Thermodynamic Modelling Workshop with GEMS was successfully held at Empa!
Thermodynamic Modelling Workshop with GEMS was successfully held at Empa!
We’re thrilled to look back on a successful Thermodynamic Modelling Workshop (June 3-6, 2025) at Empa, Switzerland, where around 40 participants—from PhD students and postdocs to industry professionals—gained hands-on expertise in GEMS for cementitious materials.
Key learnings covered:
1. Fundamentals of thermodynamic database, cement hydration modelling, environmental interaction, and saturation index calculations (delivered from Barbara Lothenbach and Frank Winnefeld, Empa).
2. xGEMS: George Dan Miron from PSI showcased xGEMS, where C++ or Python codes can be applied in Jupyter Notebook (Lab), allowing working online in browsers.
3. Corrosion and solubility of iron (hydr)oxides modelling delivered by Fabio Enrico Furcas (Empa).
To find out more about GEMS modelling, the previous workshop lectures recorded in 2020 can be found here.
At Empa, we are also working on establishing a thermodynamic database for Mg-containing phases like hydrated-magnesium-carbonates (HMCs), LDH phases, to better model MgO-based binders.
A heartfelt thanks to our brilliant lecturers, dedicated attendees, and the Empa team (Jan Schmitt, Clélia Bouchaud-Deliot, Petra Rogenmoser) for making this possible! Stay tuned for future workshops.
Writing: Zeyu Zhou
Photo: Mateusz Wyrzykowski
