My OSCAR research is the
result of my continued involvement with Concrete Canoe at GMU. Concrete Canoe is
a design, build, and race competition hosted by the American Society of Civil
Engineers in which groups of students have to design, engineer, build, and race
a canoe made out of concrete that can hold up to 4 people at a time. While
researching possible additives to make our canoe lighter and stronger I came
across some research suggesting that the addition of carbon nanomaterials would
be an effective way to reduce weight while increasing the tensile strength
of the concrete. My goal is to find a
way to reap the potential benefits of these high tech materials in a concrete
mix that doesn’t require a lot of expensive equipment.
I have worked around concrete for the better part of the
last 7 years, working for a contractor in DC helping to build a tunnel at
Dulles Airport, offices, apartments, and most recently the newest Smithsonian
Museum. Since becoming involved in the industry I have always been amazed at
the versatility concrete has despite being one of the oldest known building
materials. Through doing research with OSCAR I have gained a lot of insight
into the relationships between the constituent elements of concrete which has
made me a much better informed engineer. My research will not only benefit me
but the data I am gathering now in the lab on concrete mix design will also
benefit George Mason’s Concrete Canoe Team for years to come.
Because there is no
materials science lab for concrete at GMU I conduct my research at the ABET
certified lab of Vulcan Ready Mix Materials in Springfield, VA. I visit there
once a week and bring a small group of civil engineering students with me to
learn about mix design. We develop small batches of concrete to be cured and
tested. Having the opportunity to work in Vulcan’s lab has also benefited me
professionally by seeing what goes on behind the scenes when a commercial concrete
mix is being developed. Currently, my mentors at Vulcan, Teck Chua and Sean
Murnane, are working on designing all of the concrete which is being poured on
the second phase of Metro’s Silver Line extension.
