Diarmuid Gregory
University of Vermont
Degrees:
B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering – University of Vermont
M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering – University of Vermont – In Progress
Preferred Career after Graduation:
Design or R&D in renewable energy harvesting or grid-scale energy storage
Broad research Area:
Transportation, sustainability
Specific Research Area:
Durability, energy harvesting
Student Bio: I’m a master’s student at UVM where I also completed my undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering. I came to UVM from upstate New York in search of new friends and good snow to ski on. I found those things and many more. I’m happy to have been able to extend my time here and pursue a master’s degree working on interesting and innovative projects with an exciting and brilliant research group. I see a lot of potential for future work and broad transportation impact from my thesis. Moving to Denver, CO in the coming weeks, I hope to continue working on things I love in the transportation or energy industries with great people around me.
Thesis title: Chitosan-Based Shrinking Fibers for Post-Cure Stressing to Increase Durability of Concrete
Thesis Summary: In situ shrinking fibers take the benefits of incumbent passive fibers a step further by reducing cracking and voids more and inducing a pre-compression which further increases tensile strength. Shrinking fibers were made from biodegradable chitosan powder which uses Portland cement’s high pH to activate and shrink in concrete soon after curing. Certain chitosan shrinking fiber specimens showed significant improvement in freeze-thaw resistance.
Certificate
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Poster
