Centrale Lille Research Directory
Johan Sarazin is a Research Scientist at Centrale Lille Institut and a researcher within the Materials and Transformations Unit (UMET – CNRS UMR 8207), in the Polymer Systems Engineering (ISP) team and the R2Fire group. His research focuses on the fire behaviour of materials, with the aim of understanding the physical and physicochemical mechanisms governing their response when exposed to thermal stresses and fire conditions.
His scientific and professional career is characterised by an unconventional trajectory, progressively built through research and experimental practice. After an initial professional experience as a chemistry and microbiology technician in environmental analysis, he pursued an engineering degree in industrial chemistry at CNAM alongside his professional activity. He subsequently joined UMET, within the ISP/R2Fire team, first as a research engineer and then as a research scientist. He notably contributed to the research carried out within the FireBar ERC project (2015–2020). He later joined Centrale Lille Institut as a Research Scientist and obtained his PhD through the French Validation des Acquis de l’Expérience (VAE) process, with research focused on the fire behaviour of materials, the design of experimental devices, and the development of innovative experimental protocols.
His research activities lie at the interface between fire science, materials science, and experimental engineering. They combine the thermophysical characterisation of materials with the study of ignition, thermal degradation, pyrolysis and combustion phenomena, as well as the analysis of the mechanisms governing their fire behaviour. An important aspect of his work is the design and development of original experimental devices. When existing methods are not sufficient to address a specific scientific question, he designs and develops dedicated test benches and associated instrumentation, from computer-aided design (CAD) to sensor integration, data acquisition and experimental validation.
This approach makes research engineering and scientific instrumentation a central component of his research activities. He develops experimental systems to investigate the behaviour of materials under controlled thermal and environmental conditions, and contributes to the development of experimental methodologies required to study new fire scenarios. This approach aims not only to characterise material performance, but above all to link experimental observations to the underlying physical and chemical mechanisms.
He is also strongly involved in the management and development of experimental facilities at UMET. He contributes to the management of the Fire Resist platform, dedicated to fire-behaviour characterisation, while also overseeing the management and development of other scientific equipment and experimental design facilities outside this platform. His responsibilities include equipment acquisition, installation, commissioning, maintenance, qualification, instrumentation and upgrades, as well as user training.
His research is conducted through both academic projects and numerous industrial collaborations with partners from sectors including energy, aeronautics and aerospace, space, construction, paints and coatings, chemistry, and polymeric materials. These collaborations range from characterisation and testing services to more complex activities aimed at developing materials or systems with improved fire performance, as well as studies addressing evolving regulatory requirements and the substitution of specific substances.
An increasing part of his research focuses on emerging fire scenarios and extreme environments, particularly those associated with hydrogen, batteries and energy-storage systems, as well as space applications. These emerging challenges raise scientific questions that conventional test methods cannot always address directly and therefore require the development of new experimental approaches. This research direction is further developed within the FireSpace ERC Synergy Grant (2026–2032), which investigates interactions between fire, materials and the environment under the specific conditions encountered in space applications.
Alongside his research activities, Johan Sarazin is involved in supervision and the transfer of experimental expertise, working with technicians, assistant engineers, students from undergraduate to Master’s level, as well as PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. He also teaches in the third year of the Bachelor of Technology in Chemistry (BUT3), including courses addressing water, its analysis and the challenges associated with this essential resource, as well as the physics and chemistry of fire applied to materials.
Beyond his research and experimental responsibilities, Johan Sarazin is also involved in standardisation and laboratory safety. He participates in the AFNOR CP92 committee, contributing to discussions and developments related to fire-testing standards. He also serves as a laboratory safety officer (Assistant de Prévention), contributing to the implementation of safety procedures, risk prevention and the safe operation of experimental activities and facilities.
Throughout this career, his activities lie at the intersection of materials science, fire science and research engineering. His approach combines mechanistic understanding, design, instrumentation and experimentation, with the objective of developing the scientific tools required to investigate material behaviour under both conventional conditions and emerging fire scenarios and extreme environments. This combination of scientific questions, design, instrumentation and experimentation is a defining feature of his research activities.
Fire behaviour of materials • Fire retardancy • Experimental test benches • Scientific instrumentation • Experimental engineering • Thermophysical characterisation
Extreme hydrogen fire exposure: a new instrumented bench and the thermal limits of carbon/epoxy composites
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2026, 266, pp.156915. ⟨10.1016/j.ijhydene.2026.156915⟩
Johan Sarazin,Serge Bourbigot
Flexural Performance of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polyether Ether Ketone Exposed to a High Heat Flux Hydrogen Flame
Fire Safety Journal, 2026, pp.104757. ⟨10.1016/j.firesaf.2026.104757⟩
G. de Knegt,J. Vacandare,P. Krauskopf,N. Delpouve,T. Davin,F. Barbe,J. Sarazin,S. Bourbigot,B. Vieille
Fire retarded three-dimensional material for railway applications
Journal of Fire Sciences, 2025, 43 (5-6), pp.308-329. ⟨10.1177/07349041251365543⟩
Laura Geoffroy,Johan Sarazin,Nicolas Gay,Serge Bourbigot
Influence of a hydrogen/oxygen flame on the fire-behaviour and the tensile properties of hybrid Carbon Glass fibers reinforced PEEK composite laminates
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2024, 88, pp.1226-1236. ⟨10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.09.288⟩
B. Vieille,T. Davin,Fabrice Barbe,J. Sarazin,S. Bourbigot
One-dimensional transient pyrolysis model for intumescent fire retardant polymers use in Electric vehicles packs applications: validation with fire-retarded polycarbonate
European Meeting on Fire Retardant Polymeric Materials (FRPM), Jun 2023, Dübendorf, Switzerland
Kossigan Dedey,Han Goosen,Johan Sarazin,Gaelle Fontaine,Serge Bourbigot
Fire resistance of Na/K based geopolymer containing oil
European Meeting on Fire Retardant Polymeric Materials (FRPM), Jun 2023, Dübendorf, Switzerland
Qi Yang,Serge Bourbigot,Johan Sarazin,Catherine Davy,Gaelle Fontaine
Photogrammetry for making real-time measurements of the deformation of fire retarded material subjected to an external heat flux
14th International Symposium on Fire Safety Science, Oct 2023, Tsukuba, Japan. pp.103894, ⟨10.1016/j.firesaf.2023.103894⟩
Serge Bourbigot,Aditya Ramgobin,Johan Sarazin,Manon Fleurotte,Abdenour Amokrane,Olivier Authier,Gerald Debenest,Gaelle Fontaine
A pyrolysis model for the thermal decomposition of low-density polyethylene blended with ammonium polyphosphate and pentaerythritol
Fire Safety Journal, 2023, 139, pp.103813. ⟨10.1016/j.firesaf.2023.103813⟩
Alain Coimbra,Johan Sarazin,Serge Bourbigot,Guillaume Legros,Jean-Louis Consalvi
Enhanced thermal stability of biobased crosslinked poly (isobornylacrylate-co-2-ethylhexylacrylate) copolymers
Journal of Polymer Research, 2022, 29 (7), pp.279. ⟨10.1007/s10965-022-03139-7⟩
Dounya Merah,Lamia Bedjaoui-Alachaher,Nouh Zeggai,Zohra Bouberka,Johan Sarazin,Donna Boutalbi,Ana Barrera,Hana Boughrara,Frédéric Dubois,Frédéric Cazaux,Philippe Supiot,Ulrich Maschke
A semi-global reaction mechanism for the thermal decomposition of low-density polyethylene blended with ammonium polyphosphate and pentaerythritol
Fire Safety Journal, 2022, 133, pp.103649. ⟨10.1016/j.firesaf.2022.103649⟩
Alain Coimbra,Johan Sarazin,Serge Bourbigot,Guillaume Legros,Jean-Louis Consalvi
Benefit of 3D printing on the flame resistance of geopolymer coatings for the fire protection of steel Civil Engineering structures
76th RILEM Annual Week and International Conference on Regeneration and Conservation of Structures (ICRCS 2022), Sep 2022, Kyoto, Japan
Zeineb Sdiri,Jordan Bassetti,Charles Thery,Johan Sarazin,Serge Bourbigot,D. Lambertin,Gaelle Fontaine,Catherine Davy
Jetfire lab: Jetfire at reduced scale
Journal of Fire Sciences, 2021, Journal of Fire Sciences, 39 (6), pp.455-476. ⟨10.1177/07349041211037192⟩
Johan Sarazin,Elsa Franchini,Virginie Dréan,Roman Chiva,Serge Bourbigot
Foamed geopolymers for fire protection: Burn‐through testing and modeling
FIRE AND MATERIALS, 2021, FIRE AND MATERIALS, ⟨10.1002/fam.3048⟩
Serge Bourbigot,Johan Sarazin,Catherine A. Davy,Gaelle Fontaine
Présentation d'un banc optique de mesures d'émissivité
51èmes journées de calorimétrie et d'analyse thermique, Jun 2021, Webinaire, France
Tsilla Bensabath,Johan Sarazin,Polireddy Ramakrishnareddy Thirumuru,Anne-Lise Davesne,Serge Bourbigot
Incorporation of organic liquids in cement-based materials – novel applications for waste mineral and sunflower oils
4th International Conference on Bio-Based Building Materials, Jun 2021, Barcelone, Spain
Catherine Davy,Johan Sarazin,Benjamin Dewailly,Gaelle Fontaine,Serge Bourbigot,David Lambertin
IPBES-IPCC co-sponsored workshop report on biodiversity and climate change
IPBES. 2021
Hans-Otto Pörtner,Robert Scholes,John Agard,Emma Archer,Xuemei Bai,David Barnes,Michael Burrows,Lena Chan,Sarah Diamond,Camila Donatti,Carlos Duarte,Nico Eisenhauer,Wendy Foden,Maria Gasalla,Collins Handa,Thomas Hickler,Ove Hoegh-Guldberg,Kazuhito Ichii,Ute Jacob,Gregory Insarov,Wolfgang Kiessling,Paul Leadley,Rik Leemans,Lisa Levin,Michelle Lim,Shobha Maharaj,Shunsuke Managi,Pablo Marquet,Pamela Mcelwee,Guy Midgley,Thierry Oberdorff,David Obura,Balgis Osman Elasha,Ram Pandit,Unai Pascual,Aliny Pires,Alexander Popp,Victoria Reyes-García,Mahesh Sankaran,Josef Settele,Yunne-Jai Shin,Dejene Sintayehu,Peter Smith,Nadja Steiner,Bernardo Strassburg,Raman Sukumar,Christopher Trisos,Adalberto Luis Val,Jianguo Wu,Edvin Aldrian,Camille Parmesan,Ramon Pichs-Madruga,Alex Rogers,Sandra Díaz,Markus Fischer,Shizuka Hashimoto,Sandra Lavorel,Ning Wu,Hien Ngo
Anisotropy of expandable graphite to explain its behavior as a flame-retardant
Journal of Fire Sciences, 2021, Journal of Fire Sciences, 39 (2), pp.109-118. ⟨10.1177/0734904120969639⟩
Tsilla Bensabath,Johan Sarazin,Serge Bourbigot
Geopolymer foams for fire protection
European Meeting on Fire Retardant Polymeric Materials, Aug 2021, Budapest, Hungary
Gaelle Fontaine,Catherine Davy,Johan Sarazin,Jerome Hosdez,Grégory Tricot,D. Lambertin,Serge Bourbigot
Flame resistance of geopolymer foam coatings for the fire protection of steel
Composites Part B: Engineering, 2021, Composites Part B: Engineering, 222, pp.109045. ⟨10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.109045⟩
Johan Sarazin,Catherine Davy,Serge Bourbigot,Grégory Tricot,Jérôme Hosdez,David Lambertin,Gaelle Fontaine
DOWNSIZING FIRE: NOVEL METHODS FOR INVESTIGATING FIRE BEHAVIOR OF MATERIALS
6th International Symposium on Flame-Retardant Materials & Technologies (ISFRMT), Oct 2020, Qingdao, China
Tsilla Bensabath,Serge Bourbigot,Johan Sarazin,Pierre Bachelet,T Bensabath
Intumescent polypropylene in extreme fire conditions
Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 120, pp.103082. ⟨10.1016/j.firesaf.2020.103082⟩
Serge Bourbigot,Johan Sarazin,Tsilla Bensabath
Low-Emissivity Metal/Dielectric Coatings as Radiative Barriers for the Fire Protection of Raw and Formulated Polymers
ACS Applied Polymer Materials, 2020, ACS Applied Polymer Materials, 2 (7), pp.2880-2889. ⟨10.1021/acsapm.0c00399⟩
Anne-Lise Davesne,Tsilla Bensabath,Johan Sarazin,Séverine Bellayer,Fabrice Parent,Fabienne Samyn,Maude Jimenez,Frédéric Sanchette
Formulation of eco-friendly sol–gel coatings to flame-retard flexible polyurethane foam
Green materials, 2020, Green materials, pp.1-11. ⟨10.1680/jgrma.19.00059⟩
Séverine Bellayer,Maude Jimenez,Sophie Barrau,Adeline Marin,Johan Sarazin,Serge Bourbigot
Intumescent polypropylene: Interactions between physical and chemical expansion
15th International Conference and Exhibition on Fire Science and Engineering, Jul 2019, Egham, United Kingdom
Tsilla Bensabath,Johan Sarazin,Maude Jimenez,Fabienne Samyn,Serge Bourbigot
INTUMESCENT POLYOLEFINS: SYNERGY AND MECHANISTIC ASPECTS
Flame 2019, May 2019, San Antonio, United States
Serge Bourbigot,Johan Sarazin,Tsilla Bensabath,Fabienne Samyn,Maude Jimenez
Intumescent polypropylene: Reaction to fire and mechanistic aspects
Fire Safety Journal, 2019, 105, pp.261-269. ⟨10.1016/j.firesaf.2019.03.007⟩
Serge Bourbigot,Johan Sarazin,Tsilla Bensabath,Fabienne Samyn,Maude Jimenez
INTUMESCENT POLYOLEFINS: A JOURNEY FROM FIRE BEHAVIOR TO MECHANISTIC ASPECTS
AMI Conference « Fire Resistance in Plastics », Apr 2019, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
Serge Bourbigot,Johan Sarazin,Tsilla Bensabath,Fabienne Samyn,Maude Jimenez
NOVEL METHODS FOR CHARACTERIZING INTUMESCENT POLYMERIC MATERIALS UPON BURNING
7th International Seminar on Modern Polymeric Materials for Environmental Applications (MPM), May 2019, Cracovie, Poland
Serge Bourbigot,Johan Sarazin,Gizem Okyay,Pauline Tranchard,Fabienne Samyn,Maude Jimenez
Intumescent ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer: Reaction to fire and mechanistic aspects
Polymer Degradation and Stability, 2019, Polymer Degradation and Stability, pp.235-244. ⟨10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2019.01.029⟩
Serge Bourbigot,Johan Sarazin,Fabienne Samyn,Maude Jimenez
Intumescent polypropylene: Interactions between physical and chemical expansion
Fire and Materials, 2019, Fire and Materials, ⟨10.1002/fam.2790⟩
Tsilla Bensabath,Johan Sarazin,Maude Jimenez,Fabienne Samyn,Serge Bourbigot
2019 FIRE RETARDANCY ODYSSEY: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE MECHANISMS
3rd Asia-Oceania Symposium on Fire Safety Materials Science and Engineering - AOFSM’3, Oct 2019, Villeneuve d Ascq, France
Serge Bourbigot,Gizem Okyay,Johan Sarazin,Tsilla Bensabath
NEW CONCEPTS FOR INTUMESCENT POLYOLEFINS
Flame 2018, May 2018, Stamford, CT, United States
Serge Bourbigot,Johan Sarazin,Johan Sarazin,Fabienne Samyn,Maude Jimenez
Fire Bench for Extreme fire scenario from Experimental to Simulation
ESIA (École des Sciences des Incendies et Applications), May 2018, Obernai, France
Roland Adanmenou,Fabienne Samyn,Maude Jimenez,Sophie Duquesne,Johan Sarazin,Serge Bourbigot
GOING INTO THE DEEP INTUMESCENCE: A JOURNEY TO THE MECHANISTIC ASPECTS
5th International Symposium on Flame-Retardant Materials & Technologies (ISFRMT2018), Jun 2018, Hangzhou, China
Serge Bourbigot,Johan Sarazin,Fabienne Samyn,Maude Jimenez
Flame retardancy of microcellular poly(lactic acid) foams prepared by supercritical CO 2 -assisted extrusion
Polymer Degradation and Stability, 2018, Polymer Degradation and Stability, 153, pp.100-108. ⟨10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2018.04.021⟩
Dániel Vadas,Tamás Igricz,Johan Sarazin,Serge Bourbigot,György Marosi,Katalin Bocz
Maze running into intumescence: mechanistic aspects in polypropylene
3rd European Symposium on Fire Safety Science (ESFSS 2018), Sep 2018, Nancy, France. pp.032001, ⟨10.1088/1742-6596/1107/3/032001⟩
Serge Bourbigot,Johan Sarazin,Fabienne Samyn,Maude Jimenez
Fire retardant sol-gel coatings for flexible polyurethane foams
AMI Fire resistance in plastics, Dec 2018, Cologne, Germany
Séverine Bellayer,Maude Jimenez,B. Prieur,Benjamin Dewailly,Aditya Ramgobin,Johan Sarazin,Bertrand Revel,Grégory Tricot
PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF INTUMESCENCE: APPLICATION TO THE DEGRADATION OF POLYOLEFINS
10th International Conference of Modification, Degradation and Stabilization of Polymers (MoDeSt2018), Sep 2018, Tokyo, Japan
Serge Bourbigot,Johan Sarazin,Fabienne Samyn,Maude Jimenez
Fire Retardant sol-gel coatings for flexible polyurethane foams
Ecofram 2018, Mar 2018, Metz, France
Séverine Bellayer,Maude Jimenez,Sophie Barrau,Pierre Bachelet,Benjamin Dewailly,Aditya Ramgobin,Johan Sarazin,Serge Bourbigot
Metal-Organic Frameworks: New Fire Retardant for Polymeric Material
16th European Meeting on Fire Retardant Polymeric Materials, Jul 2017, Manchester, United Kingdom
Gaelle Fontaine,Johan Sarazin,Christophe Volkringer,Philippe Devaux,Thierry Loiseau,Serge Bourbigot
Fire behavior of simulated low voltage intumescent cables with and without electric current
Journal of Fire Sciences, 2017, 35 (3), pp.179 - 194. ⟨10.1177/0734904117698843⟩
Johan Sarazin,Pierre Bachelet,Serge Bourbigot
SCALE REDUCTION: HOW TO PLAY WITH FIRE?
Fire and Materials, Feb 2017, San Francisco, United States
Serge Bourbigot,Johan Sarazin,Pierre Bachelet,Fabienne Samyn,Maude Jimenez,Sophie Duquesne
Développement et validation de nouveaux tests d'évaluation du comportement au feu des gaines de câble électrique basse tension
Matériaux. 2014
Johan Sarazin
