Profile picture
Administrative data

Michel Rappaz

michel.rappaz@epfl.ch +41 21 693 28 44

EPFL STI-DO
MXD 130 (Bâtiment MXD)
Station 12
1015 Lausanne

Expertise

Solidification Casting Modelling Microstructures Alloys

Mission

Advanced solidification processes: laser welding and laser treatment, rapid solidification, direction solidification, Bridgman solidification, investment casting, continuous casting, shape casting, coatings. Numerical simulation of solidification processes by finite element/finite volume methods, modeling of microstructure and defect formation using phase field and granular methods, modeling of solid state transformations. Crystallization and processing of organic substances (plastic crystals, food processing).
After a PhD in solid state physics (1978) at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and a post-doc at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Michel Rappaz joined the Institute of Materials of EPFL in 1981. After two years in an engineering company, he came back to EPFL in 1984 where he was nominated Adjunct Professor in 1990 and Full Professor in 2003. He retired from EPFL in 2015 and is now Emeritus Professor and independent consultant for several industries and research centres. His main interests are in phase transformations and solidification, in particular the coupling of macroscopic aspects of heat and mass transfer with microscopic aspects of microstructure and defect formation. Among his diverse achievements, one can mention in particular the development of cellular automata for grain structure predictions and of granular models for hot tearing formation in castings, the coupling of Finite Element method with microscopic models of nucleation and growth, the application of the phase field method to the understanding of various microstructures, the discovery of quasicrystal mediated-nucleation in alloys, and many other studies both fundamental at the microstructure-defect level and more applied at the level of processes. Some of the software developments have been commercialized by a spin-off company founded by his group in 1991 (Calcom SA), now part of the French company ESI. Michel Rappaz initiated in 1992 an annual postgraduate course on solidification which has been attended by more than 900 participants from all over the world. He is presently collaborating closely with another spin-off company started from his group, Novamet SàrL. Michel Rappaz has received several awards, in particular the Mathewson co-author award (1994) and author award (1997) of the American Mineral, Metals and Materials Society (TMS), the Koerber foundation award jointly with Profs Y. Bréchet and M. Asbby (1996), the Sainte-Claire Deville Medal (1996) and the Grand Medal (2011) from the French Materials Society, the Bruce Chalmers Award of TMS (2002), the Mc Donald Memorial Lecture award of Canada (2005), the FEMS European Materials Gold Medal (2013) and the Brimacombe Prize of TMS (2015). He is a highly-cited author of ISI, a Doctor of Science (Dr Hc) from McMaster Univ. (2019), a fellow of ASM, IOP and TMS, and has co-authored more than 200 publications and two books.

Selected publications

SOLIDIFICATION

J.A. Dantzig and M. Rappaz
Published in EPFL-Press, 2009, 560 pages. in

MODELING IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

M. Rappaz, M. Bellet and M. Deville. Translated by R. Snyder
Published in Springer Verlag, 2003, 540 pages in

MODELISATION EN SCIENCE ET GENIE DES MATERIAUX

M. Rappaz, M. Bellet and M. Deville
Published in PPUR-EPFL, Lausanne, 1998, 568 pages in

ORIENTATION SELECTION IN DENDRITIC EVOLUTION

Haxhimali T., Karma A., Gonzales F. and Rappaz M.
Published in Nature Materials 5 (2006) 660-664 in

SOLIDIFICATION MICROSTRUCTURES: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS, FUTURE DIRECTIONS

W. J. Boettinger, S.R. Coriell, A.L. Greer, A. Karma, W. Kurz, M. Rappaz and R. Trivedi
Published in Acta Mater. 48 (2000) 43-70 in

A NEW HOT TEARING CRITERION

Rappaz M., Drezet J.-M. and Gremaud M.
Published in Met. Mater. Trans. 30A (1999) 449-455 in

A 3D CELLULAR AUTOMATON ALGORITHM FOR THE PREDICTION OF DENDRITIC GRAIN GROWTH

C.A. Gandin and M. Rappaz
Published in Acta Mater. 45 (1997) 2187-2195 in

A SIMPLE BUT REALISTIC MODEL FOR LASER CLADDING

M. Picasso, C.F. Marsden, J.D. Wagnière, A. Frenk and M. Rappaz
Published in Met. Mater. Trans. 25B (1994) 281-291 in

PROBABILISTIC MODELING OF MICROSTRUCTURE FORMATION IN SOLIDIFICATION PROCESSES.

Rappaz M. and Gandin Ch.-A.
Published in Acta. Met. Mater. 41 (1993)345-360 in

ANALYSIS OF SOLIDIFICATION MICROSTRUCTURES IN FE-NI-CR SINGLE-CRYSTAL WELDS

M. Rappaz, S.A. David, J.M. Vitek and L.A. Boatner
Published in Met. Mater Trans. 21A (1990) 1767-1782 in

MODELING OF MICROSTRUCTURE FORMATION IN SOLIDIFICATION PROCESSES

M. Rappaz
Published in Int. Mater. Rev. 34 (1989) 93-123 in

MODELING OF EQUIAXED MICROSTRUCTURE FORMATION IN CASTING

P. Thévoz, J.-L. Desbiolles and M. Rappaz
Published in Met. Mater. Trans. 20A (1989) 311-322 in

SOLUTE DIFFUSION-MODEL FOR EQUIAXED DENDRITIC GROWTH

M. Rappaz and P. Thévoz
Published in Acta Metall. 35 (1987) 1487-1497 in

Research

Directed and co-directed PhD theses

2015 C. Mondoux Mesoscopic Modeling and Experimental Investigations of the Last-Stage Solidification of Globular-Equiaxed Grains in Metallic Alloys: Application to the Al-Cu System 2015 A. Durussel Influence of Zinc Anisotropy on Solidification Microstructures: Experimental Results and Phase-Field Simulations 2014 G. Kurtuldu Influence of Trace Elements on the Nucleation and Solidification Morphologies of Fcc Alloys and Relationship with Icosahedral Quasicrystal Formation 2013 H. Meidani (co-directed with A. Jacot) Phase-field modeling of micropore formation in a solidifying alloy 2013 Shan Jin (directed: Ch. Leinenbach, co-directed: M. Rappaz) Characterization and modeling of Au-Ge based high temperature lead-free solder systems 2013 M. Sistaninia (co-directed with J.-M. Drezet) Granular dynamic calculations of hot tearing formation 2012 J. Valloton Phase competition in peritectic Cu-Sn alloys during solidification at low speed in a diffusive regime 2012 L. Deillon (co-directed with A. Hessler, CIME-EPFL) Soudure par interdiffusion dans les systèmes Au-In et In-Ni : application à des composants microélectroniques 2011 J. Friedli Interfacial Energy Anisotropy and Growth Morphologies in Aluminium-Zinc Alloys 2011 J. Vannod (co-directed with A. Hessler, CIME-EPFL) Laser Welding of Nickel-Titanium and Stainless Steel Wires : Processing, Metallurgy and Properties 2010 A. Mariaux Texture Formation in Hot-Dip Galvanized Coatings : Nucleation and Growth of Anisotropic Grains in a Confined Geometry 2010 M. Felberbaum Porosity in Aluminium Alloys : Visualization, Characterization, and Modeling 2009 M. Salgado-Ordorica Characterization and Modeling of Twinned Dendrite Growth 2009 D. Favez Soudage laser or-acier : Métallurgie et procédé 2008 F. Gonzales Etude des morphologies de solidification dans les alliages aluminium-zinc 2008 F. Kohler Peritectic solidification of Cu-Sn alloys microstructure at low speed 2007 V. Mathier Two-phase modelling of hot tearing in aluminium alloys using a semi-coupled method 2007 S. Vernède A granular model of solidification as applied to hot tearing 2006 L. Lach (PhD done in industry, co-directed with R. Parker) Modelling Vapour expansion in extruded cereals 2004 P.-D. Grasso Study and modelling of hot-tearing formation 2003 Th. Campanella Study and modelling of grain refinement by electromagnetic stirring in continuously cast Cu-base alloys 2002 Th. Kaempfer Modelling of macrosegregation using multigrid techniques 2002 Ch. Péquet Modelling of micro- and macroporosity formation using multigrid techniques 2001 A. Sémoroz Study of nucleation and growth in Al and Zn coatings deposited by hot-dipping 2000 Th. Jalanti Modelling of macrosegregation in continuously cast Al ingots 2000 X. Doré Modelling of microsegregation in Al-base alloys 1998 S. Henry Study of feathery grain formation in Al alloys 1997 Ph. Rousset Study of crystallisation of cocoa butter and of its components 1997 A. Jacot Modelling of solid state transformation during induction heating 1996 J.-M. Drezet Thermomechanical modelling of continuously cast Al ingots 1995 Ch. Charbon Stochastic modelling of eutectic grain structure formation 1994 C.-A. Gandin Stochastic modelling of dendritic grain structure formation 1993 Th. Imwinkelried Modelling of DS and SX turbine blades 1989 Zou Jie Modelling of gray cast iron solidification 1988 Ph. Thévoz Modelling of equiaxed dendritic solidification

Teaching & PhD

Past EPFL PhD Students

Jean-Marie Drezet, Alain Jacot, Philippe Rousset, Sylvain Henry, Tuomas Jalanti, Xavier Doré, Alain Sémoroz, Thomas Kämpfer, Christel Pequet, Thomas Campanella, Piero Daniele Grasso, Laurent Lach, Vincent Mathier, Stéphane Vernède, Frédéric Kohler, Denis Favez, Frédéric Claude Denis Dreyer, Mario Alberto Salgado Ordorica, Milan Felberbaum, Aurèle Mariaux, Jonathan Friedli, Jonas Vannod, Jonas Valloton, Léa Deillon, Hossein Meidani, Meisam Sistaninia, Shan Jin, Güven Kurtuldu, Alexandre Durussel, Christophe Mondoux