cgd.6b01712)
- Ioannidou, K. et al. 2016. Mesoscale texture of cement hydrates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113(8), pp. 2029-2034. (10.1073/pnas.1520487113)
- Pinson, M. B. et al. 2015. Hysteresis from multiscale porosity: modeling water sorption and shrinkage in cement paste. Physical Review Applied 3(6), article number: 64009. (10.1103/PhysRevApplied.3.064009)
- Del Gado, E., Ioannidou, K., Masoero, E., Baronnet, A., Pellenq, R. J. -., Ulm, F. -. and Yip, S. 2014. A soft matter in construction - Statistical physics approach to formation and mechanics of C-S-H gels in cement. European Physical Journal - Special Topics 223(11), pp. 2285-2295. (10.1140/epjst/e2014-02264-1)
- Masoero, E., Thomas, J. J. and Jennings, H. M. 2014. A reaction zone hypothesis for the effects of particle size and water-to-cement ratio on the early hydration kinetics of C3S. Journal of the American Ceramic Society 97(3), pp. 967-975. (10.1111/jace.12713)
- Masoero, E., Del Gado, E., Pellenq, R. J. -., Yip, S. and Ulm, F. 2014. Nano-scale mechanics of colloidal C-S-H gels. Soft Matter 10(3), pp. 491-499. (10.1039/c3sm51815a)
- Masoero, E., Daro, P. and Chiaia, B. M. 2013. Progressive collapse of 2D framed structures: an analytical model. Engineering Structures 54, pp. 94-102. (10.1016/j.engstruct.2013.03.053)
- Manzano, H., Masoero, E., Lopez-Arbeloa, I. and Jennings, H. M. 2013. Shear deformations in calcium silicate hydrates. Soft Matter 9(30), pp. 7333-7341. (10.1039/c3sm50442e)
- Masoero, E., Wittel, F. K., Herrmann, H. J. and Chiaia, B. M. 2012. Hierarchical structures for a robustness-oriented capacity design. Journal of Engineering Mechanics 138(11), pp. 1339-1347. (10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0000437)
- Masoero, E., Del Gado, E., Pellenq, R. J., Ulm, F. and Yip, S. 2012. Nanostructure and nanomechanics of cement: polydisperse colloidal packing. Physical Review Letters 109(15), article number: 155503. (10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.155503)
- Masoero, E., Wittel, F. K., Herrmann, H. J. and Chiaia, B. M. 2010. Progressive collapse mechanisms of brittle and ductile framed structures. Journal of Engineering Mechanics 136(8), pp. 987-995. (10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0000143)
- Masoero, E., Vallini, P., Fantilli, A. P. and Chiaia, B. M. 2009. Energy-based study of structures under accidental damage. Key Engineering Materials 417-41, pp. 557-560. (10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.417-418.557)
- Cennamo, C., Chiaia, B. M. and Masoero, E. 2009. Optimization of cutting process for ancient masonry: the Greek gymnasium in Naples. International Journal of Architectural Heritage 3(3), pp. 235-257. (10.1080/15583050902731049)
- Chiaia, B. M. and Masoero, E. 2009. Analogies between progressive collapse of structures and fracture of materials. International Journal of Fracture 154(1-2), pp. 177-193. (10.1007/s10704-008-9287-2)
Book sections
- Alex, A. and Masoero, E. 2022. Autogenous healing in cement: A kinetic Monte Carlo simulation of CaCO3 precipitation. In: Meschke, G., Pichler, B. and Rots, J. G. eds. Computational Modelling of Concrete and Concrete Structures. Taylor and Francis, pp. 102-107., (10.1201/9781003316404-12)
Conferences
- Masoero, E. 2023. MASKE: particle-based chemo-mechanical simulations of degradation processes. Presented at: SynerCrete: International RILEM Conference on Synergising Expertise towards Sustainability and Robustness of Cement-based Materials and Concrete Structures, 15-16 June 2023International RILEM Conference on Synergising Expertise towards Sustainability and Robustness of Cement-based Materials and Concrete Structures, Vol. 43., (10.1007/978-3-031-33211-1_15)
- Lolli, F. and Masoero, E. 2018. Towards a mesoscale model of geopolymers: Interaction potential from the molecular scale. Presented at: 2018 Conference on Computational Modelling of Concrete and Concrete Structures (EURO-C), Bad Hofgastein, Austria, 26 February - 01 March 2018 Presented at Meschke, G., Pichler, B. and Rots, J. G. eds.Computational Modelling of Concrete Structures. CRC Press pp. 87-92., (10.1201/9781315182964-9)
- Masoero, E., Shvab, I., Di Luzio, G. and Cusatis, G. 2018. Nanoscale simulations of cement hydrates precipitation mechanisms: Impact on macroscopic self-desiccation and water sorption isotherms. Presented at: Computational Modelling of Concrete and Concrete Structures (EURO-C 2018), 26 Feb-1 Mar 2018 Presented at Meschke, G., Pichler, B. and Rots, J. G. eds.Proceedings of the Conference on Computational Modelling of Concrete and Concrete Structures (EURO-C 2018), February 26 - March 1, 2018, Bad Hofgastein, Austria. CRC Press pp. 93-102., (10.1201/9781315182964-10)
- Pathirage, M., Bentz, D., Di Luzio, G., Masoero, E. and Cusatis, G. 2018. A multiscale framework for the prediction of concrete self-desiccation. Presented at: Computational Modelling of Concrete and Concrete Structures (EURO-C 2018), 26 Feb-1 Mar 2018 Presented at Meschke, G., Pichler, B. and Rots, J. G. eds.Computational Modelling of Concrete Structures: Proceedings of the Conference on Computational Modelling of Concrete and Concrete Structures (EURO-C 2018), February 26 - March 1, 2018, Bad Hofgastein, Austria. Taylor and Francis pp. 203-208., (10.1201/9781315182964-25)
- Bauchy, M., Masoero, E., Ulm, F. -. and Pellenq, R. 2015. Creep of bulk C-S-H: insights from molecular dynamics simulations. Presented at: 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 Sept 2015CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 511-516., (10.1061/9780784479346.061)
- Bazant, Z. P., Donmez, A., Masoero, E. and Aghdam, S. R. 2015. Interaction of concrete creep, shrinkage and swelling with water, hydration and damage: nano-macro-chemo. Presented at: 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 Sept 2015CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 1-12., (10.1061/9780784479346.001)
- Davie, C. T. and Masoero, E. 2015. Modelling damage from the nano-scale up. Presented at: 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 Sept 2015CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 613-620., (10.1061/9780784479346.074)
- Del Gado, E., Ioannidou, K., Masoero, E., Pellenq, R. J. -., Ulm, F. and Yip, S. 2015. The meso-scale texture of cement hydrate gels: out-of-equilibrium evolution and thermodynamic driving. Presented at: 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 Sept 2015CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 34-38., (10.1061/9780784479346.005)
- Ioannidou, K., Masoero, E., Levitz, P., Pellenq, R. J. -. and Del Gado, E. 2015. Hydration kinetics and gel morphology of C-S-H. Presented at: 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 Sept 2015CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 565-573., (10.1061/9780784479346.069)
- Bazant, Z., Donmez, A., Masoero, E. and Aghdam, S. R. 2015. Interaction of concrete creep, shrinkage and swelling with water, hydration, and damage: Nano-macro-chemo. Presented at: 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, 21-23 September 2015 Presented at Hellmich, C. and Kollegger, J. eds.CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 1-12., (10.1061/9780784479346.001)
- Masoero, E. et al. 2015. Kinetic simulations of cement creep: mechanisms from shear deformations of glasses. Presented at: CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 September 2015Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 555-564., (10.1061/9780784479346.068)
- Masoero, E. et al. 2015. Modelling hysteresis in the water sorption and drying shrinkage of cement paste. Presented at: CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 September 2015Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 306-312., (10.1061/9780784479346.035)
- Qomi, M. J. A. et al. 2015. C-S-H across length scales: from nano to micron. Presented at: CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 September 2015Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. ASCE pp. 39-48., (10.1061/9780784479346.006)
- Manzano, H., Duque-Redondo, E., Masoero, E., Lopez-Arbeloa, I., Hellmich, C., Pichler, B. and Kollegger, J. 2015. The role of water on C-S-H gel shear strength studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Presented at: CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Vienna, Austria, 21-23 September 2015 Presented at Hellmich, C., Pichler, B. and Kollegger, J. eds.CONCREEP 10: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures. pp. 899-907., (10.1061/9780784479346.107)
- Masoero, E. et al. 2014. Modelling cement at fundamental scales: from atoms to engineering strength and durability. Presented at: EURO-C 2014 Conference, St. Anton am Arlberg; Austria, 24th - 27th March 2014 Presented at Bicanic, N. et al. eds.Computational Modelling of Concrete Structures, Volume 1, Vol. 1. CRC Press pp. 139-148.
- Jennings, H. et al. 2013. Water isotherms, shrinkage and creep of cement paste: Hypotheses, models and experiments. Presented at: 9th International Conference on Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability Mechanics 2013 (CONCREEP-9), Cambridge, MA, USA, 22-25 September 2013 Presented at Franz-Josef, U., Hamlin, J. M. and Pellenq, R. J. -. eds.Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete: A Tribute to Zdeněk P. Bažant. ASCE pp. 134-141., (10.1061/9780784413111.015)
- Manzano, H., Masoero, E., Lopez-Arbeloa, I. and M. Jennings, H. 2013. Mechanical behaviour of ordered and disordered calcium silicate hydrates under shear strain studied by atomic scale simulations. Presented at: 9th International Conference on Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability Mechanics 2013 (CONCREEP-9), Cambridge, MA, USA, 22-25 September 2013 Presented at Franz-Josef, U., Hamlin, J. M. and Pellenq, R. J. -. eds.Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete: A Tribute to Zdeněk P. Bažant. ASCE pp. 86-97., (10.1061/9780784413111.009)
- Masoero, E., Manzano, H., Del Gado, E., Pellenq, R., Ulm, F. and Yip, S. 2013. Kinetic simulation of the logarithmic creep of cement. Presented at: 9th International Conference on Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability Mechanics 2013 (CONCREEP-9), Cambridge, MA, USA, 22-25 September 2013 Presented at Franz-Josef, I., Hamlin, J. M. and Pellenq, R. J. -. eds.Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete: A Tribute to Zdeněk P. Bažant. ASCE pp. 166-173., (10.1061/9780784413111.019)
- Chiaia, B., Wittel, F., Herrmann, H. and Masoero, E. 2009. DEM simulations of the progressive collapse of framed structures. Presented at: 12th International Conference on Fracture (ICF 2009), Ottawa, ON, Canada, 12-17 July 2009.
- Cennamo, C., Chiaia, B. M., Masoero, E., Scaini, S., DAyala, D. and Fodde, E. 2008. Optimization of cutting processes in archaeological sites. Presented at: 6th International Conference on Structural Analysis of Historic Construction (SAHC 2008), Bath, England, 2-4 July 2008 Presented at D'Ayala, D. and Fodde, E. eds.Structural Analysis of Historic Construction: Preserving Safety and Significance, Two Volume Set. CRC Press pp. 867-874.
Websites
- Wilkins, A., Rigopoulos, G. and Masoero, E. 2021. Functional renormalisation group for Brownian motion I: The effective equations of motion. [Online]. Cornell University. (10.48550/arXiv.2008.00472) Available at: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2008.00472
Research
The core of my research is on computational methods based on discrete interacting particles, to simulate the formation and degradation of materials at the nano-to-mico scale, as well the mechanics and collapse of structures.
In the area of mateirals, I have been developing simulations based on interacting nanoparticles, and in particular I have worked on coupling mechanical with chemical processes, in the framework of Kinetic Monte Carlo. This opens up new opportunities to simulate degrdation processes where mechical stresses and chemical reactions play together, such as stress-induced dissolution, stress-corrosion cracking, or dissolution-induced creep.
My simulations are at the nano-to-micro level and I use them to clarify fundamental mechanisms, to provide constitutive inputs for larger-scale models that are typically used in engineering, and to better interpret and guide experimental research.
The main material of interest, for me, is concrete, as it plays a central role in achieving the current environmental targets in the UK and internationally. However, I am increasingly exploring applications f the same method to other materials and systems too: degradation of lithium electrodes in batteries are one such example.
In th area of structural mechanics, my main interest is in avoiding building collapse. I have started resarch in this area during my PhD and recently my interest got revived by the new opportunities offered by digital manufacture, which enables relatively low-cost fabrication of complex structures which would have not been sustainable a few years ago. This, combined with the increasingly stringent requirement of minimizing waste of material, is fuelling my current interest in structural topology optimization, with a particualr and original focus on discrete structural behaviour, e.g. fracture and impacts, which are all parts of typical collapse mechanisms.
Teaching
I have been teaching course in Civil and Structural Engineering since 2007, at various instiutions. In particular, I have been teaching courses in the areas of Structural Mechanics, Materials Science, and Numerical Methods.
At Cardiff University I am teaching the Structural Analysis part of the Design module and part of the Engineering Analysis module, both in year 2. In addition to that, I am supervising undergaduate and graduate dissertations.
I have been supervising several PhD students in various areas: Structural Engineering, Materials, Biomechanical Engineering, and Mathematics.
I am a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.
Biography
2010 : PhD in Structural Engineering at Politecnico di Torino (Italy)
2010 - 2013 : Postdoctoral Research Associate at MIT, Concrete Sustainability Hub, Boston (USA)
2013 - 2021 : Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Structural Engineering at Newcastle University (UK)
2021 - now : Senior Lecturer in the Materials for Life group at Cardiff University (UK)
Honours and awards
- National Award for best PhD Thesis in Computational Mechanics - Italian Group of Computational Mechanics (2010)
- MITOR Postdoctoral Fellowship, between Politecnico di Torino and MIT (2010)
- Keynote lecture at the 2nd meeting of the EU COST Action TU1404: Towards the next generation of standards for service life of cement-based materials and structures, Wien, Austria (2015)
- Keynote Lecture at the Newton Fund workshop "Reusing Mining Waste", University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK (2019).
Professional memberships
- Chartered Civil Engineer in Italy
- Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy
Committees and reviewing
- Member of the Properties of Materials Committee of the Engineering Mechanics Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineering, USA (EMI-ASCE)
- Reviewer for various international journals, including Engineering Structures, Computational Materials Science, The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings, Journal of Engineering Mechanics ASCE, The Journal of the American Ceramics Society, Cement and Concrete Research, the Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, Nature Scientific Reports, Composite Materials, Advances in Applied Ceramics, International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials, Journal of Nanomechanics and Micromechanics ASCE, Cement and Concrete Composites, Journal of Construction and Building Materials
- Outstanding reviewer for the Cement and Concrete Research journal (2018)
Supervisions
I am interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of:
- Computational materials science
- Modelling the formation and degrdation of concrete and other mateiral systems (in particular natural rocks and battery electrodes)
- Structural topology optimization