Rafik Belarbi

Rafik Belarbi is a Professor and Teacher-Researcher at the University of La Rochelle, where he serves as Head of the BVD research team within the Civil Engineering Department. His academic career spans several decades, including serving as Director of the Civil Engineering Department from 2007 to 2019. He coordinates multiple significant research projects including the European Erasmus+ project "PROEMED" focused on environmental protection and energy-efficient buildings in the Mediterranean region, the ANR-Habisol project "AGROBAT" on green roofs' impact on building energy performance, and the "Hygrobat" project on developing hygro-thermal design methods for high-performance buildings.

Professor Belarbi's research centers on the study of mass transfers, particularly humidity, and heat within habitable environments. His work focuses on coupled heat and humidity exchanges through building envelopes and at the interface between construction materials and the environment. He investigates methods to control water and heat exchanges to ensure environmental comfort at lower costs while protecting both the environment and building structures. His research spans building physics, sustainable construction materials, green infrastructure, and energy efficiency in buildings, with a particular focus on the durability of building structures and the development of sustainable building solutions.

Analysis of Professor Belarbi's extensive publication record (over 200 publications) reveals a strong focus on sustainable building technologies, particularly green walls and roofs, bio-based construction materials, and energy efficiency optimization. His work integrates experimental characterization with advanced modeling techniques to understand hygrothermal behavior of building materials. A significant portion of his research addresses the development and validation of models for coupled heat and moisture transfer in building envelopes, with applications to energy performance assessment and durability prediction across diverse climatic conditions.

Professor Belarbi has coordinated several major research initiatives including the European Marie Curie project "Exchange of Experience on the Preservation of Historic and Old Water Masonry Structures." His leadership extends to directing the Civil Engineering Department at University of La Rochelle for over a decade (2007-2019) and heading the BVD research team. His research has resulted in substantial scholarly output spanning building physics, sustainable construction, and energy efficiency, with collaborations extending across multiple international institutions.

Professor Belarbi's research laboratory focuses on the characterization and modeling of building materials' hygrothermal properties, with particular emphasis on bio-based materials like hemp concrete and miscanthus composites. His team develops experimental methods for assessing material performance under various environmental conditions and creates numerical models to predict building energy performance and structural durability. The laboratory maintains strong connections with industry partners to ensure practical application of research findings in real-world construction projects.