Research
Durability, embodied carbon and monitoring of concrete infrastructure in cold climates.
Current PhD focus
How can owners choose between repairing and replacing a concrete bridge deck when both service life and carbon matter?
Most service-life models treat chloride ingress and freeze-thaw damage separately, yet in Canadian bridge decks they act together. My thesis quantifies that interaction through accelerated testing and field data, then feeds the resulting deterioration models into a life-cycle assessment.
The outcome is a practical comparison tool for asset managers: for each strategy, the expected service life, the maintenance it needs, and the carbon it emits over 75 years.
Research interests
- Concrete durability
- Freeze-thaw and chloride interaction
- Low-clinker binders
- Life-cycle assessment
- Structural health monitoring
- Bridge asset management
Research areas
Durability of transportation structures
Chloride ingress, freeze-thaw damage and corrosion in bridge decks, barriers and parking structures.
Low-carbon concrete
Performance of low-clinker binders and recycled aggregates under severe exposure.
Monitoring and asset management
From sensor data to maintenance decisions for ageing infrastructure networks.
Engineering education
Case-based and model-based teaching of structural behaviour.
Research projects
2023 - present
Combined freeze-thaw and chloride exposure of low-clinker concrete
Accelerated laboratory programme on six binder combinations, measuring scaling, internal damage and chloride profiles after combined exposure.
2024 - present
Field monitoring of two instrumented bridge decks
Temperature, moisture and corrosion-potential sensors at reinforcement depth, with a solar-powered logging system designed for winter conditions.
2018 - 2020
Shear behaviour of beams with recycled concrete aggregate
Experimental testing of 16 reinforced concrete beams with 0 to 100 percent recycled coarse aggregate.
Publications and talks
Publication
Interaction of freeze-thaw damage and chloride diffusion in concrete with ternary binders
M. Ser, M. Tremblay, L. Nguyen
Construction and Building Materials (under review)
Carbon and service-life trade-offs in bridge deck rehabilitation: a framework
M. Ser, M. Tremblay
Proceedings, CSCE Annual Conference, Niagara Falls
Shear strength of reinforced concrete beams made with recycled coarse aggregate
M. Ser, R. Al-Khatib
Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, 15(3)
Conference contribution
What a bridge deck remembers: field data from a Québec winter
Graduate Research Symposium, Montréal
Academic timeline
Sep 2023
PhD programme start
Coursework and literature review.
May 2024
Laboratory programme
First freeze-thaw and chloride test series.
Apr 2025
Comprehensive exam
Research proposal defended.
2026 - 2027
Field monitoring and thesis
Instrumented decks, LCA framework, dissertation.