Dr. Hélène AGEORGES

Limoges University, IRCER, France

Society evolution towards increasingly efficient technologies, high speeds and yields, at low energy costs and with increased environmental and safety requirements, has found solutions in the development of new materials and their shaping such as surface coatings to improve the use properties and hence performance of parts in service. In the aeronautics sector, for example, the development of thermal barriers to protect metal parts from gas turbine engines (combustion chamber, blades, etc.) has increased the operating temperature and power of turbojets. In addition, in different applications, because wear is one of the main causes of the destruction of materials and losses of equipment mechanical performances, the improvement of surface properties by surface treatment with coatings having high performance against abrasive, corrosive and erosive wear at room or/and extreme conditions of temperature, oxidation and pressure, has led to important savings of materials, an increase of the reliability and the longevity of equipments, and also contribute to the environmental protection, reducing energy consumption by increasing the periods of renewal of the integrated components. Since these last decades, thermal spraying with high thermal and kinetic energy processes, has increasingly been used in industry for developing surface coverings of parts subject to extreme conditions and a lot of studies are dedicated to the improvement of coatings. Nanostructured coatings are more and more considered in scientific literature because of their positive contributions to improving coating properties such as toughness, wear resistance or thermal properties.

Dr. Hélène Ageorges is an Associate Professor of Renewable Energy and Thermal Spraying at the University of Limoges. Head of Bachelor Program of Renewable Energy. Head of the Master Program of Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Development (Dual Diploma University of Limoges / University of Mascareignes in Mauritius. Researcher in Surface Engineering by Thermal Spray Technologies at the Institute of research for ceramics, France. Her research topics focus on advanced properties of coatings through the use of new materials and innovative processes in fields such as high wear resistance, low friction coefficient, high temperature protective coatings (thermal and environmental barrier coatings), bioactivity (implant coatings), photocatalysis to meet the requirements of various specific applications. She studies nano and micro-structure coating effects, tribology, wear mechanisms. She contributes to the development of new easy and quick methods of mechanical property measurements for industry. Dr. Ageorges also had contributions to the manufacturing of feedstock powders for thermal spray coatings: cermets, composites and bioactive glasses for biomedical use. She holds a PhD in plasma process engineering from the University of Toulouse, France.