I did my secondment in Aachen from 4^th of February to 30^th of June. I stayed at the Institute of Mineral Engineering (GHI) of the RWTH university which is dedicated to the study of ceramic material including refractories.  It was a great opportunity to meet and work with colleagues from another university.

During my secondment, I performed diverse experiments. The most successful part was the preparation of corroded samples using an induction furnace in cooperation with the Department of Process Metallurgy and Metal Recycling (IME) of RWTH. Thanks to this cooperation, I was able to perform a medium scale experiment with a large amount of slag compared to the refractory material.  Typically the tests I had performed so far were with a small amount of slag compared to the bricks. These new samples will provide me very valuable inputs for my PhD thesis. Indeed, the test simulates the corrosion of refractories by an unsaturated media which is similar to the situation in a steel ladle. Furthermore, I could present most of the results obtained during the secondment at the UniTecr conference in Japan.

It was a great experience for me to be able to discover new testing methods especially medium scale experiment and to use an induction furnace, an equipment which I was not familiar with.  I also had the opportunity, during my stay, to take part to trainings: one dedicated to scientific writing and one dedicated to Factsage: a thermochemical software useful to study corrosion phenomena.

I also was fortunate to stay in Aachen for a few months as it is a place full of history: it was the most important city of western Europe 1200 years ago and the residency of Charlemagne.