Mickaël Courtois
Research domains
Understanding liquid metals
My research combines advanced multiphysics modeling and extreme-temperature experiments (up to 3000 °C) using levitation to study liquid metals.
🎯 Goal: To understand thermophysical phenomena governing industrial processes such as welding, additive manufacturing, and laser cutting.
Recent news :
🗓️ Nov 2025 – Publication: M Le Mener, C Bourges, E Courtois, T Pierre, M Courtois A new approach to determining the specific heat of liquid metals at high temperatures by aerodynamic levitation, International Journal of Thermophysics [2025]
🗓️ Oct 2025 – Presentation at the ATPC Conference, Shanghai — Liquid metals at extreme temperature
🗓️ Sept 2025 – Publication: Primary investigation of oxidation influence on the cutting front profile during high-thickness laser cutting. R Meillour, M Courtois, C Nahed, M Carin, F Simon, I Doyen. Journal of Laser Applications 37 (2) [2025]
🔬 RESEARCH THEME 1
Multiphysics Modeling of Welding and Additive Manufacturing at the liquid scale.
Fully coupled heat–fluid–electromagnetic–optical simulations with Level-Set free-surface tracking.
Applications: laser welding, WAAM, TIG, laser cutting, VAR...
Industrial partners: ArcelorMittal, Framatome, CEA, Schneider Electric, IREPA Laser....
Aim: understand melt-pool instabilities and predict process defects through physics-based modeling.
🔬 RESEARCH THEME 2
Thermophysical Properties of Liquid Metals
Development of aerodynamic levitation setups to measure:
- surface tension
- viscosity
- density
- thermal diffusivity
- specific heat capacity
Studies at 1500–3000 °C, now extended to high-pressure conditions (up to 100 bar).
Objective: provide high-quality data to strengthen numerical models.
🧭 CURRENT UNGOING PROJECTS:
ANR CaraMeLL – Liquid Metal Characterization under High Pressure ANR-23-CE08-0004
Principal Investigator & Coordinator - 2023 – 2027 [2 PhD]
CarméLiDe (CNES) – Liquid metals in microgravity (Zero-G flights 2025)
Principal Investigator & Coordinator - Since 2024
Current industrial collaborations
Framatome [2 CIFRE PhD, 1 collaboration]
CEA Commissariat à l'énergie atomique [2 PhD]
Schneider Electric [1 CIFRE PhD]
ArcelorMittal [1 CIFRE PhD]
IREPA LASER [2 PhD]
RESEARCH FOCUS: Camélide Mission ZeroG
Caractérisation des Métaux Liquides par stabilisation aérodynamique (Characterization of Liquid Metals by Aerodynamic Stabilization)
Development of a aerodynamic stabilization setup to measure surface tension & viscosity of liquid materials (both metals and oxides)
Objective: provide high-quality data without gravity disturbance (especially for viscosity)
🔬 UNIQUE EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS
Aerodynamic levitator with controlled atmosphere
Adapted to surface tension, emissivity and heat capacity determination of liquid metals for various atmosphere.
Temperatures: [1500 - 3000°C]
Atmosphere: High purity argon or other
High pressure levitator
Surface Tension & density above the vaporization point >2000 °C
Possibility to reach 100 bars and to control evaporation
High precision Aerodynamic levitator
Specific levitator with high resolution high speed camera to study density of liquid metals (Fe, steel, stainless steel, zirconium) with very high precision
Vaccum arc study
Specific lab. apparatus developed to study vacuum arc due to melting and vaporization of liquid metal
Liquid film
Specific apparatus with liquid film used to dermine thermal difussivity of liquid metals. The liquid film technique propose a liquid metal supported by its own surface tension avoiding any pollution
High speed camera instrumentation
We collaborate with partners to observe and understand liquid metal process thanks to numerous high speed cameras and specific lighting (Cavilux) and pyrometry.
📚 TOP 10 SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
1. M. Courtois, et al. A new approach to compute multi-reflections of laser beam in a keyhole for heat transfer and fluid flow modeling in laser welding. Journal of Physics : D Applied Physics 46 505305 [2013]
Cited more than 220 times. Very first model solving Maxwell equations to describe laser during laser welding process multiphysics modeling.
2. S. Cadiou, M. Courtois, M. Carin ,W. Berckmans, P. Le Masson, 3D heat transfer, fluid flow and electromagnetic model for cold metal transfer wire arc additive manufacturing (Cmt-Waam), Additive Manufacturing, Volume 36, 101541 [2020]
Very first model solving all main physics involved in WAAM additive manufactiring at the metl pool scale. Solving for the first time Maxwell, heat transfer, level set and Naviers Stokes in fully coupled.
3. D. Le Maux, M. Courtois, T. Pierre, B. Lamien, and P. Le Masson, Density measurement of liquid 22MnB5 by aerodynamic levitation, Review of Scientific Instruments. 90, 074904 [2019]
First paper presenting our historical aerodynamic levitator of liquid metals and its application to density measurements of unknown steels.
4. T Pierre, M Courtois, D Le Maux, M Carin, P Le Masson, Gravity impact on viscosity measurements by aerodynamic levitation. High Temperatures-High Pressures 53 (3) [2024]
For the first time, the gravity problem on the viscosity measurements is fully quantified thanks to a multiphysics modeling (for ADL).
5. D Le Maux, M Courtois, S Gaied, T Pierre, Sub-second Surface Tension Measurement of Steels Containing Manganese in Aerodynamic Levitation, International Journal of Thermophysics 45 (11), 1622024
First measurements of surface tension of levitated liquid metal in less than 5 seconds. This new methodology developed is unique and fundamental to limit evaporation at very high temperature.
6. J. Houssein, T Pierre, M Courtois, G Le Goic, M Carin, A novel apparatus dedicated to the estimation of the thermal diffusivity of metals at high temperature, Int. Journal of Thermal Sciences 191, 108359, [2023]
A new kind of device using film sustentation allows access to thermal diffusivity at unlimited temperatures both solid and liquid.
7. J Houssein, T Pierre, M Courtois, M Carin, Thermal Diffusivity of Solid and Liquid 304 Stainless Steel, Iron, and Zirconium, International Journal of Thermophysics 45 (9), 127, [2024]
For the first time, thermal diffusivity of liquid zirconium is measured. Only values unavailable at this date.
9. V Klapczynski, M Courtois, R Meillour, E Bertrand, D Le Maux, M Carin, ... Temperature and time dependence of manganese evaporation in liquid steels. Multiphysics modelling and experimental confrontation, Scripta Materialia 221, 114944; [2022]
Our levitation apparatus is used, jointly with multiphysics moddeling to study Manganese evaporation when steels are liquids. This paper will modify our future experimental protocols.
9. D Le Maux, V Klapczynski, M Courtois, T Pierre, P Le Masson, Surface tension of liquid Fe, Nb and 304L SS and effect of drop mass in aerodynamic levitation, Journal of Materials Science 57, 12094-12106 [2022]
One of the rare papers with liquid niobium surface tension between 2500 and 3000°C thanks to aerodynamic levitation.
10. M Le Mener, C Bourges, E Courtois, T Pierre, M Courtois A new approach to determining the specific heat of liquid metals at high temperatures by aerodynamic levitation, International Journal of Thermophysics [2025]
One of the first paper to measure heat capacity of liquid zirconium.
📚 PhD SUPERVISION and related
SUPERVISION OF GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS
Total: 15 Phd Students, 3 post-doctoral students, 14 master students.
Theme numerical modelling of welding/additive manufacturing:
1 Postdoc: C. Ramard (2019-2021)
9 PhD students: C. Hidalgo (2014-2017), S. Cadiou (2016-2019), C. Le Falher (2020-2023), R. Meillour (2022-2025), I. Ben Bahaffa (2023-2026), F. Chetan (2023-2026), D. Libert (2024-2027) J. Souza (2025-2028), C. Tamerian (2025-2028).
Approx 6 Master Students or equivalent
Theme thermophysical properties characterisation of molten metals:
2 Postdoc: B. Lamien (2018) ; D. Le Maux (2020-2023)
6 PhD students: D. Le Maux (2017-2020), V. Klapzinski (2019-2022), M. Le Gal La Salle (2022-2025), M. Le Mener (2023-2026), A. Boungou (2024-2027), D. Mouyele (2024-2027).
Approx. 8 Master Students or equivalent
Highlights & awards
🥇 Best Paper Award – COMSOL Conference 2019 (Cambridge, UK)
🏅 Best Student Paper – ICALEO® 2013 (Miami, USA)
🎓 PEDR / RIPEC C3 since 2021
Invited seminar – KU Leuven (Belgium, 2024)
Invited Speaker – HTC 2026 (Cologne 2026)
Mono team project: CaraMeLL project funded by French research agency ANR-23-CE08-0004 [2023-2027]
🌍 Networks & Community Involvement
Organier and chairman of the 14th IWSSTP International Workshop on SubSecond ThermoPhysics - June 24-26 2025
French Thermal Society (SFT) – Co-leader of the High Temperature Group
CNRS Networks: GDR Tamarys
CNRS Networks: GDR ALMA
CNRS CNES Networks: GDR Microgravity
Regular participant in the French Welding and Simulation Conferences (AFM)
Media review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77lZL3eHkpg
https://www.espace-sciences.org/sciences-ouest/438/actualite/du-metal-liquide-en-apesanteur
🌐 EXTERNAL LINKS